AFMM MicroFest Press Release

Contact:
Johnny Reinhard AFMM 212-517-3550 Fax 212-517-5495
Afmmjr@aol.com
http://www.echonyc.com/~jhhl/afmm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

AMERICAN FESTIVAL OF MICROTONAL MUSIC presents

MicroFest 2003: 10 Concerts
February 8 + March 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29 at 8 pm
Washington Square United Methodist Church in NYC (135 W. 4th Street)
April 22, 25 & 26 + May 2 at 8 pm
Faust and Harrison in NYC (205 W. 58th Street)

The American Festival of Microtonal Music, under the direction of Johnny
Reinhard, presents 10 New York Concerts starting February 8 at Washington
Square United Methodist Church (located at 135 West 4th Street), and
continuing there on each Saturday evening in March. On April 22, there is a
Guitar feature concert at Faust and Harrison (located at 205 West 58th
Street), followed by Piano concerts on April 25, April 26, & May 2. All
concerts begin at 8 PM, and general admission is $12, $5 for seniors and
students (with ID), at the door.

Saturday, February 8th premieres Skip LaPlante's SKERRY for strings and
homemade instruments in 17-tone equal temperament, and Mat Maneri's 72-tone
equal tempered GABRIEL for cornet, viola, and cello. Gerard Grisey's PERIODES
is presented by Ensemble Subtilior in their second AFMM engagement, with a
bonus of A MESURE by Philippe Hurel for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and
vibraphone. Violinist Tom Chiu teams up with bassoonist Johnny Reinhard for
Sven David Sandstrøm's OUT OF, while Joshua Pierce joins Reinhard for Ivan
Wyschnegradsky's classic MEDITATION ON TWO THEMES FROM THE DAY OF EXISTENCE
(1917). And Johnny Reinhard presents HEARING A CENT, with just a scintilla
of stage humor.

Saturday, March 1st is devoted to recording a compact disc of three
improvising musicians, following their successful performances in Moscow
(Solyd Records SLR 0303) and New York (Microthon 2001). Under the banner SO
INCLINED, multi-saxophonist Mike Ellis, "prepared" pianist Joshua Pierce, and
contrabassoonist/bassoonist Johnny Reinhard join together for an evening of
exciting acoustic richness with a polymicrotonal bent.

Saturday, March 8th features the Flux Quartet performing five string
quartets: Wendy Carlos receives a first performance for her rather
traditionally tuned FAVORITE PLACES. Charles Ives's STRING QUARTET #2 is
heard for the first time in Ives's idealized tuning of extended Pythagorean.
Composer Johnny Reinhard offers TRESPASS in harmonic-17 tuning (where every
scale note is made of a ratio containing a multiple of the 17th harmonic for
maximum "17-ness"). Ben Johnston's STRING QUARTET #5 is presented in
extended just intonation. And Juliàn Carrillo's 2 BOSQUEJOS in quartertones
receives a performance to conclude the program.

Saturday, March 15th is a rather mysterious evening, initiated by the gonging
of Don Conreaux in an evocative INVOCATION. Johnny Reinhard's music to Royce
Dendler's operetta libretto QOHELETH is premiered by sopranos Meredith Borden
(Tux) and Carol Flamm (Grunge), and an ensemble of flute, cello, harpsichord,
and percussion. New Yorkers are also treated to the first US performance of
I THINK OF YOU (1928) by Juliàn Carrillo, featuring soprano Borden, flute,
violin, viola, 96-tone harp, quartertone guitar, and vina. Violinist Tom Chiu
divines for himself imho, a spotlight for Skip LaPlante (homemade
instruments), Don Conreaux (gong), Johnny Reinhard (bassoon), and himself.
The concert concludes with the night's musicians performing a just intonation
interpretation of Alexander Scriabin's MAGIC CHORD, as deduced by Scriabin's
colleague Leonid Sabaneyev.

Saturday, March 22nd introduces the Indiana-based new music group, Aguava,
directed by Carmen Tellez. Foremost on the concert is the premiere of John
Eaton's VESPERS, heard with his MASS. Additionally, Aguava will perform a
cappella vocal quartets CONTRASTEN by Henk Badings in 31-tone equal
temperament, and POLYPHONIC RECIDIVISM ON A JAPANESE THEME by Harry Partch.
Anastasia Solberg lights up the stage with her performance of György Ligeti's
SONATA for viola alone. And on alto recorder, Johnny Reinhard joins Aguava
for a rare performance of Robert Jurgrau's quartertone setting of THE MAGI.

Saturday, March 29th places its emphasis on early music and features the
Douglas Frank Chorale in performances of two significant Cantatas: Andreas
Werckmeister's W0 IST DER NEUGEBORNE KÖNIG DER JUDEN, and Johann Michael
Bach's ACH BLEIB BEI UNS, HERR JESU CHRIST. Johann Sebastian Bach's
BRANDENBURG CONCERTO #2 will feature soloists David Glukh (piccolo trumpet),
Dan Auerbach (violin), Bram Kreeftmeijer (oboe, acting principle oboist of
Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra), & Johnny Reinhard (alto recorder), all
tuned to historic Werckmeister III temperament. The Douglas Frank Chorale
performs Palestrina's DA COSI DOTTA MAN and Soloman Rossi's QADISH in just
intonation, and Nicolo Vicentino's MUSICA PRISCA CAPUT in Vicentino's own
31-tone tuning, a cappella.

Tuesday, April 22nd celebrates the guitar at Faust and Harrison (205 West
58th Street), with a repeat of this concert in the Great Hall of C.W. Post
College. John Schneider performs DECEMBER 1942 by Harry Partch, the New York
premiere of THE SCENES FROM NEK CHAND (2002) by Lou Harrison, and his very
own LAMENT. Seth Josel plays Manfred Stahnke's ANSICHTEN EINES KAFERS, Georg
Hadju's RE: GUITAR, and Klarenz Barlow's SUNTIL S. Guitarist Harris Becker
incarnates Johnny Reinhard's POSSESSED. And composer Alfred Giusto performs
BACK UP on a fretless resonator guitar in Werckmeister III tuning.

Friday, April 25th & Saturday, April 26th & Friday, May 2nd feature composer
Michael Harrison's piano tome REVELATION: Music for the Harmonically Tuned
Piano. The prodigious 90 minute piece is performed by AFMM virtuoso pianist
Joshua Pierce for all three concerts.