Matthew Duvall + guests
Whisper(s)
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Matthew Duvall, Whisper(s)
Photo: Elliot MandelWhat is volume? How do we grasp the meaning of a whisper?
—Matthew Duvall
Copresented with Contempo/UChicago Presents
Ranging from ethereal to epic, this experiential concert by Eighth Blackbird’s Matthew Duvall is an exploration of sound and volume. In the spirit of Merce Cunningham and his collaborating partner, composer John Cage, Duvall crafts a program that finds form and meaning in dynamic extremes—from a focused scream to the expansive edge of silence.
The program begins in the theater with solo percussion works by Erik Satie, Morton Feldman, John Luther Adams, Matthew Burtner, and Yu-Hui Chang; it then moves to the upper floors of the museum, where Duvall is joined by 99 percussionists for the US premiere of Voice of the Winds, a new ambient work by composer/percussionist Marta Ptaszynska. Influenced by John Cage's fascination with the presence of silence, this work makes an indelible soundscape by using 100 of the loudest instruments at their most ethereal.
Presented in conjunction with Merce Cunningham: Common Time
Running time: 90 minutes, with one intermission
About the Artist
Matthew Duvall is a founding member and the master percussionist for Eighth Blackbird. The ensemble has been awarded with four Grammys, released multiple recordings on Cedille Records, and has been ensemble-in-residence at the MCA, Curtis Institute of Music, the University of Chicago, and the University of Richmond.