Vijay Iyer--Music of Transformation at The Mansion At Strathmore

- RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi
Music by Vijay Iyer
Film by Prashant Bhargava
International Contemporary Ensemble
with Tyshawn Sorey, Cory Smythe, Miranda Cuckson, Michi Wiancko

- Mutations I - X by Vijay Iyer
Vijay Iyer - piano, electronics, Miranda Cuckson & Michi Wiancko - violins, Kyle Armbrust - viola, Kivie Cahn-Lipmann - cello

In a unique two-part program, we focus on the boundless energy and output of composer-pianist Vijay Iyer (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”). Recently awarded a 2013 MacArthur fellowship, a 2012 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and an unprecedented “quintuple crown” in the 2012 Down Beat International Critics Poll, Vijay is a musician of “rigorous concept and glowing critical acclaim” (New York Times)....

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- RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi
Music by Vijay Iyer
Film by Prashant Bhargava
International Contemporary Ensemble
with Tyshawn Sorey, Cory Smythe, Miranda Cuckson, Michi Wiancko

- Mutations I - X by Vijay Iyer
Vijay Iyer - piano, electronics, Miranda Cuckson & Michi Wiancko - violins, Kyle Armbrust - viola, Kivie Cahn-Lipmann - cello

In a unique two-part program, we focus on the boundless energy and output of composer-pianist Vijay Iyer (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”). Recently awarded a 2013 MacArthur fellowship, a 2012 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and an unprecedented “quintuple crown” in the 2012 Down Beat International Critics Poll, Vijay is a musician of “rigorous concept and glowing critical acclaim” (New York Times).

Inspired by the Holi festival, which is the Hindu “rite of spring” celebration, RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi was one of the most brilliant and exciting commemorations of last year’s 100th anniversary of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. In collaboration with celebrated filmmaker Prashant Bhargava, Iyer has built an original piece upon the fundamental structure referenced by the famed Russian composer—but in an entirely new cultural framework. Performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and accompanied by lush video from Bhargava— including footage of the Holi festival in Mathura, a town in Uttar Pradesh, India—RADHE RADHE transports Stravinsky’s semi-mythological tale of mysterious primordial Russian rituals into an actual religious festival that takes place each spring.

Mutations is Vijay Iyer’s first album as a leader for ECM, and a recording that will widen perceptions of the pianist-composer’s work. At its center is Mutations I-X, a composition scored for string quartet, piano, and electronics. A major piece built out of cells and fragments, it veers through many atmospheres. From moment-to-moment it is propulsive, enveloping, lyrical, luminescent, and strangely beautiful. Featuring a 10-part suite, it’s Iyer’s first release under a classical rubric, but using both standard notation and process-driven improvisation.

RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi was created for and commissioned by Carolina Performing Arts at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Additional commissioning funds for revision and completion of the work were provided by The Brooklyn Academy of Music/Next Wave Festival, CAP UCLA and The Strathmore Hall Foundation.

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