Solo Concert
ROB SCHWIMMER
in
"Triple Helix"
(Piano/Continuum/Theremin)
Friday December 6th — 7:00 PM
Bargemusic
Fulton Ferry Landing
Brooklyn, NY
718-624-4061/2083
Subway: A, C to High St; F to York St
http://www.bargemusic.org/
Price: $25/ 20 seniors/ 15 students
Welcome to Rob Schwimmer's continuing series of groundbreaking performances at Bargemusic's Bargemix Series!
Here's a New York Times review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/arts/music/rob-schwimmer-on-theremin-at-bargemusic.html?ref=music&_r=0
This performance may contain:
1. New Original Compositions and Improvisations for all 3 instruments
2. Theme and variations on standards, classics and soundtracks
3. A Healthy and/or Unhealthy Dose of Mystery
Selections will be announced from the stage
Previous programs have included:
Solo piano: Rob's lyrical to finger-busting original music incorporating a healthy dose of improvisation, jazz standards and a range of other pieces from Jimi Hendrix to Frederic Rzewski's rarely heard No Place To Go But Around (his piano piece preceding The People United which includes Schwimmer's own improvisation) as well as Schwimmer's piano transcription of Carla Bley's Hotel Overture from Escalator Over The Hill.
Theremin pieces have included Rob's originals, standards and soundtracks: Bernard Herrmann's Scene d'Amour and Carlotta's Portrait from Vertigo, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Miklos Rosza's Spellbound (with spoken narrative), Goldfinger, and Wagner's Traüme from Wesendonck Lieder.
Haken Continuum Fingerboard pieces have included originals + Messiaen, Eric Clapton, Scriabin, Ornette Coleman, Rachmaninoff and The Beatles
Rob Schwimmer on the Haken Continuum Fingerboard (or just Continuum for short):
I think about the moment Leon Theremin thought "Let's make an instrument out of electricity"... I imagine that the Haken Continuum Fingerboard arose from a lightning flash moment like that one... There is magic here... A technological wonder and yet the technology is invisible in the service of expressive playing... I love this instrument
What is the Continuum and How Is It Played?
As a pianist and thereminist I am convinced this new instrument is a major breakthrough with aspects of both those instruments but opening up all sorts of new unexplored possibilities. The Haken Continuum Fingerboard (invented by Lippold Haken) is an amazingly intuitive instrument to play, yet difficult to play well (as with all true instruments...) A bleeding edge polyphonic electronic instrument (with separate and individual vibrato, portamento, pitch, tone and volume available for each finger!) and microtonal (in the theremin sense that all pitches and all pitches between those pitches are available) it can be played as a traditional melodic/harmonic/rhythmic instrument as well as new extended and as of yet unthought of techniques. It can do anything you do... The Continuum feels like playing an acoustic instrument much in the way the theremin does (albeit with tactile reference)... Immediate and ultra-sensitive response. Lots of unexplored musical frontiers...
RS note: Left to right controls pitch (polyphonic and microtonal), up and down (either leaning in for slow attacks or tapping for fast attacks) controls volume (as well as changing tone as with many acoustic instruments) and closer (to your body) or farther from you gives you tonal (subtle or not) change.
Here's a link to the fascinating Haken Continuum Fingerboard website and a few youtube examples:
http://www.hakenaudio.com/Continuum/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxLYWb-56uA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nq3Q4tHvHY
Here's what they've been saying about Rob Schwimmer
"Amazing" The New York Times
"Extraordinary...harmonically ravishing...a dazzling two-handed ostinato-based piece (where Oscar Peterson and Sergei Prokofiev break bread)... a most stimulating release that stays fresh after countless rehearings" Gramophone
"Shaping up to be the finest solo piano CD of the year" All About Jazz--NY
"Theremin hero" The New Yorker
"Exquisitely beautiful music" Keyboard
"With Schwimmer, more is more" Jazziz
"Dancing easily between both (classical and jazz) worlds" The New York Times
"Meaningful, intelligent and evocative music" Paul Simon
"Substantial artistry...An original compelling voice" Time Out New York
"(One of) downtown's best piano talents" The New Yorker
"Brainy and dreamy" San Diego News
"Theremin master" The New York Times
"Fantastic! In every way--writing, playing and pianistically. Dynamically. Lyrically. I could go on... Congratulations, you're killin ', man!" Michael Brecker
"Utterly unique...Virtuoso in the extreme...One of a kind...Such great surprises! The structures are so thoughtful and complete...I couldn't wait to hear the next track...The most imaginative version of Stormy Weather I've ever heard...The world deserves to hear you!" Leonid Hambro
"Astounding. Extraordinary. Other Worldly (Hence the title?) Those Hands...That Brain! Passion and Intellect in equal measure." Vernon Reid
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ABOUT ROB SCHWIMMER
Rob Schwimmer is a composer-pianist and thereminist who has performed and recorded throughout the world. A founding member of the highly acclaimed Polygraph Lounge music and comedy duo with multi-instrumentalist Mark Stewart (Bang On A Can Allstars), Rob was recently the piano soloist at the Crested Butte Festival in Colorado playing his own piano version of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. His solo piano CD "Beyond The Sky" has been widely praised in both jazz and classical publications. Rob was also theremin soloist with The Orchestra of St. Luke's at Caramoor playing the premiere of Bernard Herrmann's Scene d'Amour from Vertigo performed with theremin for the first time. He is co-director of The NY Theremin Society.
Rob recently played keyboards, theremin and vocals with Simon and Garfunkel at the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden (where he played "The Boxer" on the theremin) as well as their New Zealand, Australia and Japan, North American and European tours. He has worked with Wayne Shorter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Bobby McFerrin, Willie Nelson, Chaka Khan, Laurie Anderson, Bette Midler, Queen Latifah, Arif Mardin, Adam Guettel, Mary Cleere Haran, T-Bone Walker, Sam Rivers, Marc Shaiman, The Klezmatics, Theo Bleckmann, Trey Anastasio, Christian Marclay, Matthew Barney, Ang Lee, Maria Schneider, Michel Gondry, Annette Peacock, Bernie Worrell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marshall Brickman, Josh Groban, Mabou Mines, Geoffrey Holder, John Cale, Steve Buscemi, John Stubblefield, Burt Bacharach, The Roches, Edie Brickell, Teo Macero, Hal Willner, Vernon Reid, The Everly Brothers, Ethel, James Emery, Bela Fleck, Kurt Vonnegut, Anjani Thomas, Odetta, Drepung Loseling Tibetan Monks, Joseph Jarman, Alwin Nikolai/ Murray Louis Dance Company, Henry Jaglom, Talujon Percussion Quartet, Fred Anderson, Marc Ribot, Frank London, C&C Music Factory and Sammy Davis Jr. among others.
Rob Schwimmer is one of the few theremin virtuosos in the world. Rob's appearances as theremin soloist with orchestras in addition to the Orchestra of St. Luke's include The Little Orchestra (Lincoln Center), the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (Yale), Red, An Orchestra (Cleveland), Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra (CT) and Crested Butte Orchestra (CO.) In addition to Theremin Noir, he has performed as featured thereminist for many projects including Matthew Barney’s epic movie Cremaster 3, the 2009 R.W . Goodwin feature Alien Trespass, CBS television series, Now and Again and A&E's Breakfast With the Arts. Rob is an original member of the NY Theremin Society. He was chosen to perform at a sold out concert in the Disney Concert Hall (LA) as part of The 10 Piece Theremin Orchestra. His '08 theremin premiere"Pellucid Dream(s) for Theremin" was commissioned by The Department of Cultural Affairs for the ISSUE Project Room.
Schwimmer composed the score for 2008 Academy Award winner "Freeheld" in the Documentary Short categorty. Rob's compositions have been featured in theater, television series and movies, documentaries and feature films. He has performed at venues all over the world in cluding Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, 92nd St. Y, the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Tokyo Dome, Madison Square Garden, The Blue Note, CBGB’s and the Colosseum (Rome) before a crowd of over 600,000.
Schwimmer's work can be heard on CBS/Sony, Warner Brothers, Toshiba/ EMI, Def Jam/ Island, Manhattan/Blue Note, Dorian, NHK, Capricorn, Evidence, Knitting Factory, Polystar, Traditional Crossroads, Dreamworks SKG, Universal Pictures, TriStar Pictures, HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, CBS, NBC, ABC, Discovery, Lifetime, Noggin, A&E, NPR and Nickelodeon.
VISIT: robschwimmer.com
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