(le) poisson rouge

Born the Netherlands in 1939, Louis Andriessen grew up in a musical family – his father, uncle, and brother were all composers – and studied with Luciano Berio, drawing from a diverse range of influences from Stravinsky to jazz, funk, and rhythm and blues. Through his varied background in both jazz and avant-garde composition, as well as his rejection of traditional musical forms, Andriessen’s music has often been viewed to be a revolt against the legacy of German Romanticism. He has developed a style employing elemental harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic materials, as well as distinctive – if not idiosyncratic – instrumentation (having never written a work for a traditional symphony orchestra). Through music Andriessen has explored such seemingly disparate subjects as politics, time, velocity, matter, and mortality. It is this openness and willingness to reach beyond the traditionally accepted range of music that has made Andriessen a catalyst and provocateur in the Dutch contemporary arts scene. Andriessen’s work as a composer, author, pianist, firebrand, and teacher over the past 40 years has established him as a central figure in the international new music scene and as the most significant composer working in the Netherlands today. He was named Musical America’s Composer of the Year for 2010. Louis Andriessen is published by Boosey & Hawkes.

The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) is dedicated to the outstanding performance of contemporary masterworks of the 20th and 21st centuries. With Artistic Director and cellist Clarice Jensen at the helm, ACME programs are both avant-garde and archetypal and the dynamic ensemble's concerts are a unique blend of intelligent performance and passionate music making. Time Out New York reports, "ACME was causing quite a stir in the crowded New York new-music scene . . . polished and playful, its programs are a broad-minded mix of rigor and eclecticism." By performing works by up-and-coming as well as established composers, ACME aims to promote classical contemporary and avant-garde music as a necessary and prevalent component of New York City's cultural scene. Since its first New York concert season in 2004, the ensemble has performed works by John Adams, Louis Andriessen, Caleb Burhans, John Cage, Elliott Carter, George Crumb, Jacob Druckman, Jefferson Friedman, Charles Ives, Ingram Marshall, Donald Martino, Olivier Messiaen, Nico Muhly, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Frederic Rzewski, Ryan Streber, Toru Takemitsu, Kevin Volans, Edgar Varese, Charles Wuorinen, and Iannis Xenakis. ACME has also performed and or recorded with artists such as Matmos, Grizzly Bear, Craig Wedren and Hauschka.

Pianist Eric Huebner has drawn worldwide acclaim for his performances of new and traditional music since making his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at age 17. His playing has been described as “full of grace and light” by critic Paul Griffiths and he was recently referred to as “the new superstar” of the 2008 Ojai Festival by critic Alan Rich where he performed solo music of Elliott Carter and György Ligeti. In 2006, Mr. Huebner performed Ligeti’s Piano Concerto with David Robertson conducting at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and was subsequently invited to perform Olivier Messiaen’s Oiseaux Exotiques as part of a Live from Lincoln Center gala broadcast on PBS. As a frequent guest pianist with the New York Philharmonic, Mr. Huebner has been featured in performances of Stravinsky’s Petroushka and Firebird suites in addition to symphonies by Ives and Martinu. He has performed with a number of the world’s leading conductors including Lorin Maazel, David Robertson, Alan Gilbert and Oliver Knussen and has appeared as soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Riverside Symphony, Redlands Symphony and the Juilliard Orchestra. Since 2001, Huebner has been a member of Antares, a quartet comprised of clarinet, violin, cello and piano. Since winning first prize in the 2002 Concert Artists’ Guild International Competition, Antares has appeared at such venues as Carnegie’s Weill Hall, the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, the Krannert Center in Champagne-Urbana and University of Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium.

In addition to a career as soloist and chamber musician, Mr. Huebner is an active freelancer in the New York City area. He has appeared with many of the city’s leading new music ensembles including Speculum Musicae, Zankel Band, Manhattan Sinfonietta, So Percussion, Continuum, New York New Music Ensemble, American Modern Ensemble, and ACME and is a founding member of the group Flexible Music.

Highlights of the current season include concerts in Indiana, Virginia, Missouri, Washington, Florida and New York with Antares, solo recitals at Adelphi University in New York and the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles and performances of new chamber music with Flexible Music at Bowling Green and Syracuse Universities. Upcoming performances include Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, New York with Antares, the Macau International Music Festival in China with Flexible Music and a solo recital at the Piano Spheres series in Los Angeles.

A dedicated teacher as well as performer, Mr. Huebner was recently appointed Visiting Assistant Professor of Piano at the State University of New York at Buffalo. For two weeks each summer, he is in residence at The Walden School in Dublin, New Hampshire where he rehearses and performs the music of young composers.

Mr. Huebner has been heard on PBS and NPR, and on radio stations KMOZ (Los Angeles), WNYC (New York), Radio Bremen (Germany), ORF (Austria) and the BBC. He has recorded for the Col Legno, Centaur, Bridge, Albany, Tzadik, Innova, New Focus Recordings and Mode labels. A recent Albany Records release of the piano music of Daniel Rothman was met with critical acclaim and a disc of the complete piano music of Roger Reynolds featuring Huebner and the pianists Yuji Takahashi and Marilyn Nonkin will be available from Mode Records this fall. Mr. Huebner holds a B.M. and M.M. from The Juilliard School where he studied with Jerome Lowenthal.