Tod Machover And The Ying Quartet Bring New England Premiere Of Innovative Musical Collaboration To The Institute Of Contemporary Art April 6, 2007

The Institute of Contemporary Art presents the New England premiere of …but not simpler…, a music program curated by MIT’s hi-tech music guru Tod Machover, and performed by the Ying Quartet. The program includes Machover’s string quartet …but not simpler…, commissioned by the Ying Quartet, surrounded with music by composers as seemingly different as Beethoven, Bach, Elliott Carter, John Cage, William Byrd, and Lennon/McCartney, held together with interludes composed by Machover. Called “the perfect program for the age of the iPod shuffle” by The New York Times, the concert will take place Friday, April 6, 8 pm. Tickets are $20 reserved; $15 ICA members, students, and seniors, and can be purchased at icaboston.org, by phone at (617) 478-3103 or at the box office during museum hours, and one hour before program.

In 2005, the Ying Quartet approached Machover to compose a piece for string quartet for its LifeMusic Project, a commissioning program dedicated to creating a string quartet repertoire by American composers on American themes. Though known for his work with new music technology, the piece he created for the Ying Quartet, …but not simpler…, is purely acoustic. Following the work’s Fall 2005 premiere the Yings invited Machover to suggest other repertoire that might complement and contextualize the work in a concert scheduled for the Ying’s residency at New York City’s Symphony Space in January 2006. Machover asked to curate the entire program, with the intent of presenting a seamless journey through works that have influenced Machover’s thinking and his ideas about texture, content, complexity and simplicity. The resulting full evening work, …but not simpler…, is a one-of-a-kind musical journey melding acoustic and electronic sounds. Machover has created what he describes as “the sound of modern life, richly textured while clearly focused.”
Called “America's Most Wired Composer” by the Los Angeles Times, Tod Machover is one of the most innovative composers working today. He has won numerous awards, composed five operas, and designed and built “Hyperinstruments,” a field he founded to augment musical expression using smart computers. He is currently Professor of Music & Media at the MIT Media Lab and visiting Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

The Grammy-winning Ying Quartet includes four siblings—Timothy and Janet on violin, Phillip on viola, and David on cello—who have played together since 1992. They have performed throughout the U.S. and in Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan, and Taiwan, and in such diverse settings as Carnegie Hall, the White House, hospitals, and juvenile prisons.

The Boston Phoenix is the official media sponsor of the ICA’s 2006–2007 performance season.

Official Website: http://www.icaboston.org