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artist:
Michael J. Schumacher
title: Stories
format:
cd
cat. #: quecksilber 8
release date:
04.10.04 |
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Michael
J. Schumacher - Stories
The new album by composer, performer and installation artist Michael J. Schumacher
from New York City after the critically acclaimed "Room Pieces", on
the XI label, which was rated best of 2003 for "modern composition" by
The Wire magazine. Feat. guest musicians Tim Barnes, Charles Curtis, Donald Miller,
Peter Zummo, George Bishop and many more.
"Stories" refers to the idea of layering, the
process of building a structure by stacking things on top
of each other. This procedure is particularly evident in "Room
Pieces New York", in which as many as 23 parts play
simultaneously. In general, Schumacher's interest is to
develop a contemporary form of counterpoint, where each
voice maintains its integrity while contributing to a total
sound. Listeners are invited to create their own melodies
by letting their ears follow the sounds moment by moment,
allowing spontaneous pathways linking the various voices
to emerge effortlessly.
Michael J. Schumacher works predominantly
with electronic and digital media, specializing in computer
generated sound
environments which evolve continuously for long time periods.
His sound installations have been heard at Apex Art, PS
1, the Queens Museum and The Kitchen in New York City,
at the Technical University and Podewil in Berlin, at the
Museum for Applied Arts in Frankfurt, at the Museum of
Modern Art in Lyon and many others.
Schumacher has composed
extensively for traditional instrumentation, including numerous
works for solo piano, pieces for a variety
of chamber ensembles, song cycles, and two symphonies for
full orchestra. He is also a noted guitarist and improviser,
having published music for prepared electric guitar, both
as soloist and with Donald Miller. With Miller and cellist
Charles Curtis, he has released an lp as The Donald Miller
Trio. As a pianist he has given solo piano concerts of
his own music, as well as the music of La Monte Young,
Terry Jennings and Morton Feldman.
In November 2002 Schumacher
founded the group Strata, with Tim Barnes, percussion, Kato
Hideki, bass, Toshio
Kajiwara, turntables, and Schumacher on piano and electronics.
The group's premier concert, at Diapason Gallery, lasted
six hours. The group has continued to evolve and presented
four 6 hour concerts at Diapason in February 2004. Performers
included Joan La Barbara, "Blue" Gene Tyranny
and Peter Zummo.
Schumacher has been a close associate of
the ground breaking composer La Monte Young since 1989
and has worked as a
producer of events at the Dream House, Young's and Marian
Zazeela's installation space in Tribeca. He has also worked
as technical director of the Dream House and as a recording
engineer at Dream House events.
Since 1996, Schumacher has
pioneered, first at his downtown gallery Studio Five Beekman
and, since 2000, at Diapason
Gallery located in midtown, sound art in New York City,
by giving over 100 artists the opportunity to present,
in environments with high quality multi-channel sound systems
and free of outside noise, cutting edge installations with
sound as their focus. He has produced premieres by David
Behrman, David First, Tetsu Inoue, Ron Kuivila, Steve Roden,
Marina Rosenfeld and Stephen Vitiello, to name a few. A
complete listing of past presentations and upcoming events
is viewable online at www.diapasongallery.org. |
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