Friday 26 April 2019, 7.30pm
The great contemporary music ensemble, Apartment House, present 'Femenine' by the late, great American composer, Julius Eastman, who has undergone a long overdue and much deserved popular and critical reapparaisal nearly three decades after his premature death in 1990.
Femenine is a open instrumental score, existing only as a fragmentary and elusive sketchey score in Eastman’s hand. Lasting over 60 minutes, and propelled by the sound of sleigh bells and an insistent, yet compelling riff, the piece is hypnotic, chaotic, transcendentary, alarming and ecstatic, exemplifying Eastman's own maximal minimalism. Written in 1974 its 'luminous ovals of sound' (New Yorker) has been given new life by Apartment House.
Julius Eastman (October 27, 1940 – May 28, 1990) was an African-American composer, pianist, vocalist, and dancer. He was among the first musicians to combine minimalist processes with elements of pop music. He often gave his pieces titles with provocative political intent, such as Evil Nigger and Gay Guerrilla. Eastman died alone at the age of 49 in Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo, New York. No public notice was given to his death until an obituary by Kyle Gann appeared in the Village Voice, it was dated January 22, 1991, eight months after Eastman died.
The group, created by cellist Anton Lukoszevieze has been captivating audiences for nearly 30 years, with performances of avant-garde and experimental music from all over the World.
The ensemble has been a firm fixture on the British concert scene, with regular performances at Café Oto and as an associate ensemble of the Wigmore Hall.
Apartment House has released over 40 albums, many on the UK label Another Timbre. Current releases include Pauline Oliveros - Sound Pieces, Magnus Granberg - Evening Star, Vesper Bell and Morton Feldman’s epic and mesmerising Violin and String Quartet.
