High-flying quality

Paul Riley relishes a refreshing recital of contemporary music

By Ken Smith

New music stars find a groove they like and stick to it

The new-music group eighth blackbird (the lower-case spelling apparently an ee cummings take on Wallace Stevens’s “Thirteen Ways …”) have clearly become one of the stars of contemporary composition. Like the Kronos Quartet, the Bang on a Can All-Stars or, more recently, the string quartet Ethel, they’re among the few ensembles who remain instantly identifiable in whatever they’re playing, almost like a rock band that’s developed a distinctive sound and stuck with it.

By Andrew Quint

Don’t think you’ve got the discipline and concentration to tackle new, cutting-edge music? Let eighth blackbird be your guide. There’s nothing sterile or forbidding about any of the selections on this CD. Yes, some of the music is “difficult.” But each of the six works, by five American/Canadian composers no older than 50, should be immediately engaging to any open-minded listener.

By Ian Quinn

The young Pierrot-plus-percussion ensemble eighth blackbird has released its fourth great disc in four years. These are mostly first recordings of pieces by young composers. (Mackey’s piece, the exception, is 20 years old and has been recorded before, but he was at least young when he wrote it.) Like the band itself, all the music is fresh, vibrant, exciting and slightly addictive—a younger version of Bang on a Can.

By Martha Erwin, Special Correspondent

Making 'unique sound worlds' inviting

Strange but not estranging. That's eighth blackbird, the University of Richmond's resident chamber music ensemble -- classically trained musicians who mostly eschew a traditional repertoire and garb, performing Roberto Sierra in cargo pants rather than Schubert in silk and sequins.

By Saby Reyes-Kulkarni

Animal Instinct

It’s about time the classical world opened its doors to everyone else. Though we should be thankful that this process has been underway for decades, progress has occurred mostly at a slow and labored pace punctuated with stabs of forward motion. The proliferation of “New Music,” however, has certainly helped.