• About Jeff von der Schmidt, the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble & LA International New Music Festival

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

~ A blog about new music, travel and food

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

Category Archives: Contemporary Music

HANOISE! The Fifth Season of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble Begins

05 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Arditti Quartet, Composers, Contemporary Music, Ensemble Modern, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Jorg Widmann, Lucas Fels, New Jogjakarta Contemporary Ensemble, Nguyen Thien Dao, Nina Janssen-Deinzer, Tetsuji Honna, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Arditti String Quartet, Ensemble Modern, Goethe Institut Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Honna Tetsuji, Indonesia, Jorg Widmann, Lucas Fels, Nguyen Thien Dao, Nina Janssen-Deinzer, Olivier Messiaen, Phu Xuan Ensemble of Hue, The New Yogyakarta Contemporary Ensemble, Vu Nhat Tan

 

2F811BA6-5A03-456E-96A4-4036BEEB2E43

Members of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble.

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. Confucius

Days are long but years are short. The last short five years bear witness to many long days of hard work, resulting now in the inspiring progress of my friends and colleagues in the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble. I’m proud to announce our impressive fifth anniversary season, HANOISE!

International collaborations define our fifth season, as we build new friendships and strengthen old partnerships with each concert. We’ll be working with two Vietnamese ancient music groups, the Phú Xuân Ensemble of Huế and the Đông Kinh Cổ Nhạc/Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin of Hà Nội as well as members of the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble in March of 2020. In October 2019, members of the Ensemble Modern in Germany and Arditti String Quartet will join my friends in concerts both in Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City, sponsored by the Goethe Institut. The season opens Friday September 6th at 20h00 at the Vietnam National Academy of Music as we present The New Yogyakarta Contemporary Ensemble and concludes in April 2020 with a final concert I’m looking forward to conducting.

Continue reading →

1,000 Dragons Rising: In the Path of the Ancestors Triumph for the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

13 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Contemporary Music, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Minh Dam Quang, Music, Nguyen Thien Dao, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Cultural Mosaic, Dam Quang MInh, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hanoi Old Quarter, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, In the Path of the Ancestors, Jan Karlin, Nguyen Thien Dao, Tet Offensive 1968, Vietnam National Academy of Music, Vu Nhat Tan

EF250F24-F771-47F8-B448-A230402FE78B

The world premiere of Kim Thủy Hỏa by Vũ Nhật Tân.

”Bác Jeff!” breathlessly whispered one of my Vietnamese colleagues, hurriedly finding me back stage as we were all getting ready to perform. “We must wait to start the concert. We have over 1,000 people trying to find seats, more than the auditorium can handle. Uncle Jeff this never ever happen before!”

In the Path of the Ancestors indeed proved to be the right title at the right time for the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble. Post concert noise and chatter continues to flood the city’s cultural discussions while both Vietnamese national and international television networks can’t seem to get enough of me, resulting in very good media exposure for a new music group in its fourth season.

Continue reading →

The 10th Anniversary of the Manila Composers Lab in The Phillipines

10 Wednesday Apr 2019

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Jonas Baes, Jose Maceda, Manila Composers Lab, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Phillipines, Ramon Santas, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Aj Villanueva, Choke Yuan Teng, Choke Yuan Tenh, Chow YunJan, Elliott Carter, Feliz Anne Reyes Macahis, Handwerk Ensemble of Cologne, Jan Karlin, Joan Quinto, John Cage, Jonas Baes, Jose Buencamino, Jose Maceda, Lou Harrison, Luong Hue Trinh, Manila, Manila Composers Lab, Pasig, Peter Edwards, Phillipines, Ramon Santos, Septian Dwi Cahyo, Verne De La Pena, What’s Next?

3031EE04-3B3A-4DAC-8577-3F80A94E453E

The triumphant members of the 10th Manila Composers Lab.

“I feel like I’ve just visited the Bayreuth of the Phillipines,” I said to my gracious host, composer and ethnomusicologist Ramón Pagayon Santos. He’d invited us over for an expansive morning and afternoon conversation, including lunch, the day after the final concert of the 10th anniversary of the Manila Composers Lab.

One critical aspect of my 2019 residency with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble are my visits to the new music neighbors of Việt Nam. Before arriving in my second home here in Hà Nội, I’ve made fresh contacts with new friends in Singapore and met composers in Chiang Mai and Bangkok, Thailand. Before heading home to California I will go to Kyoto in late April after the conclusion of Hà Nội’s fourth season, to follow-up with many friends in the new music world based in Japan’s ancient capital.

I am already convinced, however, that visiting the 10th anniversary of the Manila Composers Lab will undoubtedly be the biggest highlight. I was utterly blown away visiting the unique world of the Phillipines, a place like no other on earth.

Continue reading →

In the Path of the Ancestors with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

21 Thursday Mar 2019

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Composers, Contemporary Music, Hamburg, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Minh Dam Quang, Music, Nguyen Thien Dao, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Luong Hue Trinh, Manila Composers Lab, Ngo Tra My, Nguyen Duy, Nguyen Thien Dao, Olivier Messiaen, Pham Tra My, Tet Offensive 1968, Thanh Hoai, Vietnam War, Vu Nhat Tan, Xuan Hoạch

0973AC55-4AC0-41B9-8E55-734C7164F4BE

National treasures of Việt Nam, Thanh Hoài and Xuân Hoạch.

In the Path of the Ancestors is my next concert with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble. My friends here always find wonderful and poetic titles for our programs, they can’t do otherwise. In a long career devoted to new music, conducting over forty world premieres, numerous recording sessions, securing commissions, animating second performances, planning tours and collaborations, this concert at 20h00 in the Grand Hall of the Việt Nam National Conservatory of Music on Friday March 22, 2019 still looms as a milestone.

Three generations of composers are coming together. My Hà Nội New Music Ensemble will be joined by a cast of national treasures, whiz-bang technology, guests from the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, and the light bearing Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin/Đông Kinh Cổ Nhạc led by Đàm Quang Minh. Cue national and international television broadcast by the major network of Việt Nam, VTV1!

For a new music concert? For a new music group four years old? Yes. After thirty years of new music work in the United States, this Vietnamese recognition is, trust me, a genuine milestone.

Continue reading →

A New Generation: From Hamburg to Hà Nội with Lương Huệ Trinh

07 Thursday Mar 2019

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Arnold Schoenberg, Composers, Contemporary Music, Elbphilharmonie, Gurrelieder, Hamburg, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, John Cage, Kent Nagano, Kim Ngoc Tran, Minh Dam Quang, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Ton That Tiet, Toru Takemitsu, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan, William Kraft

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Elbphilharmonie, Georg Hajdu, Gurrelieder, Hamburg, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kent Nagano, Luong Hue Trinh, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Nicholas Isherwood, Vu Nhat Tan, William Kraft

492487DA-11A4-4AA8-A39A-53814F1E5F77

Our first meeting at Public Coffee in the Neustadt District of Hamburg.

Nothing is random. In June of 2017, on our way to take in the conclusion of the opening season of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg with Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder conducted by our friend of over forty years, Kent Nagano, I noticed a Facebook post of a young Vietnamese student who was part of a team contributing a technology component to a Hamburg Staatsoper production of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Æneas.

That got my attention for all types of reasons! 

Continue reading →

The 25th Anniversary of the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble in México City

12 Wednesday Dec 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Carlos Chavez, Colombia, Composers, Contemporary Music, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Japan, LA International New Music Festival, Latin Grammy Awards, Mexico, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Uncategorized, William Kraft

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Alfredo Bringas, Ana Gabriela Fernández, Barbara Scales, Cafe Tacuba, Carlos Chavez, Gabriela Ortiz, James Bond SPECTRE, Mario Lavista, Masako Okamura, Mexico, Mexico City, Miguel Zaragoza, Palacio de Belles Artes, Raul Tudon, Ricardo Gallardo, Ricardo Rozental, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, William Kraft

F47BAC8B-207D-4ADA-AD4A-297798353A6D

Tambuco celebrates 25 years, with guest pianist Ana Gabriela Fernández.

“The spirit of percussion opens everything, even what was, so to speak, completely closed.” – John Cage

Ricardo Gallardo and I have been partners in new music projects for a long time. We got started because of an introduction by American icon William Kraft, have received four Grammy nominations for our collaborative CD recordings, Southwest Chamber Music toured México multiple times, at UNAM and in Guadalajara, Tambuco has come to Los Angeles multiple times, to both Herbert Zipper Hall at the Colburn School and REDCAT in Walt Disney Concert Hall.

We’ve even tracked each other down in Japan!

Continue reading →

“The Ancient is New & The New is Ancient” at L’espace in Hà Nội

26 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Japan, Minh Dam Quang, Nguyen Thien Dao, Toru Takemitsu, Uncategorized, Vietnam

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Institut Francais-Hanoi, Karlheinz Stockhausen, L’espace, Luong Hue Trinh, Minh Dam Quang, Ngo Tra My, Nguyen Thien Dao, Nicholas Isherwood, Olivier Messiaen, Pham Tra My, Travel

146FCB75-9BB0-4459-9FDE-0409E95CD5E5

A silhouette of my friend Hương Lan in Huế.

“I have been trying not to view Japan as an absolute but as a duality, otherwise the tradition does not come alive but remains an unavoidable antique.”

In 1989 Toru Takemitsu wrote for me an essential article, Sound of East, Sound of West. His perspective gives the serious reader a magnetic compass for navigating the shifting soundscapes of our musical world. And like any map locating an unknown destination, my dog eared copy of this East Meets West article, a transcription of a lecture Takemitsu delivered at Columbia University in New York City, has been read and re-read more times than I can count.

On Saturday night December 1st, 2018 at 20h00, the Institut-Français Hà Nội sponsors the ongoing collaboration of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble and the Đông Kinh Cổ Nhạc/Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin at L’espace at 24-26 Tràng Tiền near the Hà Nội Opera House in the Hoàn Kiếm District. Thank you, France!

Continue reading →

The Hà Nội New Music Ensemble 2018-19 Season Starts September 8

07 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Igor Stravinsky, Manzi Art Space, Minh Dam Quang, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Ripieno Ensemble, Manila, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Goethe Institut Hanoi, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Igor Stravinsky, In, Luong Hue Trinh, Manzi Art Space, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Pham Truong Son, Ripieno Ensemble of Manila, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan, William Kraft

16BD0FC9-CC14-44F5-80CF-AEF5303CA181.jpeg

Violinists Phạm Trường Sơn and Vũ Thị Khánh Linh.

I may be house sitting for a friend in San Francisco this September, but unlike Tony Bennett I’ve left my heart in Hà Nội, Việt Nam!

The opening concert of the 2018-19 season of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble will get underway on Saturday September 8 at the Manzi Art Space at 8 PM. The first of five programs this season, the most ambitious we’ve planned, begins with a Composer Portrait concert of works for strings by Vũ Nhật Tân, entitled Màu Âm in Vietnamese, Shades of Sound in English, Couleurs des son in French, juxtaposed with ancient Vietnamese music from our friends in the Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin.

Continue reading →

A Canticle for Oliver Knussen, The Gentle Giant of New Music

09 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Alexander Goehr, Contemporary Music, Elliott Carter, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Oliver Knussen, Southwest Chamber Music, Toru Takemitsu, Uncategorized, Vietnam

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Aleander Goehr, Betty Freeman, Elliott Carter, Ernest Fleischmann, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hans Werner Henze, Oliver Knussen, Southwest Chamber Music, Tanglewood, Toru Takemitsu

334F633C-E74F-4B20-AF1E-11CEDCB83C10

A perfect last photo of Oliver Knussen on July 6, 2018 at the Royal Academy of Music in London, receiving an Honorary Doctorate.

”Aren’t you the fantastic horn player I’ve been hearing?” came an introduction towards my direction, in that one of a one voice. We were in the Music Library at Tanglewood in the summer of 1980. As fate would have it on that humid Berkshire afternoon in July, I was studying the score of Voices by Hans Werner Henze and he was working on Where The Wild Things Are. I didn’t realize that just opening that particular Henze score would be all the personal introduction needed for Oliver Knussen to strike up a conversation with me.

A warm friendship began that would last for the next thirty eight years, until his untimely death a few weeks ago. We always remained in touch, either here in Los Angeles, where he conducted often in the 1980s, during our engaging phone calls, or on our return trips to Tanglewood to visit my wife Jan’s family. “I’ve certainly met you in past life!” would become Olly’s charming Leit-motif for saying hello to Jan.

Grief creates a strange energy, and I know that I am not alone coping with the shock that Olly is no longer with his daughter Sonya, with my wife Jan, with me, with any of his friends, with the entire new music community all over the world. A man of uncommon common sense, don’t let appearances fool you. Of all of Oliver Knussen’s gigantic appetites, the largest was for music.

Continue reading →

Gongs & Bamboo: New Music from Hong Kong, Manila and Hà Nội

22 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Ripieno Ensemble, Manila, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Cebu, Charles Kwong, Feliz Anne Reyes Macahis, Gilbert Nouno, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, IRCAM, Jonas Baes, Jose Maceda, Luong Hue Trinh, Magellan, MATA Festival, Ripieno Ensemble of Manila

53586C57-C8D7-4563-A9CC-62670B489775

Asian Ensemble Workshop in Hong Kong brings together Manila and Hà Nội.

The Asian Ensemble Workshop in Hong Kong is an inflection point, at least in foundation speak. In plain English this June 2018 workshop is the start of something big!

From June 22 to 24 and sponsored by the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, these workshop meetings are discussing side-by-side projects deepening artistic connections between the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, the Ripieno Ensemble in Manila, and the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble. The goal is to get started with collaborative projects during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, building on the strengths of each city, formally establishing an international network between Hong Kong, the Philippines and Việt Nam.

In case you were wondering, this regional Southeast Asian network didn’t just fall from the sky fully formed in the last few days. And though Hong Kong is not officially in ASEAN, the city does function as a geographical fulcrum. A flight from Hà Nội is only about an hour, the same from Manila. I’m happy to provide some necessary background.

Continue reading →

← Older posts

Categories

  • Alexander Goehr (1)
  • Alexandra du Bois (1)
  • Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin (23)
  • Anderson Valley (1)
  • Antoine’s (1)
  • Arditti Quartet (1)
  • Arnold Schoenberg (5)
  • Asam Laksa (3)
  • Austria (3)
  • Bangkok (1)
  • Barcelona (3)
  • Batu Caves (1)
  • Bela Bartók (1)
  • Benet Casablancas (1)
  • Betty Freeman (3)
  • Big Sur (2)
  • Bogota (2)
  • Brennan’s (1)
  • Buddhism (10)
  • Café Giang (1)
  • California wine (6)
  • Cambodia (2)
  • Carlos Chavez (5)
  • Carlos Fuentes (1)
  • Cartagena (2)
  • Cat Ba Island (2)
  • Catalonia (3)
  • Central Coast of California (1)
  • Chasen's (3)
  • Chichen Itza (3)
  • Christopher Isherwood (2)
  • Cobá (2)
  • Colombia (4)
  • Composers (77)
  • Cong Ca Phe (1)
  • Cong CaPhe (4)
  • Contemporary Music (95)
  • Coyoacan (3)
  • Dalton Trumbo (1)
  • Diego Rivera (1)
  • Diplomacy (11)
  • Eastern and Oriental Hotel (2)
  • Education (8)
  • Elbphilharmonie (3)
  • Elliott Carter (13)
  • Ensemble Modern (1)
  • Evan Hughes (4)
  • Famous Father Girl (1)
  • Farmers Markets (1)
  • Food (70)
  • Frida Kahlo (1)
  • Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1)
  • Gabriela Ortiz (10)
  • Georgetown (5)
  • Gurrelieder (1)
  • Gustavo Dudamel (1)
  • Halong Bay (4)
  • Hamburg (5)
  • Hanoi (37)
  • Hanoi New Music Ensemble (54)
  • Hanoi Social Club (1)
  • Hanzhou (1)
  • Healdsburg (1)
  • Hermann Hesse (2)
  • Hoi An (1)
  • Hollywood (6)
  • Hong Kong (7)
  • Hong Kong New Music Ensemble (9)
  • Humphrey Bogart (1)
  • Igor Stravinsky (2)
  • Jacob Zeitlin (2)
  • Jamie Bernstein (1)
  • Japan (10)
  • John Cage (8)
  • Jonas Baes (1)
  • Jorg Widmann (1)
  • Jose Maceda (1)
  • Ken Burns (1)
  • Kent Nagano (6)
  • Kim Ngoc Tran (10)
  • Kuala Lumpur (2)
  • Kurt Rohde (1)
  • Kyoto (8)
  • LA International New Music Festival (95)
  • Laos (5)
  • Latin Grammy Awards (15)
  • Laura Mercado-Wright (3)
  • Lauren Bacall (1)
  • Leon Trotsky (1)
  • Leonard Bernstein (1)
  • Loading T Coffee (1)
  • Los Angeles (28)
  • Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (1)
  • Luang Prabang (6)
  • Lucas Fels (1)
  • Malaysia (7)
  • Manila Composers Lab (1)
  • Manzi Art Space (4)
  • Merida (2)
  • Mexico (24)
  • Minh Dam Quang (11)
  • Music (80)
  • New Jogjakarta Contemporary Ensemble (1)
  • New Orleans (1)
  • New York City (2)
  • Nguyen Minh Nhat (9)
  • Nguyen Thien Dao (9)
  • Nina Janssen-Deinzer (1)
  • Nom Calligraphy (2)
  • Oliver Knussen (1)
  • Pang Vongtaradon (1)
  • Paris (9)
  • Paseo de Montejo (2)
  • Penang Island (5)
  • Perigueux (1)
  • Phillipines (1)
  • Ramon Santas (1)
  • REDCAT (12)
  • Ripieno Ensemble, Manila (2)
  • Russian River (1)
  • San Francisco (3)
  • Secret War in Laos (1)
  • Sian Ka'an (1)
  • Silverlake (2)
  • Singapore (3)
  • Song Hong Ensemble (4)
  • Southwest Chamber Music (71)
  • Spartacus (1)
  • Stanley Kubrick (1)
  • Taipei (4)
  • Tambuco Percussion Ensemble (19)
  • Tanglewood (1)
  • Tea (2)
  • Tet Lunar New Year (1)
  • Tetsuji Honna (1)
  • Thailand (1)
  • Ton That Tiet (3)
  • Toru Takemitsu (3)
  • Toshio Hosokawa (3)
  • Travel (97)
  • Tulum (2)
  • Uncategorized (129)
  • Uxmal (3)
  • UXO Removal (1)
  • Valladolid (2)
  • Vienna (5)
  • Vienna Philharmonic (2)
  • Vietnam (78)
  • Vietnamese Cuisine (3)
  • Vietnamese Egg Coffee (1)
  • Vu Nhat Tan (34)
  • W. Somerset Maugham (1)
  • Walt Disney Concert Hall (12)
  • Wat Xieng Thong (1)
  • West’s Hollywood (1)
  • William Kraft (4)
  • Woman in Gold (1)
  • Women's March (1)
  • Yogyakarta, Indonesia (1)
  • Yucatan (3)
Follow Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt on WordPress.com

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Archives

Translate

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt
    • Join 73 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...