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A sold-out concert on Thursday 26 April, celebrating John Zorn’s Schuman Award from Columbia University and the Bydale Foundation.

The prize recognizes “the lifetime achievement of an American composer whose works have been widely performed and generally acknowledged to be of lasting significance.” Previous winners include William Schuman, David Diamond, Gunther Schuller, Milton Babbitt, Hugo Weisgall, and Steve Reich.

Zorn introduced the twenty-one musicians who played his music - from classical to jazz, rock, punk, klezmer, and beyond:

Masada Book Two: Music from the Book of Angels (2005)Masada String Trio (Mark Feldman, violin; Erik Friedlander, cello; Greg Cohen, bass)
Rashanim (Jon Madof, guitar; Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, bass; Mathias Künzli, drums)

Sortilège (2001)
Anthony Burr and Michael Lowenstern, bass clarinet

Carny (1989)
Stephen Drury, piano

Necronomicon (2003)
Jennifer Choi, violin; Jesse Mills, violin; Richard O’Neill, viola; Fred Sherry, cello

Cobra (1984)
Jennifer Choi, violin; Mark Feldman, violin; Erik Friedlander, cello; Okkyung Lee, cello; Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, bass; Jim Staley, trombone; Marcus Rojas, tuba; Jon Madof, guitar; Stephen Drury, piano; Sylvie Courvoisier, piano; Jamie Saft, keyboards; Ikue Mori, electronics; Cyro Baptista, percussion; John Zorn, prompter

From the program:

About John Zorn
Drawing on his experience in a variety of genres including jazz, rock, hardcore punk, classical, klezmer, film, cartoon, popular, and improvised music, John Zorn (b. 1953) has created an influential body of work that defies academic categories. A native of New York City, he has been a central figure in the downtown music scene since 1975, incorporating a wide range of musicians in various compositional formats. He learned alchemical synthesis from Harry Smith, structural ontology with Richard Foreman, how to make art out of garbage with Jack Smith, cathartic expression at Sluggs, and hermetic intuition from Joseph Cornell. Early inspirations include Ives, Varèse, Cage, Carter, and Partch; the European tradition of Berg, Stravinsky, Ligeti, and Kagel; soundtrack composers Herrmann, Morricone, and Stalling; and avant-garde theatre, film, and art.

tags: new york city john zorn

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