New York New Music Ensemble

The New York New Music Ensemble began with a bang, literally. This ensemble has been around for twenty-three years and it is considered to be “the raising standard” in contemporary chamber music. On Thursday afternoon, I saw the ensemble perform three pieces: Trio, Nutturno, and Marxville Songbook. These three possess very similar tone color and composition. The ensemble’s first piece, Trio, was composed by Donald Martino. This musician pursued his interest in music at …

…bass was the pianist because all the other instruments played as an accompaniment. This music was new to me because I am accustomed to hearing drums as the basis and foundation for any group of musicians. The combination of a piano, flute, xylophone, percussion, clarinet, cello, and violin contributed to the music’s atmosphere of confusion. Overall, I thought the concert was a new experience because it opened me up to another world of music.