Closing out the week-long Frequency Festival which celebrates new directions in New Music, Dal Niente presents their Hard Music, Hard Liquor event once again, this time featuring:

Murat Çolak – World Premiere (2017) for flute, oboe, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, cello, electronics, multimedia

Huck Hodge – Apophenia (2014) for flute, oboe, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, cello

Ray Evanoff – World Premiere (2017) for solo piano

Iannis Xenakis – Psappha (1975) for solo percussion

Mark Andre – un-fini I (1996) for solo harp

Michael Baldwin – Various Terrains ( ≡ degrees of similarity) (2011) for solo voice

Joan LaBarbara – Circular Song (1975)

@ Constellation, 3111 N Western Ave

February 19, 7:30 PM

More information: http://www.dalniente.com/2016-2017/2017/2/19/frequency-festival-dal-nientes-hard-music-hard-liquor

Jan 27, 7:30PM

Fulton Recital Hall, 1010 59th St

“Pizzicato, both elegant and brutal, is at the center of this one. Arguably the first “extended-technique” in music for bowed string instruments of the classical era, pizzicato highlights mood and rhythm, expands available colors in an artist’s palette, and is capable of bringing both dance-like lightness and explosive power to a composition.

In a season brimming with new work, we’re eager to present two of the cornerstones of the string quartet repertoire, with Beethoven’s inviting Quartet No. 10, Op. 74 “Harp” and Ravel’s euphoric String Quartet. The pizzicato passages that mark the second movement of the latter are a nod to both Javanese gamelan orchestration and fandango rhythms, and the nickname of the former speaks for itself.

For this century’s entry, we turn to a piece by one of the nicest (and most talented) guys in the biz, Dai Fujikura. We had the opportunity to work on this vivacious score with Dai this Fall at Bowling Green State University, and became fast friends. If past is prologue, the vigorous pizzicato interludes that bookend the piece  are likely to cause the untimely demise of at least one of our strings.”

Spektral Quartet was recently nominated for a 2017 Grammy.

From The Visualist:

Erin Smego: Cold Color

@ The Hermosa Walls

2306 N Keeler Ave, Chicago, IL 60639

Opening Sunday, December 18th, from 12PM – 4PM

On view through Wednesday, January 27th

From The Visualist:

Luis Sahagun: Between Dreams and Kings

@ Terrain Exhibitions

704 Highland Ave, Oak Park, IL 60304

Opening Sunday, December 18th, from 2PM – 5PM

On view through Sunday, January 22nd

“Honored by the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt as one of three invited performer collectives at this year’s Summer Courses for New Music, Mocrep collaborated with eight composers from around the world to develop new works for performing ensemble without traditional instruments. They will present Plank Rodeo developed with composer/performer and Arts Club Programs Manager Jenna Lyle.”

Per their website: “Mocrep is a Chicago-based ensemble dedicated to the performance of radical, 21st century music that engages with contemporary culture – aesthetically, socially, and politically. We specialize in works that not only synthesize music, theater, and performance art, but also productively embrace the differences between these mediums. In this way, we hope to expose and explore new possibilities in performance today.”

Jan 17, 7PM

Free and open to the public

“LVL3 proudly presents Semblance, a two-person exhibition featuring LA-based Kara Joslyn and Chicago-based Soo Shin. Joslyn’s paintings — largely monochrome paired  with her reflective surfaces — offer eerie depictions of pared down forms while examining the tensions between light and dark. Shin’s creative practice draws upon the dysfunctional ways that faith stimulates a search for struggle, exploring the gray space that lingers between uncertainty and vulnerability. Semblance brings these artists together in a display revealing hidden traits while tearing down preconceived ideas of illusion and space.”

@ LVL3, 1542 N Milwaukee Ave

Opening reception: Jan 7 6-10PM

On display until Feb 12

http://lvl3media.com/semblance/#.WFYLcbYrKRs

Big Thief and Sam Evian (both Saddle Creek) on tour together, joined in Chicago by Hoops (Fat Possum) and Campdogzz.

Per their Bandcamp: “Listening to Big Thief is like the feeling of looking at a dog and suddenly marveling that it is like you but very not like you; when you are accustomed to looking at a dog and thinking ‘dog’, watching Big Thief is like forgetting the word ‘dog’ and looking at that naked animal and getting much closer to it and how different it is to you.” Their 2016 debut Masterpiece seemed to rank near the top of practically every major publication’s year-end list.

@ Lincoln Hall, 2424 N Lincoln Ave

Jan 11, 9PM

$15, 18+

Tickets: http://www.lh-st.com/Shows/01-11-2017+TNK+Big+Thief

From Chicago Artists Coalition:

Participating galleries include: Addington Gallery, Catherine Edelman Gallery, Echt Gallery, Galerie Waterton, iD Chicago, Ken Saunders Gallery, and The Rangefinder Gallery.

The Morton Feldman Chamber Players performing Feldman’s piece For John Cage, for piano and violin. Approximately one and a half hour runtime with no intermission.

@ Constellation, 3111 N Western Ave

December 18, 8:30 PM

$12

http://www.constellation-chicago.com/event/1326557-morton-feldman-chamber-chicago/

http://www.mf-cp.org/