Program 1, March 23: William Basinski and Tristan Perich
Program 2, March 24: Arthur Russell's Instrumentals directed by Peter Gordon and Mary Halvorson

Curated by Nick Hallett

Co-presented with Carnegie Hall as part of the 2012 American Mavericks Festival

The Kitchen dips into the Music Program archive and extends its envelope-pushing legacy to a new generation with this weekend of shared double bills. Launching the event is William Basinski’s ambient electronic opus Vivian & Ondine, which identifies the haunting materiality of sound through the physical process of tape loop manipulation. Sharing the evening, Tristan Perich—in his Kitchen debut—demonstrates his unique 1-Bit universe, mixing custom-built microchips and acoustic instruments.

The second evening begins with a new septet convened by Brooklyn–based guitarist Mary Halvorson, who effortlessly connects jazz, pop, and experimental strategies. The weekend culminates with work by Arthur Russell, former Kitchen Music Director and protean composer who set the contemporary standard for fluidity between musical genres as he moved freely among avant-garde composition, traditional songwriting, and commercial disco. His Instrumentals, which played at The Kitchen in 1975, and was described by The New York Times as “full of stirring melody, part Copland and part western movie soundtrack,” will be given a new reading directed by composer Peter Gordon, a friend and collaborator of Russell’s.