The PostClassical Ensemble is a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

from

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The organization was founded by conductor

Angel Gil-Ordoñez Ángel Gil-Ordóñez is a Spanish-born American conductor who co-founded the PostClassical Ensemble with music historian Joseph Horowitz and serves as its Music Director. He is also the Principal Guest Conductor of New York’s Perspectives Ensem ...

and music historian

Joseph Horowitz Joseph Horowitz (born 1948 in New York City) is an American cultural historian whose seven books mainly deal with the institutional history of classical music in the United States. As a producer of concerts, he has played a pioneering role in ...

in 2003.

History

For the first period of its history, the PCE performed in a variety of locations in the Washington, D.C. area. The ensemble debuted in 2005 with a performance of “Celebrating Don Quixote,” featuring a commissioned production of

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first hal ...

’s puppet opera Master Peter’s Puppet Show, along with rarely heard works by Oscar Espla and

Roberto Gerhard Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder (; 25 September 1896 – 5 January 1970) was a Spanish Catalan composer and musical scholar and writer, generally known outside Catalonia as Roberto Gerhard.Malcolm MacDonald. 'Gerhard, Roberto' in ''Grove Music Onl ...

. In the 2000s, the ensemble received a $200,000 grant from the

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...

. In 2016, PCE's presentation of three American documentaries; “The Plow that Broke the Plains,” “The River,” and “The City,” with original scores by

Virgil Thomson Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassic ...

generated two

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

DVDs. Its release of a newly recorded score for the Mexican docu-film Redes received a strongly positive view from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', and its festival honoring the works of

Bernard Hermann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...

was praised by several U.S. music critics for highlighting Hermann's works.

Activities

PostClassical Ensemble's repertoire emphasizes music composed after 1900, producing the work of artists such as

Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his form ...

, and

Silvestre Revueltas Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez (December 31, 1899 – October 5, 1940) was a Mexican composer of classical music, a violinist and a conductor. Life Revueltas was born in Santiago Papasquiaro in Durango, and studied at the National Conservatory ...

. PCE has collaborated with such artists as pianists

Jeremy Denk Jeremy Denk (born May 16, 1970 in Durham, North Carolina) is an American classical pianist. Early life Denk did not come from a musical family. After several years in New Jersey, his family settled in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where he grew up. He ...

, Benjamin Pasternak,

Alexander Toradze Alexander Davidovich "Lexo" Toradze ( ka, ალექსანდრე თორაძე ''Aleksandre Toradze''; May 30, 1952 – May 11, 2022) was a Georgian-born American pianist, best known for his classical Russian repertoire, with a car ...

, William Wolfram, clarinetist David Krakauer, baritones Christòpheren Nomura and William Sharp, bass-baritone Kevin Deas, pipa virtuoso

Min Xiao-fen Min Xiao-Fen () is a Chinese-American pipa player, vocalist, and composer known for her work in traditional Chinese music, contemporary classical music, and jazz. Life Min Xiao-Fen studied with her father, Min Jiqian (闵季骞), a music profe ...

, and other internationally prominent artists. The group is also an artistic partner of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

as well as an educational partner of the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

Music directors

2003–Present

References

External links

*PostClassical Ensembl
Official site
{{authority control Wikipedia requested audio of orchestras Arts organizations established in 2003 American orchestras Musical groups from Washington, D.C. Musical groups established in 2003 Performing arts in Washington, D.C.

History

Activities

Music directors

See also

References

External links