Among the many, many things to admire about the newly expanded Museum of Modern Art – which officially opens to the public on Monday, Oct. 21, but actually had a secret soft opening on Sunday, Oct. 20 – is an installation of Rainforest V (variation 1), as conceived by the iconic experimental composer/performer David Tudor, and realized by Composers Inside Electronics. A collective formed by Tudor in 1973 to blaze new trails in electronic-music performance and installation art, CiE is now run by founding members John Driscoll and Phil Edelstein, with a variety of collaborators.
I had seen and enjoyed Rainforest V in a previous installation on Governors Island, in 2011. This new iteration is similar, but, according to Driscoll – who was present and fielding questions when I attended a MoMA members' preview on Saturday, Oct. 19 – includes new sound-making items. The piece is on view in the museum's new Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Studio through January 5, 2020, and was packed with engaged, delighted visitors of all ages on Saturday.
In addition to Rainforest V, Tudor is also being celebrated during the inaugural season of the new Kravis Studio with a series of live performances of Forest Speech, involving members of Composers Inside Electronics and a stellar array of guest artists. Tudor created the piece, which employs the Rainforest instruments, in 1976, and then expanded it into a group conception in 1978. In it, according to the official Tudor website, "Formant resonances, produced with the natural comb-filtering action of 'Rainforest' instruments, are used to create vocal illusions."
Here's a complete schedule of who's playing when.
Oct. 24 and 26 at 8pm, Oct. 27 at noon and 3pm
Phil Edelstein, Marina Rosenfeld, Stefan Tcherepnin, Spencer Topel, and Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste
Nov. 14 and 16 at 8pm, Nov. 17 at noon and 3pm
Lea Bertucci, John Driscoll, Ed Potokar, Margaret Anne Schedel, and Philip White
Dec. 12 and 14 at 8pm, Dec. 15 at noon and 3pm
Ginny Benson, Cecilia Lopez, Daniel Neumann, Sergei Tcherepnin, and C. Spencer Yeh
Note that tickets are required for all performances. Thursday and Saturday evening events cost $15 for general admission, $10 for members and students, and tickets are on sale now. (Oct. 24 is sold out already.) Sunday daytime performances are free with museum admission, but, according to the MoMA website, "require a separate ticket, which will be available on site on the day of the performance, on a first-come, first-served basis."
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