Learning from the Vikings – Toddlers discover Treatise  -  a Symposium in East London

I was wondering the other day how I would have turned out if, at the age of 3, I had roamed around arid little islands in the Northern hemisphere, scarcely populated by thin fir trees and wooden boats instead of watching Vicky the Viking on TV in an urban environment; if, at the age of 5, I had discovered Cardew’s Treatise before the Diller-Quaile Piano books revealed the wondrous world of tonality to me; or if, at the age of 7, I had taken to bird-watching like my brother instead of practising scales at home.

Would my music be more like Messiaen’s? Would I still be interested in exploring subjects from nature (ants, salmon, bees, migrations, rocks) from an academic point of view or would I rather go camping in the wild? Would I still think that playing a graphic score or improvising freely is a liberating experience after years of traditional classical concert performances? We will never know. However, it is quite obvious that the things and the people we are exposed to and meet during our life-time, do influence in some way where our interests will fall and who we turn out to be. So I’m excited to see what, if any, effect the workshop for toddlers on Cardew’s Treatise, about which you can read more below, might have on the next generation and where these little ones can take the world in twenty years time if the basis of their thinking is shaped by the uncanny beauty of this score! I have great expectations!
 
As for the nearer future:

On Saturday 22nd October, the contemporary music ensemble Lucilin will give the premiere of Iceland Spar, a new piece they commissioned from me, at ELECTR.ART, the first concertat their new premises in Luxembourg. For this work, I was inspired by a type of calcite which is known for its double refraction properties meaning that it refracts an image at two different angles so that objects viewed through a piece of Iceland Spar appear doubled. By using these multiplying and echoing properties within the compositional process, I have tried to create a sound world which evokes the crackling noises of the deserted and arid landscapes and icy surfaces of the arctic tundra. It is also said that the Vikings used the light-polarizing feature of the stone to tell the direction of the sun on cloudy days for navigational purposes. Iceland Spar is written for amplified violin, alto saxophone, grand piano and drums. Other composers on the bill are Benjamin de la Fuente, Kate Moore and Donnacha Dennehy.

On Sunday 6th November, Kate Ryder and I will introduce young children and their parents to the world of experimental music and graphic notation at Morley College. This family concert forms part of The Engine Room 2011 festival at the Southbank and Morley College which celebrates the life, works and legacy of composer Cornelius Cardew whose ‘Treatise’ is still one of the most exciting and influential works on musical notation today. The concert/workshop will feature experimental piano techniques and toy pianos and will involve making and improvising from graphic scores. It is free and open to all ages, but conceived especially for children aged 2 to 7 although babies and older children are also very welcome! The rest of the festival is more for grown-ups and includes a concert at the South Bank by Cardew’s peers John Tilbury and Eddie Prevost of AMM on 27th November.

On Sunday 13th November we are organising the last Dinner With Daisy Club Night of 2011! Once again we invite you over to the atmospheric east London haunt that is Jamboree at Cable Street Studios for a symposium for music, film, poetry and art to end your weekend in style and make the beginning of your week just a little bit easier! However, unlike the old Greeks, Henri and I will not act as symposiarchs who would decide how strong the wine for the evening would be, depending on whether serious discussions or merely sensual indulgence were on the program. We will leave you to your own good judgement - but do expect a fabulous party with Dimbleby & Capper complete with full band and dancers, Mette Bille with her electro-pop,  Nina Pottell and her poetry, Linbury Prize 2011 finalist Ellan Parry, who will exhibit her designs and we will also play a short acoustic set with French For Cartridge as the doors open. Plus DJ sets from Icons of Elegance and KawaKawa . As always doors are early at 6.30. Advance tickets are now available from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/139118 .

That’s all for this time. See you soon!

ELECTR.ART
Saturday 22 October 2011
At Studio Lucilin
20A rue de Strasbourg, L-2560 Luxembourg
Start: 20.00
Tickets : reservation@lucilin.lu  or  +352 621 355 355
Entry : 10€  (5€ concessions for  students or under 25s)
www.lucilin.lu

THE ENGINE ROOM FESTIVAL 2011
Morley College, Family Concert: Sounds Fun
Workshop/Concert with Kate Ryder and Catherine Kontz
6th November 2011
Holst Room, Morley College, London
61 Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 7HT
Start time:  11 AM
Duration: 45 mins
Entrance FREE
www.theengineroom2011.com

DINNER WITH DAISY CLUB NIGHT
13th November 2011
Jamboree at Cable Street Studios
566 Cable Street (Limehouse end)
London E1
£5 entry on the door
Advance tickets £4 from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/139118
Doors 6.30 PM. Start 7.00 PM!
Nearest tubes/DLR Limehouse or Shadwell.
www.dinnerwithdaisy.com

-=-=-=-=-=-

Aestival Happenings in Pantone Tones

As the academic year comes to an end and the sound of bikers’ wheels drown out summery birdsong, I take a moment to contemplate the pile of scribbled pages on my desk. I have just finished a new piece called Iceland Spar for Ensemble Lucilin which took me into a world of double refractions with twin and cloned sound existing concurrently in almost parallel time segments, all shaped by the uncanny nature of this white crystal stone. A charming little piece surfaced which you will hopefully get to hear soon.

My band French For Cartridge will be on an étape across France and Belgium as we will do our best to delight audiences across the channel with our hit lyrics “Pink, Yellow, Red and Green” at the Rockhal in Luxembourg where we will be supporting Morcheeba this Monday 18^th July. Advance tickets can be found here http://www.rockhal.lu/en/agend​a/rock-pop/show/detail/morchee​ba/ and we will be on stage at 20.30 local time.

Back in London, I will dust off my dotted wings, a side-effect of my nickname Käfer , to head West as baritone singer Danny Standing will open this year’s Tête-à-Tête Opera Festival at the Riverside Studios with my performance art piece Larvae. The oversize score for Larvae features 33 white hexagonal flexagons which initially hide the musical material and hymenopterous words that the singer gradually uncovers throughout the performance and then uses to transform the landscape of white into a palette of colourful shapes. A metamorphosis not to be missed! Our event is free but check out the rest of the program they propose for the festival as you might like to combine Larvae with other performances on the same nights. You will find us at the festival on 4^th, 5^th, 18^th and 19^th August. http://www.tete-a-tete.org.uk/opera-festival-2011/

This is all for now. I hope you have a bright summer enjoying the vibrant colours around! I myself will be rooting for red, white and blue in yellow.

Catherine

-=-=-=-=-

Monday 18^th July 2011

French For Cartridge support Morcheeba

Rockhal/Luxembourg

20.30

Tickets 29 € in advance

http://www.rockhal.lu/en/agend​a/rock-pop/show/detail/morchee​ba/

4^th,5^th, 18^th and 19^th August

Larvae at Tête-à-Tête the Opera Festival

Riverside Studios

Hammersmith
London W6 9RL

4^th and 5^th August at 18.40

18^th and 19^th August at 20.25

The festival runs from 4^th - 21^st August.

More information and tickets here

http://www.tete-a-tete.org.uk/opera-festival-2011/

Che fà il piano e il forte

“Mettez votre tête au bout de vos doigts” (Put your head at the end of your fingers) (Isidor Philipp)

A piano is a curious thing. To most people, Cristofori’s harpicembalo, che fà il piano e il forte, is merely one of many musical instruments heavily anchored within Western classical music. For those who are lucky enough to know how to play the piano, the King of the musical jungle is a tool of expression, a means of communicating and a partner on adventures. It takes 7500 parts working like clockwork, 18 tons of pressure, 230 strings vibrating in the air and (usually) ten fast fingertips to carve out the unmistakeable sound of a piano roaring with delight. In the coming weeks I will have a chance to tickle the ivories on a few occasions.

“Play it with a smile in your phrasing” (Monique Haas)

First, I would like to invite you to a concert of my music performed by soprano Véronique Nosbaum and myself on piano at the newly inaugurated Luxembourg House near Hyde Park on Wednesday 25^th May at 7.00 PM. The program will include old favourites such as Neige which we performed at the Tête-à-Tête festival a couple of years ago and T-Tree for solo piano available on the engraved glass label, as well as the première of a new piece I recently wrote for Véronique called Lorem Ipsum. This is a rare chance to hear a whole concert of just my music which should be rather fun! Admission is free but book early as seating at the embassy is limited. To reserve your tickets please email londres.amb@mae.etat.lu  .  www.myspace.com/veroniquenosbaum

“You must close the suitcase” (Ives Nat) i.e. using the weight of your arms and shoulders, not just the wrists

If you think that the sound of a single piano is worth a trip to the concert hall then wait until you hear 120 fingertips in action! On 21^st May, I am taking part in two free performances of composer James Hesford’s music for twelve pianos at the Royal Festival Hall in the Clore Ballroom at 5.30 and at 6.30 PM. The score is incredibly fast and fun and I can’t wait to hear the sound of all these grand pianos together! If you can’t make it that day, there is another chance to catch the Piano Circle on uprights at Goldsmiths College on 18^th June at 7.30 PM. Read more about the event here http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/music/classical/tickets/circle-of-twelve-59041 and the composer here http://www.jameshesford.com

Poulenc said that most Americans played his music too dryly ,“as though they were on a diet. I tell them to put butter in the sauce!”

French For Cartridge have recently collaborated with S. Husky Höskulds on the 1x5 visual arts/music project which is linked to the Groundlift artist community that we have the chance to be part of. The videos were premiered at the Los Angeles Digital Centre for Arts in April and feature musicians such as Lisa Coleman, Partick Warren and Machines for Friends amongst others. One of the videos for which we have done a version, 1x5 (Vol3), is now up on the Groundlift site. www.groundlift.org

We have also been busy writing new songs for the next FFC album, some of which we will present at the next Dinner With Daisy Clubnight on Sunday 10^th July alongside James Bull’s brass octet, actress Sibylla Meienberg and a lot more art and music to be confirmed. As always, the place to be is the legendary Jamboree in Cable Street Studios with an early start at 7.00 PM. For more information and an updated program please visit www.dinnerwithdaisy.com a bit nearer the time.

And in case you live near Manchester, you can take the opportunity to hear my piece for solo harp Tea Ceremony performed by Rosanna Moore as part of her final recital at the Royal Northern College of Music on 28^th May in the Carol Nash Recital Room at 11.00 AM and again on 18^th June as part of the Gold Medal Weekend http://www.rncm.ac.uk/whats-on-mainmenu-47/explore-whats-on-mainmenu-95/icalrepeat.detail/2011/06/18/599/413/rncm-gold-medal-weekend-rosanna-moore-ligharplig.html

Finally, I also wanted to mention that In Your Father’s Care for SSA with harp (or piano) which was published by Shorter House last autumn as part of the ‘Sleep Holy Babe’ collection of new choral works, is now also available as an individual title for £2.75 from www.shorterhouse.com .

As always you can find all the information also on my website www.catherinekontz.com. I wish you all a lovely month of May and a sunny June with enough butter on your toast and a smile in your step!

“They afterwards took me to a dancing saloon where I saw the only rational method of art criticism I have ever come across. Over the piano was printed a notice- 'Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best.'” (Oscar Wilde)

Catherine

The Music of Catherine Kontz at the Luxembourg House, London on May 25^th 2011, 7.00 PM                   Performed by Véronique Nosbaum (soprano) and Catherine Kontz (piano)

Luxembourg House London at the Luxembourg Embassy

27 Wilton Crescent
London SW1X 8SD

Hyde Park Corner/Knightsbridge tubes.

Circle of Twelve

Music by James Hesford

21^st May 6.40-7.15 PM

The Clore Ballroom

Royal Festival Hall

South Bank Centre

Belvedere Road
London SE1 8XX

18^th June 7.30 PM

Goldsmiths College

University of London

New Cross

London SE14 6NW

Dinner With Daisy Club Night

10^th July 2011

Jamboree at Cable Street Studios

566 Cable Street (Limehouse end)

London E1

£5 entry. Doors 6.30 PM. Start 7.00 PM!

Nearest tubes/DLR Limehouse, Shadwell.

Rosanna Moore’s final recital at RNCM

28^th May at 11.00 AM

Carol Nash Recital Room

124 Oxford Road

 Manchester M13 9RD

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 Nippy hugs, pancakes and a grudging fondness for February 

Imagine if February came to stay and never left again like in the chilling short novel Light Boxes by Shane Jones. The onslaught of the cold, the snow, the ice, the darkness, all would be never-ending. Countless articles are published every year on ‘why we hate February’ - the helmikuu (month of the pearl) which sees snow droplets freezing into pearls of ice, Shakespeare’s Feverell, a time for februum (purification). While this short little month is certainly not the most welcoming, I find that it still has a lot going for it. 

This is the week when children in Luxembourg take the initiative to go liichten, bringing light from house to house with their lampions, Americans observe the behavioural patterns of a groundhog looking for his shadow in the hope of an early spring and the French try to get luck in money matters on their side by catching a crêpe with a frying pan after tossing it in the air with their left hand while holding a golden coin in their right hand. Henri and I also have our very own Dinner With Daisy going-ons planned for this Sunday 6^th February. On the program are some fantastic movies by Dorna Aslanzadeh with a sneak preview of her new short film ‘Janice’ for which I have composed music. We will also enlighten you with the music of experimental composer Michael Parsons, brighten your day with the words of writer Alexia Anastasiadis and enchant with the theatrical drum and flute duo Zashiki Warashi. An acoustic treat by Royal Treatment Plant and some music chosen by French For Cartridge will complete the bill and light up your faces. There will be food available at the artful Jamboree venue for those who come with an empty stomach and there may even be some birthday cake (or crêpes) for good measure. We start early at 18.30 for a cosy Sunday night, which should put a spring in your step for the rest of the month. Entry is £5 on the door and tickets can also be bought in advance at http://www.wegottickets.com/event/106849 . All details can be found on www.dinnerwithdaisy.com 

On 7^th February, Dinner With Daisy release the final single off the acclaimed French For Cartridge album ‘Liquorice’. It is called ‘A Hundred And One’ and available for a limited time only as a free download from the French For Cartridge website www.frenchforcartridge.com .The video for the song, made by Dorna Aslanzadeh and starring Swedish actor Benjamin Moliner, has been shown at various festivals in Europe and has had a lot of hits on youtube. It is well worth a look over at http://bit.ly/dSlw9G .  On the website you can also now find a ‘shop’ section as well as a lot of other video footage and photos. 

Of course many believe that February can predict how the picnic and barbeque season will pan out for the year. In fact, the days of 12^th to 14^th February were traditionally said to be ‘borrowed’ from January. If these days were stormy, the year would be favoured with good weather. If they were fine days, the year’s weather would be foul. The eager groundhog might however be fooling us since cats seem to differ in opinion. Apparently when the cat lies in the sun in February, she will creep behind the stove in March. But do not despair of the treacherous conditions ahead because if February give much snow then a fine summer it doth foreshow. 

While I was looking closely at what this winter month has to offer I did come across an interesting custom which has been lying idle since the Forties. Friday of Shrove Week was traditionally the day when boys were entitled to kiss girls without fear of rejection or a good old slap around the face! Known as Kissing Day or Nippy Hug Day, men did have to ask before taking their kiss, but if they were refused permission they were allowed to 'louse' or pinch the woman’s bottom! How about that! Valentine’s Day with its mass-produced heart shapes looks quite tame in comparison. Of course, because Easter falls very late this year, we do loose the carnival excitements, semla eating and kissing fun to the month of March this year. Most years, however, all this is part of the likeable character of February, which does not seem as bad as many want us to believe. 

Apart from the Dinner With Daisy Club Night next Sunday, I myself will stay warm and cosy indoors most of the time as I have started to work on my new opera, a commission from the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg. In addition a new piece for piano⁺ wizard Sebastian Lexer and a new work for Ensemble Lucilin give me plenty to fill my days at the moment. I hope you too have a lovely rest of the winter and a great February! 

Catherine

Here are some more links and details:

Dinner With Daisy Records www.dinnerwithdaisy.com

French For Cartridge www.frenchforcartridge.com

Jamboree Venue. Cable Street Studios, 566 Cable Street, London E1 Limehouse DLR/Shadwell tubes/DLR http://www.facebook.com/jamboreevenue

Royal Treatment Plant www.myspace.com/royaltreatmentplant

Michael Parsons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Parsons

Alexia Anastasiadis www.alexiaanastasiadis.co.uk

Zashiki Warashi www.myspace.com/drumandflute

United Instruments of Lucilin www.lucilin.lu

Sebastian Lexer www.sebastianlexer.eu

House Types 

Be it a saltbox, a longhouse or a cottage, a business establishment or a government body, a family line, a style of music or an astrological term, the concept of a house usually encompasses the notions of a shelter, a dwelling or a gathering. Bearing in mind Christian Morgenstern’s advice that “home is not where you live but where they understand you”, I was lucky to be commissioned by Shorter House for a new work for upper voices and harp (or piano) for their recently published choral collection Sleep, Holy Babe.  www.shorterhouse.com. 

Furthermore, this coming Sunday, 19^th September, Henri and I continue our series of Dinner With Daisy club nights with a London Fashion Week special in association with House of Boing. You can expect an evening of mixed media with art house shorts by Ebba Erikzon and Ryuta Suzuki, Tiffany Charrington’s live theatre installation ‘I Shall See Your Houses’, as well as live music by Greta Lange and French For Cartridge who are celebrating the limited edition vinyl release of their album with a House of Boing fashion show. As if that were not enough, in-house labelmate KawaKawa will be spinning some records and I can promise a bit of cake fait maison as it will be my birthday then. The following Dinner With Daisy night will take place on Sunday 7^th November with a program to be confirmed soon. www.dinnerwithdaisy.com

If you are attending the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival this year, you will be able to hear 4 ½ tatami, my new work for solo electric violin which was written for Monica Germino and commissioned by HCMF. Drawing inspiration from Japanese house structures, I have designed the score as a floor-map with the dimensions taken from the tatami mats forming a traditional tea-room. Monica usually plays to a full house so make sure you get your tickets well in advance if you want to see her new program ‘Deviation’ on 23^rd November. www.hcmf.co.uk

Finally, a couple of months back, une cartouche worked out an arrangement of The Funny Tailor for dancer David Bellwood. As you can imagine, we got on like a house on fire and you can watch the result here www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFl7M9O-rOo .

For last minute additions and changes, please also keep an eye on www.myspace.com/catherinekontz and hopefully see you soon!

Below here are further details for the different events and releases:

Sleep, Holy Babe – Shorter House Publishing

ISMN 979-0-9002201-0-3

128pp: 17 Titles

£9.95

You can buy it direct from www.shorterhouse.com

Sleep, Holy Babe is a unique choral collection of 17 works based on the theme of The Nativity. At its heart lie nine Christmas lullabies, as well as two carols and a motet depicting the story of Christ’s birth. These are framed by a pair of Advent antiphons and Magnificat settings, and an Epiphany carol.

Dinner With Daisy Club Night
with House of Boing


Sunday19th September 2010



French For Cartridge (vinyl release), Greta Lange, Tiffany Charrington, Ebba Erikzon, Ryuta Suzuki + KawaKawa (DJ set)

Entry £5. Jamboree 566 Cable Street, London E1 (Limehouse DLR, Shadwell tube and DLR) www.myspace.com/jamboreemembersclub

In order to get everyone early to bed on a Sunday night, doors are at 6.30 and performances start at 7 with the last live act on stage at 9 – DJs until 11 for those who want to carry on.

www.dinnerwithdaisy.com

www.houseofboing.com

www.frenchforcartridge.com (The new album is now available on CD and 12” vinyl from all good music outlets including Amazon, HMV, Rough Trade, Norman as well as from our own site.)

www.myspace.com/gretalange

http://www.utrophia.net/people/tiffanycharrington

http://ebbaviktoria.com/home.html

http://www.ryutart.com/

www.myspace.com/kawakawamusic

Deviation at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival

Tuesday 23rd November 2010

Phipps Hall 10pm, 
Tickets £15 (£13 concession; £10 online) www.hcmf.co.uk

Julia Wolfe With a blue dress on (UK Premiere)


Donnacha Dennehy Strung (UK Premiere)


David Dramm Fuzz Box Logic (UK Premiere)


Catherine Kontz 4 1/2 Tatami (hcmf// commission) (World Premiere)


Arnoud Noordegraaf "who would you like to be you?" (UK Premiere)

Monica Germino violin / electric violin / voice


Frank van der Weij sound

‘Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible'
Frank Zappa

www.monicagermino.com

June – July 2010 

To celebrate the release of their new album on the continent, French For Cartridge announce a free gig at den Atelier, Luxembourg on 14^th July. Reserve your free ticket here: www.frenchforcartridge.com/event

Two last-minute additions to the London Architecture Festival 2010 (link to www.lfa2010.org) as part of the Students of Innsbruck’s Walk The Line project in Bow/Bromley High Street:

            French For Cartridge acoustic set on Sunday 27^th June, 5.30 PM

A new episode of Purblind!! Purblind In Poplar: the New Adventures of Dead-Eye Parry and the Blindfold Cat created and performed by Ellan Parry and Catherine Kontz 28^th June, 11.00 AM

une cartouche have made an experimental remix of French For Cartridge track ‘Sitting And Reading’ which will be released as the B-side of the ‘Sitting And Reading’ digital single on 26^th July. Video by James Burton and Ellan Parry. www.frenchforcartridge.com

De piscibus, formicis, avibus peregrinis apibusque

vere anni MMX Londinii et Mancunii

Taking inspiration from Pliny the Elder’s tips for cooking larvae that can be found in Naturalis Historia, my vernal menu offers an electric ensemble of line-caught salmon bathed in its eclectic juices of tabla and hang, an assortment of hexagonal canapés of fresh larvae drizzled with a spoonful of Limehouse honey, a vegetable consommé of elegant flavours with a hint of KawaKawa or a bowl of puffin and swan stew with ‘Dimbleby’ capers and ‘Meienberg’ pepper, a selection of wild birds and scrumptious ants accompanied by the succulent palette of twelve harps as well as a choice of French delicacies made to order and special offers on dinners with Daisy.  

De formicis et avibus peregrinis

This Thurday, 6^th May, the RNCM Harp Ensemble will perform one of my pieces for massed harps, Anthill, in a lunchtime concert at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

On Saturday 19^th June The RNCM harpists will also be joined by Eira Lynn Jones and Rhodri Davies for an afternoon of my music for harp at the Natural History Museum in London. In partnership with Spratt and Winkle, I am organising two performances of Anthill and Flyways with 12 harpists underneath the tail of the large dinosaur in the main hall at 13.00 and 16.00 as well as a continuous four-harp live installation of Flyways between the concert performances. As Anthill is based on the organisation of ant colonies and Flyways focuses on bird migration, there is no more exciting place to see these pieces performed than the Natural History Museum!

Qui maximi pisci

In the context of the United Nations’ International Year of Biodiversity, the Natural History Museum also hosts a Bio-diversity Day before that, on Saturday 22^nd May. As part of the program of that day’s events, there will be two performances of my 22-minute ensemble piece Salmon Stories next to the newly opened Darwin Centre (at 12.00 and 14.30). This will be the UK premiere of Salmon Stories which draws attention to the issue of overfishing and maritime preservation. The performances will feature Angharad Davies (amplified violin), Ansuman Biswas (tabla and hang), Eleri Pound (electric harp) and Henri Vaxby (electric guitar) and myself (conductor) with a set design by DrawnForth Opera Theatre.  

De cena cum Desideria et larvis apibusque

Another addition to this year’s calendar is our bi-monthly/quarterly Dinner With Daisy Club Night which Henri and I have arranged as a continuation of the successful and fun French For Cartridge pop-up shop earlier this year. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can find an online diary and footage from these events on www.frenchforcartridge.com).

The first edition of this DWD Club Night will be held on Sunday 9^th May at the lovely Jamboree on Cable Street, East London. There will be a mixture of music and other arts with performances from Dimbleby & Capper, Rogue Swan (DJ Walde’s new solo project), Sibylla Meienberg’s monoplay ‘A Love Story’, House of Boing fashion, my band French For Cartridge and a DJ set by Icons of Elegance.

As this is a Sunday night we want to keep performance times early, so get there for the start at 19.15. French For Cartridge will play last at around 21.15.

The second DWD Club night will follow on Sunday 13^th June with an equally stellar line-up. This time we have Icons of Elegance headlining as well as KawaKawa, writer Nina Potell, Tim Parkinson & Angharad Davies, Dinner With Daisy TV and DJ sets by the svelte one. There will also be a premiere performance by Danny Standing of my new theatrical work for solo baritone, Larvae. Larvae uses a dazzling large-format score which is very much part of this metamorphic and enchanting performance.

You can also hear French For Cartridge at 93 Feet East, Brick Lane on Thursday 10^th June when we’ll support Stereo Total at a Bird On the Wire night. Our new album ‘Liquorice’ is still available from all good stores including HMV, Amazon UK and US or iTunes, emusic in digital form to name but a few.

A limited vinyl edition will also be released in July and official French For Cartridge women’s and men’s T-shirts can be found in lots of colours and with a wonderful design by Stephanie Pau on www.totomerch.com/shop/french_for_cartridge. And if you haven’t done so yet, have a look at the videos for our songs by lots of very talented artists on www.youtube.com/frenchforcartridge. The video for A Hundred And One by director Dorna Aslanzadeh has been watched over a thousand times in the last couple of months, making it a little hit for our channel. It is indeed quite an extraordinary video! Let us know what you think!

Sternuere

I leave you with a few tips from Pliny for those of you who suffer from hay fever at this time of year.

“Sneezing, provoked by a feather, relieves heaviness in the head; it is said too, that to touch the nostrils of a mule with the lips, will arrest sneezing and hiccup. For this last purpose, Varro recommends us to scratch the palm, first of one hand and then of the other; while many say that it is a good plan to shift the ring from off the left hand to the longest finger of the right, and then to plunge the hands into hot water.”

(The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855, Book 28 Chapter 5)

Below here you will find all the details for the different events. For more news and last-minute updates you can check my website www.catherinekontz.com or www.myspace.com/catherinekontz.

I wish you a joyful spring!

Valete!

Catherine

Thursday 6^th May Lunchtime concert, RNCM Harp Ensemble at Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. Featuring Anthill for ten harps (a HCMF07 commission). Start 1.15. Free entry.

www.rncm.ac.uk

Sunday 9^th May Dinner With Daisy Club Night featuring French For Cartridge, Dimbleby & Capper, ‘A Love Story’ monoplay by Sibylla Meienberg, Rogue Swan, House of Boing fashion and an Icons of Elegance  DJ set.

Jamboree, Cable Street Studios, 566 Cable Street, Limehouse DLR, Shadwell Tube or Buses 15, 115, 135, D3. Entry £4. Doors open 19.00. Start 19.15.

www.dinnerwithdaisy.com

www.myspace.com/jamboreemembersclub

www.frenchforcartridge.com

www.myspace.com/dimblebyandcapper

www.houseofboing.com

Saturday 22^nd May Salmon Stories at the Natural History Museum as part of Bio-Diversity Day. Next to the Darwin Centre. Performances at 12.00 and 14.30. Featuring Angharad Davies, Ansuman Biswas, Eleri Pound, Henri Vaxby. Conducted by Catherine Kontz. Stage design by DrawnForth Opera Theatre. In association with Spratt and Winkle. Free entry. (Please allow plenty of time to enter the museum as it is a very popular destination for families on the weekend.)

www.nhm.ac.uk

www.sprattandwinkle.org/blog/

www.drawnforth.co.uk

www.angharaddavies.com

www.ansuman.com

www.myspace.com/henrivaxby

Thursday 10^th June French For Cartridge support Stereo Total at 93 Feet East. Doors 7.30pm
Tickets £10 adv. from  http://www.wegottickets.com/event/66886 and https://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=362910

93 Feet East, 150 Brick Lane, London, E1 6RU

www.93feeteast.co.uk

www.birdonthewire.net

www.stereototal.de

Sunday 13^th June Dinner With Daisy Club Night featuring Icons of Elegance, KawaKawa, writer Nina Potell , Tim Parkinson & Angharad Davies, a performance of my new work for solo baritone ‘Larvae’ by Danny Standing, a DJ set by the svelte one and Dinner With Daisy TV.

Jamboree, Cable Street Studios, 566 Cable Street, Limehouse DLR, Shadwell Tube or Buses 15, 115, 135, D3. Entry £4. Doors open 19.00. Start 19.15. Entry £4

www.dinnerwithdaisy.com

www.myspace.com/jamboreemembersclub

www.iconsofelegance.com

www.myspace.com/kawakawamusic

http://thesvelteone.wordpress.com

www.angharaddavies.com

www.untitledwebsite.com

Saturday 19^th June  Anthill and Flyways with 12 harpists in the main hall at the Natural History Museum. Led by harpists Eira Lynn Jones and Rhodri Davies with the harpists of the RNCM.

Free Entry. 13.00-16.30. Concert performances of Anthill and Flyways at 13.00 and 16.00. Flyways installation between 13.30 and 16.00.

The Natural History Museum , Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7

www.nhm.ac.uk

www.eiralynnjones.co.uk

www.rhodridavies.co.uk

www.rncm.ac.uk

www.sprattandwinkle.org/blog

Wintery Dances, Elizabethan Tales, Pontefract Cakes and a Spoonful of Larvae to Beat the Winter Blues!

Whilst the shortest days of the year have caused havoc by painting wintery landscapes and dipping our toes into more snow than we had prepared for, here are seven tips to get you through to spring with a smile on your face.

1. Don’t hide away because it is winter

No, no! Come out to dance! The Växby brothers are back with their new album ‘Dancing Is Easy’ being released in the UK on Dinner With Daisy Records next week. This time Anssi, Harri and Antti are flying over from Helsinki to join Henri here for a few gigs around the country. They will perform tonight, 10th January, in Brighton and tomorrow, 11th January, in London for which I will join them too. And then they are off to Manchester. This is a rare occasion to see the full line-up of the band with their array of weird and wonderful instruments. But if you can’t make the gigs, you can check out this “sweetly downbeat chamber pop”, as Uncut magazine describes it, at Amazon, HMV, iTunes and all good indie shops from 18th January onwards. More info below and on www.iconsofelegance.com

2. Stay warm in bed with bed socks, thermal underwear and a nightcap or headscarf

While this well-meaning advice from the UK government brings the imagery of Max and Moritz’s Onkel Fritz to my mind, looking through my hat collection also gets me in the mood for Gallathea - an Elizabethan theatre play for which I am to compose music to be played by une cartouche (i.e. Henri and myself in our experimental outfit). In fact, Release the Hounds, a theatre company of little means but infinite resolve, will be scratching John Lyly's Gallathea on Monday, 18th January at 7:30pm at the Pleasance Theatre. The performance will run alongside other scratch performances at various levels of development. Gallathea, a play from the 16th Century about cross-dressing lesbians, is a frolic through the woods of confusion bringing together music, dance and acting to entertain and spread joy in the dark month of January.
Tickets are only £3, so do pop in and experience the sheer, inescapable and belligerent wonder of it all.
For more details please visit http://www.pleasance.co.uk/islington/listings?page=1

3. Huddle with other people to conserve body warmth

As well as appearing as une cartouche in Gallathea, we will also perform a set with French For Cartridge at this Pleasance Theatre Scratch night on 18th January. So for £3 you can get 2 for 1 Cartridge Allsorts. From there we will seamlessly slip into a whole world of festivities relating to the release of the new album.

4. Have regular hot drinks and at least one hot meal a day – if possible, eating regularly helps to keep energy levels up during winter

Indeed, as Number 10 suggests we will be serving hot tea to all who like to share our company throughout the week of 8th to 14th February when we set up camp at Speedie’s vintage furniture shop on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch for the FRENCH FOR CARTRIDGE POP-UP SHOP. To celebrate the release of our new album ‘Liquorice’ we have organised a mini-festival of happenings and performances which will take place throughout the week at specific times at the shop and stun and delight passers-by from Monday-morning-bargain-shoppers to Sunday-afternoon-Brick-Laners. Performers include Saltarello, Angharad Davies, Tim Parkinson, KawaKawa, Ansuman Biswas, Sibylla Meienberg, Alexia Anastasiadis, Mika Sellens, une cartouche and French For Cartridge with DJ Walde and one Icon of Elegance. We are also excited to finally put together a performance of John Cage’s ‘Cartridge Music’, the piece we originally took our name from. Furthermore, you will also be able to watch and enjoy the ten new videos commissioned from artists for the songs on the album as well as entering our ‘Liquorice-monkey-competition’. The shop of delights will be open every day from 11AM to 7 PM. Drop by any time, come and hang out or choose a specific performance you want to see. It’s all free and fun and children are welcome too! You can find the full program below and updates on our www.myspace.com/frenchforcartridge

5. In winter cucumber juice as well as rose water is the best option for... ... toning your skin

As part of the pop-up shop, we’ll have an album release party on Friday 12th February from 19.30 -00.30. French For Cartridge will play a set in Speedie’s shop and KawaKawa will support. Apart from extravagant juices and exotic waters which will replenish your complexion, also expect some liquorice liquors and a fun party arranged by the illustrious Speedie himself. It’s free so bring all your friends!

6. Let as much sun hit your house as possible

If you can’t wait until February to hear some of the new French For Cartridge songs, you can already get a digital E.P. of four of the songs including our current single exclusively on the fabulous web-label Ground Lift. If you visit www.groundlift.org you will see that we are in good company there. Otherwise our single is also still available on 7” vinyl from Rough Trade, Pure Groove, Banquet Records and Norman Records stores as well as from iTunes.

We have also started selling some French For Cartridge T-Shirts through the new Totomerch shop where you can now get your hands on the superb Pink Yellow Red and Green design by artist Stephanie Pau with more to come soon. At Totomerch you can choose between a variety of colours, sizes and models and, wherever you are in the world, you can order directly from them by following this link here: http://www.totomerch.com/shop/French_For_Cartridge.

7. Eat a healthy diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables ... and a little protein

Larvae have been a popular part of many diets ever since Roman aristocrats were reported to eat beetle larvae reared on flour and wine. And indeed, on March 25th Danny Standing will perform my new theatrical piece for solo baritone, ‘Larvae’, which combines a slow metamorphosis of an extraordinary score with the witty and game-oriented mind of the performer to create a music that is ‘most special’ as Hercule would say. I will add more information about this event on my myspace site and website as it becomes available.

I will leave you now with these, my seven invaluable tips sourced from the wondrous internet and wish you a happy wintertime!

Below here are the technical details for all the above-mentioned events.

Icons of Elegance - Dancing Is Easy

10 Jan - Get Rhythm Americana Unplugged - The Foundry, Brighton
(FREE ENTRY, 14-15 Foundry Lane, BN1 - www.thefoundrybrighton.co.uk)

11 Jan - EAC - The Slaughtered Lamb, London
(£5 from www.wegottickets.com/event/59998 or on the door,
34-35 Great Sutton St, EC1 - www.theslaughteredlambpub.com)

13 Jan - Iguana Bar, Manchester
(FREE ENTRY, 115-117 Manchester Rd, M21 - www.iguanabar.co.uk)

Gallathea/FFC

18 Jan - Gallathea with une cartouche/French For Cartridge at the Scratch Night at the Pleasance Theatre, Islington.
(£3, Pleasance Theatre, Carpenters Mews, North Road, London, N7 9EF http://www.pleasance.co.uk/islington/

8th- 14th Feb - FRENCH FOR CARTRIDGE POP-UP SHOP at Speedie’s, Shoreditch

To celebrate the release of the new album ‘Liquorice’ by French For Cartridge, Dinner With Daisy Records presents the FRENCH FOR CARTRIDGE POP-UP SHOP at Speedie’s, London 8th-14th February 2010.

81 Redchurch St, London E2 7DJ

www.speediesvintageblogspot.com
www.frenchforcartridge.com

Open 11AM-7PM every day featuring performances by French For Cartridge feat. beat-boxer DJ Walde (8th), Angharad Davies and Tim Parkinson (9th), Icons of Elegance and KawaKawa (10th), a performance of John Cage’s ‘Cartridge Music’ by FFC and guests (11th), Alexia Anastasiadis and a special late-night release gig and party with FFC and support by KawaKawa (12th), sound-installation by Mika Sellens, avant-recorder duo Saltarello (13th), Sibylla Meienberg’s ‘A Love Story’, Ansuman Biswas and une cartouche playing graphic scores from the ‘Carrigal’ project (14th). Plus video installations, exclusive artwork and a ‘liquorice-monkey’ competition.

25th March – new work ‘Larvae’ performed by baritone Danny Standing. Venue in London tbc.

Autumn 2009

C stands for Canvas, Carrigal, Cartridge, C[]tting Edge

Did you know that the letter ‘C’ does not appear anywhere in the spellings of any numbers of the entire English counting system? In combination with the letter ‘a’, however, it proves peculiarly prevalent in its occurrence in the subject-titles of my endeavours this Autumn. As this is the time of year when one wants curl up under cashmere covers with a cayenned cabbage broth and some cardamom cakes gearing up to the customary candle-lit catering of carols and caviar, I hope I can entice you to listen to some recordings of my compositions which have recently been released on the engraved glass label. Or maybe I can draw your attention to an exciting collaboration with artist Harald Turek for which we have combined photographic and musical material based on the Carrigal Farm in County Tipperary, Ireland, and which has been assembled into a one-off book that will be exhibited by A Shoal of Mackerel Publishing in Denmark at the end of October. Or else, can I possibly lure you out of your cosy cottage for a handful of live gigs with my band French For Cartridge or for a performance of my piece for toy pianos and shadow puppets by Kate Ryder at the Cutting Edge Festival?

Canvas

‘Canvas’ comes in the form of a 3” CD and features interpretations of two of my large-format scores: T-Tree for piano solo performed by myself and Cahiers Trouvés for electric guitars and effects performed by Henri Vaxby. It has been released on Jez Riley French’s engraved glass label as a .point engraved limited edition. Being involved in the artistic side of music as a field recording and sound sculpting specialist himself, Jez declares that “the . point engraved editions releases exist simply to release work by artists who I respect, admire or consider friends. Releases are always small limited editions. It isn't a commercial venture - thank goodness!” ‘Canvas’ also got a great review by Richard Pinnell on The Watchful Ear http://www.thewatchfulear.com/?p=1620. You can buy the 21-minute miniature CD and find programme notes, pictures of the scores and all other information on http://engravedglass.blogspot.com/ or buy clicking the paypal button below. I hope you will enjoy it!

postage options

UK £5.00 rest of world £6.00

Carrigal

“Carrigal” is an Irish word which stems from carrig [rock] and geal [bright]. Legend has it that there used to be a large stone circle made of a sort of rock which was very bright. At some point it got ploughed under as a local farmer was afraid of people trudging through his land to see it. Located in the heart of Ireland, the farm boasts 55 acres of land on which reside 67 cows and 2 hereford bulls. This collaborative project compiles photos and field recordings from the Carrigal farm by artists Harald Turek and Triona Ryan with my graphic/musical scores based on data and stories from the farm into a one-off book. Also photographs from Jack Peat, taken in the 1940s and 50s are shown.

To complete the 40 pages of collective artwork, my experimental duo with Henri Vaxby, une cartouche, has recorded a 4 minute piece attempting to recreate the sounds of the farm’s milking machines with Henri on acoustic guitar and myself on piano. This recording will feature, together with the original field recording of the dairy farm, on a one-off 7” vinyl included in the book. A fold-out map presenting the concerted efforts of Triona and myself puts the finishing touch to this extraordinary book about herd 41 in Tipperary, Ireland. Published by ‘A Shoal of Mackerel’, Carrigal will be on show in Denmark at Verbale Pupiller, Arhus Art Building from 22nd-25th October. More details on www.verbalepupiller.dk/english.html and www.ashoalofmackerel.com.

French For Cartridge

In the run-up to the release of the new album of my rock band French For Cartridge, we have booked a few live shows in London. We will play some new material as well as a few old favourites and we will be celebrating the official release of our singles Oooh! and Picture Negative which have gotten great reviews already. Artocker.com think we sound like ‘Mary Poppins on acid’ and Organ Magazine feels that we are ‘still as different as ever, still as unique, still as good’. If you want to see for yourself if our umbrellas and sounds are as spellbinding as Ms Poppins’, come and join us at one of the gigs listed below or buy our 7” vinyl single (which comes with a free download of the songs) from us by following this link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7240622.

October 20th - Monto @ Underbelly, Hoxton Sq

This is a headline show and should be good fun! If you reply to this email with "cheap list" in the subject you'll get in for a bit less and we'll make it all worthwhile. Also playing is John Lawrence from Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. www.themonto.com/listings_detail.php?listings_id=1323

November 11th - Bloody Awful Poetry @ The Lock Tavern, Camden

This is a great club night and it's free! And we'll play a more stripped down set which should be worth catching. www.bloodyawfulpoetry.com

November 25th - Club Fandango @ The Camden Head, Camden

Come and celebrate the official release of our single which should by then be available in all good record shops. www.clubfandango.co.uk

C[]tting Edge

Finally, the illustrious Melusina will once more make an appearance in London, this time, at the celebrated Cutting Edge series of concerts at the Warehouse where pianist Kate Ryder will give an afternoon concert as part of the Sights&Sounds Day on Saturday, 14th November at 13.00.The programme includes Siegfried&Melusina for toy pianos, shadow puppets and a musical box, with puppets designed by Ellan Parry, amongst works by John Cage, Roger Redgate and Erollyn Wallen. The fabulous duo Ah! You Sitting Comfortably featuring baritone Peter Willcock with whom I worked on Shadowplays this summer, are also performing later that day. More details on www.kateryder.co.uk and www.soundandmusic.org/activities/festivalstours/thecuttingedge .

Voilà. That’s all for now. As always you will find any updates or last-minute additions on my website and myspace page. I hope you will have a lovely time drinking hot cacao in log cabins under the mistletoe. And if, within the cacophony of contemporary culture you are keeping an ear out for Santa’s four-legged cavalcade, beware the callous cackle of the cacomistle, a carnivourous cat you would not want to carelessly caress.

I hope you are enjoying a great summer! If you are lucky enough to be somewhere sunny, you may enjoy counting the chirps of crickets to determine exactly how hot it is outside. (Count number of chirps in 14 seconds, then add 40 to get degrees in Fahrenheit. Count number of chirps in 25 seconds, divide by 3 then add 4 to get degrees in Celsius). I find that this helps to set up a simple rule between the number of chirps and the amount of ice-cream necessary to cool you down.



If, on the other hand, you happen to be within London's insect-freer zone next week, come and see my new theatrical project '

at 20.30. As in previous years, there are many other performances to see at the festival so do check out the full programme on http://www.tete-a-tete.org.uk/TAT/schedule . An evening of three different performances will set you back £15. If you only come for our show (which will last about 1 hour), the ticket price is £6 (£4 conc.) . The cast/musicians for Shadowplays include Zoe Challenor, Constanza Ruff, Timothy Hamilton, Peter Willcock, Sebastian Ferrada Garramon, Terry Donovan, Rae Piper, Angharad Davies, Scott Lygate as well as artistic and technical support from Francisca Bancalari, Geir Hytten, Ellan Parry, Eva Auster, Daphne Remoundou, Keiko Sumida, Emma Byrne and Valentina Ceschi. It would be lovely to see you there! More details below.



Also, Henri and I have been recording a new album with our band

foundry - church - field - space

A foundry, a church, a field and the Space - here are some locations worthy of a note that I will be visiting over the next few weeks. Armed with my autoharp, organetta and a handful of screws I will seek to entertain and enchant the few and the many.

Over the last few weeks I have been busy recording another album with my band French For Cartridge. It will be out after the summer but if you want to hear some of the new material now already, come along to one of our gigs. We are back for a Kabarett Spielraum night with art, poetry and music at the Foundry in Old Street next Wednesday, 3rd June. We also share the bill with Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon, Ting Tings and Minipli at the Rock-A-Field festival in my native Luxembourg on 28th June. For these gigs, Henri and I will be joined by Kari Paavola on drums and, for Rock-a-Field, we will also have Anssi Vaxby on bass. More details below and on www.myspace.com/frenchforcartridge.

Another event not to be missed is the Ad Hoc concert at St Gabriel's Church in Pimlico on Saturday 20th June. Organised by a small collective of composers, Ad Hoc's Piano Theatre promises to be 'a night of theatrical and pianistic exploration to entertain, challenge and invigorate you!' Amongst others Al Watson, Will Galton and myself will perform works by Andrew Morgan, Catherine Kontz, Henri Vaxby, Morag Galloway, Raymond Hardy, Jerry Wigens and Tim Bowman.

Leaning on Henri's Finnish/Swedish roots, une cartouche will perform on Saturday 11th July at Maddid's Nordic Festival at the Space. Curated by the Maddid Theatre Company, this two-day festival aims to build bridges between London and Scandinavia and showcase some of the best London-based Nordic performers and artists including Astrid Bärndal, Bottlefed, Maria Korsnes, Sam Coren & Kasper Hansen, Malin Ståhl, Þóra Karítas, Janne Malmros, Imploding Fictions and Víndauga. The complete programme and schedule will be announced soon. Come for Nordic waffles and some Snaps for a summery art weekend on the Isle of Dogs. More details on www.space.org.uk and www.myspace.com/unecartouche.

I am also collaborating with director Roswitha Gerlitz on an exciting Dadaist opera project this summer. It is starting to take form, so if you are interested in the more theatrical side of my work, pencil in the dates of 13th/14th August for a taster performance of 'Shadowplays' at the Riverside Studios as part of the Tete-a-Tete Opera festival. More on this next time.

Here are the addresses and details for the various events.

French For Cartridge at The Foundry
Wednesday 3rd June
doors 19.30 – Free entry
onstage 21.30/22.00
The Foundry
86 Great Eastern Street
Shoreditch
Tube: Old St/Liverpool St
More info at www.myspace.com/ks23 and www.myspace.com/frenchforcartridge

Ad Hoc Piano Theatre
Saturday 20th June
St Gabriel's Church in Pimlico
Warwick Square
Starts 19.30
Tube: Pimlico/Victoria
Tickets on the door £10/£6

French For Cartridge at Rock-A-Field
Sunday 28th June
Rock-A-Field
Roeser/Luxembourg
Tickets 47 €
www.atelier.lu/raf/

Maddid's Nordic Festival
Saturday 11th July
The Space
269 West Ferry Road
London E14 3RS
Tube: DLR Mudchute/Island Gardens
Tickets in advance from ticketweb or on the door. £12/£8 per day
www.ticketweb.co.uk/user?query=search&region=xxx&category=misc&search=maddid
www.space.org.uk

Tickets are £10 from www.spitalfieldsfestival.org.uk

I am very excited about showing all these works at the festival alongside performances by Scottish Opera, Tête-à-Tête Opera, SharpWire, Errollyn Wallen, Chroma and many more.

Ingrained Deeds, Bird Seeds and other Granular Material includes:

- 'Neige', a short staged sound-poem which explores the beauty of the cold and the whiteness of silence gradually being immersed in a bath of warmer colours. A pure voice and a crystal piano draw the audience into a surreal world of snow. Soprano Véronique Nosbaum will join me for this.

-'Twitching' - For a whistling voice and singing birdwatchers. This is a musical fable dealing with captivity and loss of privacy and features Ellan Parry as a soloist.

-Two Fragments of my new experimental opera 'Electra' which has been created in collaboration with designer Ellan Parry (who worked with me on MiE) and librettist Alexia Anastasiadis.

First extract: Prequel; The night of Agamemnon's murder, the servants of the Mycenaean royal house hear screams and gather to talk among themselves. Featuring Brigitte Beraha, Sara Underwood, Melanie Sanders, Louise Adamson, Kathleen Garner, Heidi Pinder, DJ Walde, Edmund Saddington, Danny Standing, Wasim Al-Zibari, Andrew Ballm and Philip Anastasiadis.
Second extract: Electra has tricked Clytemnestra into coming alone to an isolated location, where she will be murdered. As Clytemnestra approaches in the distance, Electra waits. Featuring: Sibylla Meienberg (Electra), Véronique Nosbaum (Clytemnestra).
Musicians include Henri Växby, Allison Rosser, Candida Caldicot-Bull and Troy Banarzi.

Conducted by Tom Shorter.

We are programmed as a 'main course' (between the 'starter performance' and the 'desert') at 20.30 on both nights. It will cost you a fiver (£4 conc.) to see just our show. It may be fun however to watch the other two acts of the night as well (£12.50 for the whole evening) or £25 for the Meal Ticket for which you get served a two-course meal between the performances. For tickets and more information go to www.riversidestudios.co.uk or www.tete-a-tete.org.uk or phone the box office on 020 8237 1111.

It would be great to see you there!!

The rest of the summer I will be recording with cArtridge and roaming around Moscow.

More Seeds.....

One more date for those further up North. I will be performing with Angharad Davies and Jez Riley French in Hull as part of the 'Seeds and Bridges' concert series on 12th September 2008.

Press Release:

Electra

A New Experimental Opera.

by Catherine Kontz, Ellan Parry and Alexia Anastasiadis

An exciting new interpretation of Electra, the classic Greek myth of matricide and revenge which has traditionally fascinated the world of opera, is currently being developed by London-based trio Kontz/Parry/Anastasiadis. This new experimental version focuses on the troubling and gripping story at the myth's core, while flexing expectations and exploring a rich compilation of vocal techniques. The creators aim to deliver a lean and vibrant treatment of this absorbing story.

Extracts of Electra will be staged at this year's Tête-à-Tête opera festival as part of 'Ingrained Deeds, Bird Seeds and Other Granular Material: Neige, Twitching & Electra'.

7th and 8th August 2008, 8.30pm
Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London, W6 9RL

Composer: Catherine Kontz (PhD) Catherine has recently been commissioned for new works by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Rational Rec/London, Centre National de L'Audiovisuel/ Luxembourg and Banque centrale du Luxembourg. She has also written for BJ Cole, Kate Ryder, Rhodri Davies, Ebba Erikzon and Tongue Stuff. In 2006, she produced a sold-out run of her experimental music theatre work 'MiE' at the Space, London. She records and performs with her band cartridge, and is a member of 'une cartouche'. www.catherinekontz.com

Librettist: Alexia Anastasiadis is a writer and artist. Previous projects include Shrines at the Eden Project, a residency at the Tou Scene Arts Centre in Norway, and various works with the Society of Wonders.

Designer: Ellan Parry is a deviser and designer for theatre, opera, dance and live art. Recent projects include Supermarket DJ (Brian/ BAC), The Pink Bedroom (Unspoken Productions), the Terror 2007 season (The Sticking Place) and Carmen (dir. Bill Bankes-Jones). www.ellanparry.co.uk

Doors open 8pm, first act 8.30pm, entry £5

Siegfried & Melusina (for toy pianos, musical boxes and shadow puppetry) for Kate Ryder

On 13th February, Kate Ryder will premiere my new solo piece for toy pianos, shadow puppetry and musical boxes at Liverpool University. The piece is based on the Luxembourgish version of the tale of Melusina, the mermaid who was married to count Siegfried of Luxembourg. Ellan Parry, with whom I have previously collaborated on 'MiE' , 'Neige', and 'Purblind in … The New Adventures of Dead-Eye Parry and the Blindfold Cat', is designing the puppets for the show. Siegfried & Melusina will be performed again in London and possibly in the States later in the year.
www.kateryder.co.uk www.ellanparry.co.uk

'Melusina is said to have been the wife of the founder of Luxembourg, Count Siegfried. When they married, she had one particular request, namely that Siegfried must leave her alone for one full day and night every month, and that he should not ask or try to find out what she was doing. Of course, Melusina was such a beautiful girl, that Siegfried could not refuse her this one small wish, and all went well for years and years, when on the first Wednesday of the month, Melusina would retire into her chambers in the "Casemates," a network of caverns underneath the city, not to be seen again until early light on Thursday. But one day, Siegfried's curiosity got the better of him. Wondering what on earth she might be doing alone all the time, he peeped through the keyhole, and was shocked to see that Melusina was lying in the bathtub, with a fishtail hanging over the rim. As you all know, mermaids like Melusina, have a very keen sixth sense, which tells them instantly that they are being watched, and thus she recognized her husband through the door, and jumped out of the window into the river Alzette below, never to be seen again. -- Except every now and then, some people say they have seen a beautiful girl's head pop out of the river, and a fishtail rippling the calm waters of the river Alzette.' http://www.luxembourg.co.uk/legends.html#melusina

MiE review


The MiE DVD recently got reviewed on the SPNM website for their New Notes Magazine. Here is an extract from it. You can find the whole review on the MiE page on this website or on www.spnm.org.uk

Click here to buy your copy of the DVD for £10

'...the musicians are not hidden away in a pit but are visibly present throughout (possibly due to limited theatre space, but they seem a part of the total theatrical conception) acting like a white-suited landscape to contrast with the mimes. The music does not support the visual action as such but acts as a parallel stream, establishing a subconsciously symbiotic relationship between sound and visual action. The soundworld exists somewhere between an experimental, sometimes ethereal world of recorders, glass harmonica, analogue electronics, and the Wizard's water-based sounds, and a more hieratic, strident brass and percussion-led sound reminiscent of Messiaen and Birtwistle....This DVD film of the event (sold out over a six night run) is very well handled, with the use of subtle video effects in certain sections which serve the piece well....The sheer effort of mounting a large-scale, independent event like this deserves hearty applause for Kontz and her collaborators, but the piece too is well worth exploring and bodes well for future developments.'

Stephen Chase, New Notes Reviews, December 2007


More stuff


On Wednesday, 27th February, Icons of Elegance will be playing the Electroacoustic Club at the Slaughtered Lamb, London. Depending on if the Vaxby brothers need me, I may join the on piano or Wurlitzer. They will probably be previewing tracks from their forthcoming third album which is being mixed at the moment. More info at www.iconsofelegance.com and www.myspace.com/iconsofelegance.

In 2008 you can also expect a new work involving Rhodri and Angharad Davies and a trip to Luxembourg, a concert of new music in Helsinki, Finland curated by Henri Vaxby, John Lely and myself as well as the beginnings of working on a large scale collaborartion with Ellan Parry and Alexia Anastasiadis. There will be some changes and additions to my website with films and recordings of 'MiE', 'Neige' and 'Anthill' coming soon. I will also be starting my own publishing company for my scores, which will be available to buy from my website. My band Cartridge will be recording their second album in April and une cartouche, the free improv duo I have with Henri Vaxby, will have a couple of appearances and a possible release. It should be a very exciting year!

Here's the address: The Space, 269 Westferry Rd, Isle of Dogs, Mudchute DLR , London, E14 3RS

Iris Theatre presents Tony Harrison's first Mystery play: 'The Nativity' at St Paul's Church, Covent Garden, London - 13th-24th November 2007 at 19.30 every night.


This November, Iris Theatre (www.iristheatre.com) will follow up its successful March run of 'Murder in the Cathedral' with a production of Tony Harrison's first Mystery play, 'The Nativity'. It's a new production of a 1985 National Theatre sellout.
The production is being staged in the dramatic setting of Inigo Jones' St Paul 's Church, a Grade 1 listed building in Covent Garden's Piazza. Fittingly, St Paul 's is known as 'The Actors' Church.'

Seven hundred years after The Mystery plays were first conceived, Tony Harrison's earthy poetry rings with the authentic voice of the working men and women who created it. This play is a celebration of English folk culture up to this day. (go to http:en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery play for a history of the Mystery plays in England )

The production will lift your spirits with song, dance and music , and contrary to your memories of Sunday school, is full of laughter, as well as tears.
Iris Theatre is a new professional theatre company born out of the experience and energy of several Central Saint Martins (Drama Centre) theatre graduates.

Performances will run November 13th to November 24th 2007 at 7.30pm every night with Sunday matinee on November 18 th at 3pm. November 13th is the gala opening and press night with invited guests including Dame Judi Dench and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. Please contact Dan Winder (07890) 322 375 for tickets.

Tickets are also available from www.ticketweb.co.uk , 08700 600 100 (£13, £10 concessions). Entrance to the Church on Bedford Street. Tube: Leicester Square and Covent Garden.

'Branches' at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 2007

21st November 2007 - St Paul's Hall - Huddersfiled - 18.00
Rhodri Davies, harp - Eira Lynn Jones, harp
with students from the RNCM, University of Huddersfield and Cheltham's School of Music

Program:
John Cage: Postcard from Heaven
Michael Parsons: Constellations for massed harps
Catherine Kontz: Anthill (HCMF commission)

'This is the debut concert of Rhodri Davies' new ensmble 'branches' where he assembles twenty harpists to perform massed harp music. The infrequently perfromed John Cage's Postcard from Heaven for 1-20 harps calls on the harpists to improvise on ragas. The ensemble will also perform Michael Parsons' pointillistic composition, Constellations, and a new work by the radical composer Catherine Kontz' (from HCMF 2007 brochure)

Here is a bit about my piece:

Anthill the conduct of ant-life with its leader-less social organisation. Like forager ants, the ten harpists independently embark on a cross-country adventure that takes them through ever-changing landscapes. They occasionally stumble on 'trails', 'pick up' objects, 'visit' neighbouring colonies and 'take shelter' from intermittent rains. Although all elements of Anthill are predetermined and composed, the large graphically-inspired score allows the performers great freedom of choice.

Tickets £10 (£8 concession) from www.hcmf.co.uk or box office 01484 430528