The name “Eighth Blackbird” derives from the eighth stanza of Wallace Stevens’s poem, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird: “I know noble accents; And lucid, inescapable rhythms; But I know, too, That the blackbird is involved; In what I know.”
Eighth Blackbird is “one of the smartest, most dynamic contemporary classical ensembles on the planet” (Chicago Tribune). Launched by six entrepreneurial Oberlin Conservatory undergraduates in 1996, this Chicago-based group is a fine example of how contemporary music is evolving and changing – daily!
In this episode of American Highways, pianist Guy Livingston brings us an interview with Lisa Kaplan and Matthew Duvall.
AMERICAN HIGHWAYS #76: EIGHTH BLACKBIRD ENSEMBLE
Theme Music :
Steve Reich. The Desert Music (1984)
First Movement (Fast).
Chorus of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Michael Tilson Thomas & William Carlos Williams.
Nonesuch Records 79101
Philip Glass
Two Pages
Eighth Blackbird
Cedille Records 33229
Ned McGowan
Garden of Iniquitous Creatures
Eighth Blackbird
excerpt from live rehearsal at the Doelen Concert Hall, Rotterdam
Bryce Dessner
Murder Ballades
8. Tears For Sister Polly
9. Pretty Polly
10. Brushy Fork
11. Wave The Sea
12. Dark Holler
13. Young Emily
14. Omie Wise
Eighth Blackbird
Cedille Records 33229
Christopher Cerrone
South Catalina
Eighth Blackbird
Cédille 33229
Son Lux (formerly known as Ryan Lott)
To Love
Eighth Blackbird
Cedille Records 33229
