Press reaction to Tri-Centric Ensemble's (1995) New York Debut at The Kitchen

Dates: Thursday, Feb. 9; Friday, Feb. 10; and Saturday, Feb. 11
Times: Lectures, 7 p.m.; Concerts, 8 p.m.
Place: The Kitchen, 512 W. 19th St., New York City

"Braxton has taken the [MacArthur] award as an opportunity to explore [his music's] extended implications, starting with a recent three-night retrospective at New York's contemporary music/performance art theater The Kitchen three smashingly successful evenings Putting his money where his mouth is, here he conducted some of his most far-reaching works completely stimulating performances -- spellbinding, in fact the performances were wonderful, bringing the strange mixture of science-fiction fantasy and music theory in '175' to life, and making the optimistic endpoint of '126' -- which also contained a pointed, bitter attack on the 'king of jazz' concept and jazz journalism in general -- ring out with hope for future generations of music lovers."
-- John Corbett, Down Beat

"Never one to do anything small, Braxton has organized the Tri-Centric Foundation to present a three-night showcase of his new 35-piece orchestra Braxton, who has probably played every reed instrument ever built, has a long history with big, extended pieces, and he'll offer a retrospective of his output over the past 25 years, ranging from early compositions on opening night to his most expansive works to date -- with actors, singers, video -- on the closing."
-- Gary Giddins, Village Voice (Voice Choice)

"Mindful as he is of music's profound implications, [Braxton] doesn't neglect the pleasure principle. No heady composer conveys more joy through his music, joy detectable in his spirited, shimmying conducting, and in the hilarious librettos to Saturday's two opera-oratorios Friday's show offered evidence that no one programs a set more skillfully, for orchestra no less than jazz quartet The composer gives his musicians lots of leeway, interpreting scores and improvising transitions, and they made the music breathe, terrified as some players confessed to be. Braxton's no dummy: if he's had trouble finding musicians who can play such demanding stuff, he'll create them himself."
--Kevin Whitehead, Village Voice

"Opportunities to hear large ensemble music of this difficulty played this well are rare, but the opening night's performance had a degree of focus and inspiration that made the thick scores and knotty orchestrations sparkle."
--John Corbett, Chicago Tribune

"Composition 96 was performed beneath a shaky slide show that contrasted symmetrical man-made forms, like a stained-glass window, with unruly natural ones, like rocks and plants. The music had no divided loyalties; it preferred asymmetry. Like a forest or a city, it was full of simultaneous, independent activity: burbles and rustles, fast swoops of melody, fragments of jazzlike themes and slower sustained lines and clusters. Every so often, the bustle would subside to an eerie, floating chord, then gradually reawaken for another intriguing welter of musical information
--Jon Pareles, New York Times