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Composer Michael Gordon merges subtle rhythmic invention with incredible power in his music, embodying, in the words of The New Yorker's Alex Ross, "the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and the intransigence of classical modernism." Over the past 30 years, Gordon has produced a strikingly diverse body of work, ranging from large-scale pieces for high-energy ensembles and major orchestral commissions to works conceived specifically for the recording studio.
Gordon is known his idiomatic and hypnotic writing for single-instrument, from "Amplified" for four electric guitars, Gordon: Timber for six 2x4s, and Rushes for seven bassoons. He is also rethinking the traditional concert experience in pieces such as Michael Gordon: Natural History (Live), written for the 100th anniversary of the National Parks Service, and performed with musicians spread along the rim of Crater Lake, including a local marching band and a Klamath drum circle.
Gordon's own ensemble, formed in 1983 as the Michael Gordon Philharmonic and renamed the Michael Gordon Band in 2000, has performed across Europe and the United States at venues as diverse as Alice Tully Hall and the punk mecca CBGB. Gordon is also co-founder of New York's music collective Bang on a Can.