"The Ludovico Ensemble, an Ensemble-in-Residence at The Boston Conservatory, presents a concert of the 'Complete Chamber works of György Kurtág with Cimbalom' featuring Nicholas Tolle playing cimbalom."
Hey, I'm a generalist, I know a little about a lot of things. Just enough to be dangerous yeah yeah. But this one exposed a couple of gaps in my knowledge. Fortunately, the press release went on to, um, refresh my memory, with a little help from Wikipedia.
Ludovico is the name of the aversive conditioning program featured in "A Clockwork Orange," which induces nausea at the sight of violence, but also, inadvertently, at the sound of Beethoven. That much, I remembered. The Ludovico Ensemble, founded in 2002 by percussionist Nick Tolle, plays contemporary chamber music. Kurtág is a Hungarian whose contributions to the repertoire for cimbalom are "more substantial than any other composer of his generation." I had a vague idea of the cimbalom as a percussion instrument; turns out it's a type of hammered dulcimer associated with Gypsy music, though a number of composers have written for it. Tolle started playing cimbalom in 2007 because of Kurtág's music.
Thus brought up to speed, I'll tell you that the concert is set for March 23, 2010 at The Boston Conservatory's Seully Hall (8 The Fenway, Boston). Tix are $12, $7 for seniors, free for students with ID. Buy at www.bostonconservatory.edu/tickets or (617) 912-9222.
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