2024 David Lieberman Artist’s Representatives. All Rights Reserved.
Formed in 1992, the Bang on a Can All-Stars are recognized worldwide for their ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today’s most innovative music. Freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world and experimental music, this six-member amplified ensemble has consistently forged a distinct category-defying identity, taking music into uncharted territories. Performing each year throughout the U.S. and internationally, the All-Stars have shattered the definition of what concert music is today.
Together, the All-Stars have worked in unprecedented close collaboration with some of the most important and inspiring musicians of our time, including Steve Reich, Ornette Coleman, Burmese circle drum master Kyaw Kyaw Naing, Tan Dun, DJ Spooky, and many more. The group’s celebrated projects include their landmark recordings of Brian Eno’s ambient classic Music for Airports and Terry Riley’s In C, as well as live performances with Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Don Byron, Iva Bittova, Thurston Moore, Owen Pallett and others. The All-Stars were awarded Musical America’s Ensemble of the Year and have been heralded as “the country’s most important vehicle for contemporary music” by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Current and recent project highlights include “In C”, a new dance collaboration with Sasha Waltz & Guests based on Terry Riley’s minimalist classic; Can Dance, a brand new multi-media concert pairing composers and choreographers; a new recording of legendary composer/performer Meredith Monk’s MEMORY GAME; Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power for Bang on a Can All-Stars and orchestra, a multi media concert exploring the sonic landscape of the late 1960s; Road Trip, an immersive and visually stunning concert collaboratively-composed by Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe to commemorate the 30+ year journey of Bang on a Can; the touring performances and recording of Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize winning Anthracite Fields for the All-Stars and guest choir; Julia Wolfe’s acclaimed Steel Hammer, plus a moving theatrically staged collaboration with SITI Company and director Anne Bogart; Field Recordings, a major multi-media project and CD/DVD now featuring 30 commissioned works by Tyondai Braxton, Mira Calix, Anna Clyne, Bryce Dessner, Florent Ghys, Michael Gordon, Jóhann Jóhannsson, David Lang, Christian Marclay, Steve Reich, Todd Reynolds, Julia Wolfe, and more; the Lincoln Center Festival 2017 world premiere of Cloud River Mountain, a collaboration featuring Chinese superstar singer Gong Linna; the world premiere performance and recording of Steve Reich’s 2×5 including a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall, and much more. With a massive repertoire of works written specifically for the group’s distinctive instrumentation and style of performance, the All-Stars have become a genre in their own right. The All-Stars record on Cantaloupe Music and have released past recordings on Sony, Universal and Nonesuch.
A seamless integration of cutting-edge music, revolutionary dance, and film. Nine extraordinary choreographers have been commissioned to create dance/films to music written for and performed live by the Bang on a Can All-Stars.
New York Magazine
Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-2023) was arguably the best-known and most successful Japanese musician in the world. Even a casual glance through his portfolio satisfies the question of his iconic status in contemporary music, popular music and film composition. His Oscar for the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci’s, The Last Emperor is certainly the most obvious laurel among a collection of several Golden Globes and Grammys for other films.
His score for the 1992 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Barcelona was viewed by over a billion people around the world. Westerners gravitated to his unique style and aesthetic, thus his association with luminaries of the music world such as Thomas Dolby, Brian Wilson and Laurie Anderson.
The musicians of Bang on a Can All Stars have long adored Sakamoto’s work and in the 1996 project, they carefully transcribe and recreate the same names original recording for live performance, much of it for the first time, as they did previously with Brian Eno’s Music for Airports. The album 1996 includes an incredible selection of tracks, many of Sakamoto’s most well known.
Bang on a Can All-Stars playing 1996 is an exploration, a tribute and a celebration of one of the most influential contemporary musicians of his time.
Embedded within the recording of 1996, Sakamoto included several excerpts from his most treasured film scores, commissioned by many of the 20th century’s leading film directors, thus the reverence for the work
among many film buffs:
“Rain – The Last Emperor”
Director, Bernardo Bertolucci
“Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence”
Director , Nagisa Oshima
“The Sheltering Sky”
Director , Bernardo Bertolucci
“High Heels (Main Theme)”
Director, Pedro Almodóvar
“Wuthering Heights”
Director, Peter Kosminsky
“Acceptance – Little Buddah”
Director , Bernardo Bertolucci
– Classical Voice
Winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize, Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields is a poignant oratorio commemorating the Pennsylvania coal miners whose work fueled the nation. Featuring Bang on a Can All-Stars, local choir, and striking scenography, Wolfe’s acclaimed tribute draws from oral histories, interviews, speeches, local rhymes, and provides an intimate look at a particular moment in the history of industrialization.
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times
READ THE REVIEW >
David Lang creates a new work tentatively titled, “before and after nature”. The work is based upon two works, The End of Nature” by Bill McKibben and “After Nature” by Jedidiah Purdy. Both books discuss humanity’s relationship to nature now and moving forward as the physical planet responds to the impact of human presence in the ecosphere.
The work will be a collaboration between composer David Lang and video and film designer, Tal Rosner. The work will employ an SATB choir minimally of 20 voices, with the work to accommodate ensembles as large as 40. The choir will be locally-based. The Bang on a Can All-Stars will provide the instrumental support.
After more than thirty years of performing together, this sextet has an impressive sonic portfolio to share with audiences. This concert may include work from David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, Ornette Coleman, George Lewis, Julius Eastman, and more.
Brian Eno’s 1978 recording was his first ambient recording. It was the precursor for the broad spectrum of music that is today called ambient, a term Eno himself invented. Composed in the studio, devoid of all but the most basic aspects of song, it challenged listeners to re-imagine what music might be.
A pillar of minimalism, Steve Reich celebrates his 90th birthday in 2026. The All-Stars honor their long relationship with Reich in this performance of one of his most revered pieces. It provides an engaging residency possibility for University presenters as the sextet partners with local musicians to assemble the 18 players for the performance.
– NZ HERALD
For over 30 years, Bang on a Can has been breaking down the traditional barriers that exist in concert repertoire between composers, performers and concert-goers. Our innovative and aggressive approach to programming and presentation has created a large and vibrant international audience made up of people of all ages who are rediscovering the value of contemporary music.
Current and recent project highlights include “In C”, a new dance collaboration with Sasha Waltz & Guests based on Terry Riley’s minimalist classic; Can Dance, a brand new multi-media concert pairing composers and choreographers; a new recording of legendary composer/performer Meredith Monk’s MEMORY GAME; Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power for Bang on a Can All-Stars and orchestra, a multi media concert exploring the sonic landscape of the late 1960s and more…
2024 David Lieberman Artist’s Representatives. All Rights Reserved.
