The Discreet Virtuosity of Dan Siegler
Siegler is without a doubt one of the most recommendable creative surprises of contemporary music.
The music of Dan Siegler has been described as “sumptuous, ceremonial and jazzy.” One thing is certain, this New York-born composer is everything except orthodox, and his music lends itself to descriptions verging on oxymoron: Unlike other, more traditional composers who begin by writing a harmony or a melody, Siegler first conceives the sounds and then mounts an entire orchestra upon them, or sometimes, an instrumental drama. His work always combines organic and electronic elements, and incorporates jazz, blues and folk references.
Siegler plays classical piano since the age of four and at university he formed his first rock ‘n roll band. Later he began to push the boundaries of the New York scene absorbing the abrasive sounds of hip-hop and No Wave. If we pay attention we can hear in his recordings the infallible influence of David Bowie and Brian Eno, and a crystalline technique only attributable to US pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, and with whom he shares hiss disdain for virtuosity and the affinity for creative discretion.
But his collaborations with the brilliant choreographer Pam Tanowitz deserve special attention. This is where Siegler has found a shining path to project his work and make himself known as the excellent and rare composer that he is. His collaborations with Tanowitz have been presented in Work & Process in the Guggenheim, in the Danspace Project, at the Summerstage in Central Park and the Lincoln Center, to mention a few, and he received the Bessie Award for his soundtrack for Be in The Gray With Me, a choreography by Tanowitz for the Dance Theater Workshop.
Siegler is without a doubt one of the most virtuoso composers (without virtuosity) in the history of music. As a teaser we share with you a recording from his beautiful String Noise:
Dan Siegler with celebrated choreographer Pam Tanowitz and Shohei Shigematsu, principal architect from OMA, have been commissioned by Faena Art to create a site-specific performance of cross-disciplinary choreograhy for Faena Forum, to be opened soon in Miami Beach.
Related Articles
When ancient rituals became religion
The emergence of religions irreversibly changed the history of humanity. It’s therefore essential to ask when and how did ancient peoples’ rituals become organized systems of thought, each with their
Seven ancient maps of the Americas
A map is not the territory. —Alfred Korzybski Maps are never merely maps. They’re human projections, metaphors in which we find both the geographical and the imaginary. The cases of ghost islands
An artist crochets a perfect skeleton and internal organs
Shanell Papp is a skilled textile and crochet artist. She spent four long months crocheting a life-size skeleton in wool. She then filled it in with the organs of the human body in an act as patient
A musical tribute to maps
A sequence of sounds, rhythms, melodies and silences: music is a most primitive art, the most essential, and the most powerful of all languages. Its capacity is not limited to the (hardly trivial)
The enchantment of 17th-century optics
The sense of sight is perhaps one the imagination’s most prolific masters. That is why humankind has been fascinated and bewitched by optics and their possibilities for centuries. Like the heart, the
Would you found your own micro-nation? These eccentric examples show how easy it can be
Founding a country is, in some ways, a simple task. It is enough to manifest its existence and the motives for creating a new political entity. At least that is what has been demonstrated by the
Wondrous crossings: the galaxy caves of New Zealand
Often, the most extraordinary phenomena are “jealous of themselves” ––and they happen where the human eye cannot enjoy them. However, they can be discovered, and when we do find them we experience a
Think you have strange reading habits? Wait until you've seen how Mcluhan reads
We often forget or neglect to think about the infinite circumstances that are condensed in the acts that we consider habitual. Using a fork to eat, for example, or walking down the street and being
The sky is calling us, a love letter to the cosmos (video)
We once dreamt of open sails and Open seas We once dreamt of new frontiers and New lands Are we still a brave people? We must not forget that the very stars we see nowadays are the same stars and
The sister you always wanted (but made into a crystal chandelier)
Lucas Maassen always wanted to have a sister. And after 36 years he finally procured one, except, as strange as it may sound, in the shape of a chandelier. Maassen, a Dutch designer, asked the