It's well-known that New Yorkers have a particularly high tolerance for unusual, high-concept art. So it's no surprise that the city would attract an avant-garde music specialist like Paris-born Marc Ponthus. The Founder and Director of Mannes College's Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance (IFCP), Ponthus is a passionate promoter and interpreter of avant-garde piano music.

In this June 21 installment of the IFCP's residency at (Le) Poisson Rouge, Ponthus is featured not only as a pianist but also as a composer working under the nom de plume, Outis. Joining him are guests performing his own works and those of Jean Barraqué.

In addition to his role with the IFCP, Marc Ponthus has made a name for himself as the first soloist to play concerts entirely of a single composer of the post WWII era, including the complete piano works of contemporary giants Iannis Xenakis, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez. A master of the most complex piano scores, he has given numerous premieres and has recorded the complete piano music of Xenakis for Neuma Records.

Listen to the entire concert from (Le) Poisson Rouge above or excerpts below, and don't forget to poke around the Q2 Live Concert archive for more exciting live performances at your fingertips. You can access Q2 24/7 through our pop-out audio player or iTunes.

(L)PR’s Technical Director is Richie Clarke and this concert was mixed by Damon Whittemore.

Program

Violinist Rachel Field opens the program with the U.S. premiere of Jean Barraqué's Sonata for Violin.

The following works are all composed by Outis:

Eclipse

Prelude to Post-Territory

Monade, played by guitarist Nadav Lev.

Post-territory II

Introduction to Fold