Because of an impending trip to Australia, your błøgger will miss a slew of interesting events in NYC in the coming week. Next weekend sees the debut of 13 Near-Death Experiences, the latest conceptual work by the composer and singer Corey Dargel. Performances are on May 22 and 23 at PS 122, with the men and women of ICE. In 2007 I reported on Dargel's beautifully bizarre theater piece Removable Parts. On May 20 and 21, Pierre-Laurent Aimard plays the three Bartók piano concertos with Jonathan Nott and the Bamberg Symphony. And on May 23 at Tenri Cultural Institute, the Either/Or Ensemble presents three world premieres (by Andrew Byrne, Richard Carrick, and David Franzson) together with specimens of Klaus Lang, Helmut Lachenmann, Hans Thomalla, and John Luther Adams.... Two notable events outside NYC: on May 22, in Boston, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project gives the premiere of a big new piece by Lisa Bielawa — a concerto for orchestra entitled In media res. BMOP has put out several valuable recordings in recent months, notably a disc of Derek Bermel. And the Chicago Opera Theater, one of America's most consistently inventive small companies, is staging Britten's Owen Wingrave through May 26.... New blogs: pianist and author Susan Tomes, critic and feuilletonist Philip Kennicott.
