Fall’s Fresh Faces

Music

Bang on a Can All Stars, new music ensemble

Look for: The L.A. debut of the group, performing its version of Brian Eno’s “Music for Airports” at the El Rey Theater on Oct. 19.

Why it matters: Loosely created in 1989 to perform at the annual Bang on a Can festivals of new music in New York, the six-member All Stars has become not just one of the most celebrated but also one of the hippest new music groups. The festival--which was started by three composers, classmates at Yale in the ‘80s, at funky downtown venues and was moved a few years ago to Lincoln Center--has made a name for itself by being determinedly non-doctrinaire. Uptown academic music, downtown improvisation, Minimalism, pop and experiments with just about anything are all welcome. Variety and inclusiveness is the thing.

This ears-wide-open attitude, along with an ability to make connections no one else would ever think of, has resulted in one of the All Stars’ most inspired projects. For a CD, each of the festival’s founding composers--Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe, along with the All Stars’ clarinetist Evan Ziporyn--made arrangements of Brian Eno’s environmental, droning background music, “Music for Airports.” The release on Point Music has been a hit. What many of us overlooked as too minimal suddenly sounds important, with striking instrumental textures. Live, it’s supposed to be even better. With it the New Age has at long last matured into a substantial middle age.

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Unsuk Chin, 37, composer

Look for: “Akrostichon-Wortspiel” (Acrostic Wordplay), a piece for soprano and 11 instruments that will be given its U.S. premiere by the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group at Japan America Theatre on Nov. 17.

Why she matters: The urge, and increasingly the compulsion, to meld East and West has become central to our global postmodern culture, and it is of particular concern in modern music. All century long, Western composers have had an eye on the East and few can escape its pull anymore. But young Asians are practically born now with a foot in each culture.

Unsuk Chin, who is Korean but based in Berlin, is an exciting example of just how interesting straddling the world can be. You can’t tell from her music whether she is Asian or European. In fact, you can’t pin much of anything down in her fantastical, wonderfully alluring “Acrostic Wordplay,” completed in 1993. Chin moves effortlessly between composing electronic music and works for traditional instruments, and though there are no electrons floating through this work, the instrumental sounds have a loudspeaker sheen. The text evokes fairy tales but the words are in a made-up language. Nothing is real.

MORE FALL PREVIEWS

Friday Calendar: A phalanx of fall’s first movie reviews.

Saturday: Give a hand to puppets--they’re everywhere.

Sunday: Fall Sneaks--a look at the coming movies.

Sept. TK: Howard Rosenberg reviews the new television series.

Sept. 20 TV Times: Our complete season preview.