Atop this celebration of premiere recordings is Ukraine’s most famous composer, Valentin Silvestrov, and his Eighth Symphony, unveiled in Kyiv in 2015 where its gloomy nostalgia now seems prophetic. Henry Threadgill showcases his curatorial side in a forthcoming 13-CD snapshot of Downtown free improv praxis that we preview with help from Harriet Tubman the band. Unexplained Sounds Group debuts its own collection of music inspired by David Lynch’s Eraserhead, and if you haven’t been to Georges Lentz’s new Sound Chapel in the Australian outback, we’ll give you a taste of its looped music alongside his apocalyptic violin concerto. Joane Hétu represents Montreal’s vibrant French-speaking avant-garde, while Nick Didkovsky pays homage to Larry Polansky, and creative music stalwarts Ingrid Laubrock, Marilyn Crispell and Dan Weiss explore new surroundings. Sylvie Courvoisier’s prepared piano and Brooks Williams’ AI-generated piano round out the proceedings.
