Ken Ueno (1970- )
Winner
of the 2006-2007 Rome Prize, Ken Ueno, is a composer and vocalist whose
wide range of innovative works have been thrilling audiences around the
world. Informed by his experience as an electric guitarist and overtone
singer, his music fuses the culture of Japanese underground electronic
music with an awareness of European modernism. In an effort to feature
inherent qualities of sound such as beatings, overtones, and artifacts
of production noise, Ueno’s music is often amplified and uses
electronics. The dramatic discourse of his music is based on the
juxtaposition of extremes: visceral energy versus contemplative repose,
hyperactivity versus stillness. He engages with multiple modes of
music making: as a composer of acoustic works, as an electronic
musician, and as an improviser specializing in extended vocal
techniques. Ken’s compositional process involves considerable research
into extending instrumental possibilities. First, sounds are
imagined and then “worked out” with collaborating performers to realize
these sounds on their instruments. These sounds are then
analyzed using software in order to derive parametric data that will
inform the structure of the music. The music created in this way
(which he calls “person-specific” music) has depended upon his
long-term collaborations with some of the most remarkable younger
generation of hyper-virtuosic performers, who have developed fluency in
specific timbral control (e.g. overtones, multiphonics, microtones,
etc.), as well as have the speed, the physical endurance, the patience,
and, most of all, the determination to master technique unique to this
music.- Minimum Security Composers Collective
COMPOSITIONS Ueno Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre
The Circular Pentagram, chamber ensemble (1997)
Solemnity and Agitation, flute and piano (1997)
Soliloquy for Violin (1997)
Aquarelle Fantaisie, piano (1997)
An Idea of Order, organ (1997)
La Cles des Chants, high voice and piano (1997)
A Palimpsest History of Canto V, chamber orchestra (1998)
NoHowOn, chamber ensemble; or clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1998)
Yellow 632, 3 percussionists playing Big Bird toys (1998)
Shinju, carillon (1998)
Saturation and Purge, orchestra (1999)
Toxis Chromaticus, string quartet (1999)
Skyline Abstractions, bass clarinet and piano (1999)
Bagatelles, 2 violins (1999)
Music for Oswald's Triptych, electronic music (1999)
Beckett Song, solo voice (1999)
Jusuiraku, orchestra (2001)
Everyday Stuff, any number of children performing amplified found objects (2000)
Senexis Orichalcum, brass quartet (2000)
Zero Cosmology, brass quintet (2000)
La Mere, flute and marimba (2000)
Contemplation on Little Big Muff, amplified cello and amplified percussion (2000)
Introit: Vox Boombox Remixus, [boombox solo] (2000)
Animal Sendai, 18 amplified instruments and electronic sounds (2001)
Red Breast, amplified ensemble of sop. w/digital delay, Eb, Bb, and bass clarinets and harp (2001)
Pharmakon, flute/alto & piccolo, clarinet/bass cl, perc, piano, violin and cello (2001)
WATT, baritone saxophone, percussion and electronic sounds (2001)
Vertical Features Remake 1, amplified mandolin and amplified soda cans (1 percussionist) (2001)
Vertical Features Remake 2 (2001)
Shiroi Ishi (White Stone), vocal ensemble (2001)
Theatre in Music, [marimba] (2001)
Entrtopy of Cigarette Butts Across the Universe, amplified violin (2001)
Vertical Features, amplified mandolin (2001)
...a.m..., percussion quartet and digital alarm clocks (2002)
...blood blossoms... [for the Bang on a Can All-Stars] (2002)
M�rquez for Non Sequitur, fl, bs cl, perc, piano, violin and cello + 7 boomboxes (2002)
Age of Aircraft, amplified cello and electronics (2002)
Oto, piano (2002)
inflation of BUREAUCRACY, voice and quadraphonic tape (2002)
Zansetsu, overtone singer, violin and electronics (2002)
all moments stop here and together we become every memory that has ever been, 14 instruments and music boxes (2003)
Two believers, on opposite sides of the same ocean, transcribing the same sky, at the same time, one at sunset, the other at sunrise, sho and clarinet (2003)
whatWALL?, alto saxophone and electronics (2003)
Apmonia, small orchestra (2004)
July 23,from sunrise to sunset, the summer of the S.E.P.S.A. bus rides, sax quartet (2004)
Aphasia, amplified soprano saxophone, violin, piano and percussion (2004)
Disjecta, horn, violin and piano (2004)
IKU, orchestra (2005)
Kaze-no-Oka, concerto for biwa and shakuhachi & orchestra (2005)
A Book of Months, fl, ob, cl/alto sax, cntra bsn, perc, pf/alto voice, va, doublebass (2005)
...where Ginkgo grow in Borromean knots, Kayagum with Changgu ossia (2005)
Love requited but unfulfilled, under the stars, Sukkeien Garden, Hiroshima, Sunday, August 4, 1945, 12 hours before the bomb, voice, violin and percussion (2005)
Ga-uah-Chon-Ch-cha (a Song of the Rapture), large ensemble (2006)
Motor Skill as Dynamic Constraint Satisfaction, violin and cello (2006)
I screamed at the sea until nodes swelled up, then my voice became the resonant noise of the sea, amplified clarinet (2006)
Talus (solo + live electronics version), viola and live electronics (2006)
Kizu, Koto and voice (2006)
Necropolis, chamber orchestra (2007)
Talus, concerto for viola and string orchestra (2007)
A shorter arrangement of Two believers, on opposite sides of the same ocean, transcribing the same sky, at the same time, one at sunset, the other at sunrise, one which makes the title longer, sho and clarinet (2007)
Hypnomelodiamachia, viola, percussion, and electronics (2007)
Disabitato, piano (2007)
Synchronism Six-Zero, piano (2007)
Variation on Kai's Theme, piano (2007)
On a Sufficient Condition for the Existence of Most Specific Hypothesis, concerto for overtone singer & orchestra (2008)
Like Dusted Sparks, timpani concerto with wind ensemble (2008)
That I may time transend, that a universe my heart may unfold, sho and accordion (2008)
The Vague Border at the Edge of Time, ryuteki, hichiriki, and sho (2008)
Charge of the Malcontents, for any four bugles (2008?)
The Articulate Surface, snare drum (2008)
One by one, I collect the fragments of my song from harmonies which abound in the air unheard, violin and electronics (2008)
I pulse, when you breathe, soprano and alto flute (2008)
Reverse Swastikas Mark the Place of Buddhist Temples, singer and Max/MSP (2008)
Leakage, 8-channel tape and on-stage performer (????)
a thick band of gray, a line that elides the end of day into the beginning of night, for singer and Max/MSP (????)
Shiroi Haru no Hana, voice, violin and percussion (????)
Kage-Uta, throat-singing + Max/Msp (????)
Zatsuon no Kaze, voice, violin and percussion (????)
Huyu no Hana, voice, violin and percussion (????)
Leakage, 8-channel tape and on-stage performer (????)
a thick band of gray, a line that elides the end of day into the beginning of night, for singer and Max/MSP (????)
Kage-Uta, throat-singing + Max/Msp (????)
WORKS BY GENRE Ueno Links ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Music for Oswald's Triptych, electronic music (1999)
Leakage, 8-channel tape and on-stage performer (????)
Orchestra
A Palimpsest History of Canto V, chamber orchestra (1998)
Saturation and Purge, orchestra (1999)
Jusuiraku, orchestra (2001)
Apmonia, small orchestra (2004)
IKU, orchestra (2005)
Necropolis, chamber orchestra (2007)
Large Ensemble
Animal Sendai, 18 amplified instruments and electronic sounds (2001)
all moments stop here and together we become every memory that has ever been, 14 instruments and music boxes (2003)
Ga-uah-Chon-Ch-cha (a Song of the Rapture), large ensemble (2006)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Kaze-no-Oka, concerto for biwa and shakuhachi & orchestra (2005)
Talus, concerto for viola and string orchestra (2007)
On a Sufficient Condition for the Existence of Most Specific Hypothesis, concerto for overtone singer & orchestra (2008)
Like Dusted Sparks, timpani concerto with wind ensemble (2008)
Choral
Shiroi Ishi (White Stone), vocal ensemble (2001)
Chamber
The Circular Pentagram, chamber ensemble (1997)
Solemnity and Agitation, flute and piano (1997)
NoHowOn, chamber ensemble; or clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1998)
Yellow 632, 3 percussionists playing Big Bird toys (1998)
Toxis Chromaticus, string quartet (1999)
Skyline Abstractions, bass clarinet and piano (1999)
Bagatelles, 2 violins (1999)
Everyday Stuff, any number of children performing amplified found objects (2000)
Senexis Orichalcum, brass quartet (2000)
Zero Cosmology, brass quintet (2000)
La Mere, flute and marimba (2000)
Contemplation on Little Big Muff, amplified cello and amplified percussion (2000)
Red Breast, amplified ensemble of sop. w/digital delay, Eb, Bb, and bass clarinets and harp (2001)
Pharmakon, flute/alto & piccolo, clarinet/bass cl, perc, piano, violin and cello (2001)
WATT, baritone saxophone, percussion and electronic sounds (2001)
Vertical Features Remake 1, amplified mandolin and amplified soda cans (1 percussionist) (2001)
Vertical Features Remake 2 (2001)
...a.m..., percussion quartet and digital alarm clocks (2002)
...blood blossoms... [for the Bang on a Can All-Stars] (2002)
M�rquez for Non Sequitur, fl, bs cl, perc, piano, violin and cello + 7 boomboxes (2002)
Two believers, on opposite sides of the same ocean, transcribing the same sky, at the same time, one at sunset, the other at sunrise, sho and clarinet (2003)
July 23,from sunrise to sunset, the summer of the S.E.P.S.A. bus rides, sax quartet (2004)
Aphasia, amplified soprano saxophone, violin, piano and percussion (2004)
Disjecta, horn, violin and piano (2004)
A Book of Months, fl, ob, cl/alto sax, cntra bsn, perc, pf/alto voice, va, doublebass (2005)
Motor Skill as Dynamic Constraint Satisfaction, violin and cello (2006)
A shorter arrangement of Two believers, on opposite sides of the same ocean, transcribing the same sky, at the same time, one at sunset, the other at sunrise, one which makes the title longer, sho and clarinet (2007)
Hypnomelodiamachia, viola, percussion, and electronics (2007)
That I may time transend, that a universe my heart may unfold, sho and accordion (2008)
The Vague Border at the Edge of Time, ryuteki, hichiriki, and sho (2008)
Charge of the Malcontents, for any four bugles (2008?)
Solo Instrument
Soliloquy for Violin (1997)
Shinju, carillon (1998)
Introit: Vox Boombox Remixus, [boombox solo] (2000)
Theatre in Music, [marimba] (2001)
Entrtopy of Cigarette Butts Across the Universe, amplified violin (2001)
Vertical Features, amplified mandolin (2001)
Age of Aircraft, amplified cello and electronics (2002)
whatWALL?, alto saxophone and electronics (2003)
...where Ginkgo grow in Borromean knots, Kayagum with Changgu ossia (2005)
I screamed at the sea until nodes swelled up, then my voice became the resonant noise of the sea, amplified clarinet (2006)
Talus (solo + live electronics version), viola and live electronics (2006)
The Articulate Surface, snare drum (2008)
One by one, I collect the fragments of my song from harmonies which abound in the air unheard, violin and electronics (2008)
Piano/Organ
Aquarelle Fantaisie, piano (1997)
An Idea of Order, organ (1997)
Oto, piano (2002)
Disabitato, piano (2007)
Synchronism Six-Zero, piano (2007)
Variation on Kai's Theme, piano (2007)
The Articulate Surface, solo snare drum (2008)
One by one, I collect the fragments of my song from harmonies which abound in the air unheard, solo violin and interactive electronics (2008)
Vocal
La Cles des Chants, high voice and piano (1997)
Beckett Song, solo voice (1999)
inflation of BUREAUCRACY, voice and quadraphonic tape (2002)
Zansetsu, overtone singer, violin and electronics (2002)
Love requited but unfulfilled, under the stars, Sukkeien Garden, Hiroshima, Sunday, August 4, 1945, 12 hours before the bomb, voice, violin and percussion (2005)
Kizu, Koto and voice (2006)
I pulse, when you breathe, soprano and alto flute (2008)
Reverse Swastikas Mark the Place of Buddhist Temples, singer and Max/MSP (2008)
a thick band of gray, a line that elides the end of day into the beginning of night, for singer and Max/MSP (????)
Shiroi Haru no Hana, voice, violin and percussion (????)
Kage-Uta, throat-singing + Max/Msp (????)
Zatsuon no Kaze, voice, violin and percussion (????)
Huyu no Hana, voice, violin and percussion (????)
Electronic
Music for Oswald's Triptych, electronic music (1999)
Animal Sendai, 18 amplified instruments and electronic sounds (2001)
Red Breast, amplified ensemble of sop. w/digital delay, Eb, Bb, and bass clarinets and harp (2001)
WATT, baritone saxophone, percussion and electronic sounds (2001)
Age of Aircraft, amplified cello and electronics (2002)
inflation of BUREAUCRACY, voice and quadraphonic tape (2002)
Zansetsu, overtone singer, violin and electronics (2002)
whatWALL?, alto saxophone and electronics (2003)
Talus (solo + live electronics version), viola and live electronics (2006)
Hypnomelodiamachia, viola, percussion, and electronics (2007)
One by one, I collect the fragments of my song from harmonies which abound in the air unheard, violin and electronics (2008)
Reverse Swastikas Mark the Place of Buddhist Temples, singer and Max/MSP (2008)
Leakage, 8-channel tape and on-stage performer (????)
a thick band of gray, a line that elides the end of day into the beginning of night, for singer and Max/MSP (????)
Kage-Uta, throat-singing + Max/Msp (????)
UENO LINKS Works by Genre ~ top of page ~
Careers in Composition: Alumni Interview with Ken Ueno (UC Berkeley)
Decoding Ken Ueno (Molly Sheridan, NewMusicBox)
First Meeting with Lukas Foss (Ken Ueno, San Fransisco Contemporary Music Players)
Heavy-Metal Chill Out (JAMES PARKER, The Phoenix)
Ken Ueno BMOP Interview (Boston Modern Orchestra Project)
Ken Ueno Interview (composition:today)
New Faculty Profile: Composer Ken Ueno Seeks Balance, Passion (Kate Rix, UC Berkeley)
Composer's website
Ueno @ American Composers Forum
Ueno @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Ueno @ Composers in Red Sneakers
Ueno @ CrossSound
Ueno @ Facebook
Ueno @ Minimum Security Composers Collective
Ueno @ UMass Dartmouth
Ueno @ University of California, Berkeley also here
Streaming Audio
Ueno @ composer's website
Recordings
[none at the moment]
Ueno @ YouTube & and other streaming videos
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