Articles & Reviews
- fEARnoMUSIC lives up to its name — The Gathering Note, April 26th, 2008
- Weekend arts: Wrapped with a bow — The Oregonian, April 20, 2009
- Fear no film music — Northwest Reverb, April 19, 2009
- fEARnoMUSIC: twin sensations of “seeing music” — The Oregonian, April 19, 2009
- Fear no description: a little loose music talk — Art Scatter, April 19, 2009
- fEARnoMUSIC: seriously good — The Oregonian, April 18, 2009
- fEARnoMUSIC gives Oregon a homegrown birthday concert for Oregon’s 150th — Northwest Reverb, February 10, 2009
- Best of 2008 — The Oregonian, December 22, 2008
Acclaim
“If I were giving out MVP awards for the 2009 arts season, this adventurous new music ensemble — fEARnoMUSIC — would be a top contender.”
— Willamette Week
“fEARnoMUSIC just played the rockinest set that’s ever included a waterphone, I’d wager.”
— Pdxpop
“…a concert that dared actually feature composers from our own place and time qualifies as a momentous event. Which isn’t to disparage the remarkable efforts of one of the state’s most valuable performing arts ensembles, fEARnoMUSIC — in fact, it shows just how critical they are to Portland’s artistic vitality.”
— Brett Campbell, Northwest Reverb
“The full FNM ensemble… managed to give Kyr’s euphoric piece (based on an Sacred Harp hymn) the robust energy and focus it demanded, ending the concert on a terrific high note, a satisfying original musical tribute to the state’s 150th birthday.”
— Brett Campbell, Northwest Reverb
“a bravura performance”
— Brett Campbell, Northwest Reverb
“Every time I hear fEARnoMUSIC, I’m amazed that these master musicians, most of whom play leading roles in the Oregon Symphony, can pull off these challenging, never-before-heard works so convincingly in spite of their crowded schedules and no doubt inadequate rehearsal time. It demonstrates their deep and admirable commitment, not just to brand new sounds but also to subsequent performances of older contemporary works, which give the worthiest pieces a chance to enter the repertoire. These intrepid musicians certainly live up to their name.”
— Brett Campbell, Northwest Reverb
“…solo cello from ‘Sept Papillons’ by Kaija Saariaho. Nancy Ives got the most amazing and really weird sounds from her cello, and it was mesmerizing”
— James Bash, Northwest Reverb
“Musically, one of the best moments came in Anton Webern’s ‘Five Movements for String Quartet,’ delicately and evocatively played by violinists Inés Voglar (FNM’s director) and Paloma Griffin, Joël Belgique, viola and Ives, cello.”
— David Stabler, The Oregonian
“The music’s voice and character were crystal clear in Belgique’s capable hands.”
— David Stabler, The Oregonian
“The pack-’em-in concert at Disjecta, called ‘Home Grown,’ added a fresh musical twist to the festivities surrounding the big 1-5-0.”
— David Stabler, The Oregonian
“…the intense percussion work of Xenakis’s ‘Rebonds B’ (1989), which Joel Bluestone played with skill and intensity.”
— Barry Johnson, Art Scatter
“I didn’t know I needed it until I saw it and heard it.”
— Barry Johnson, Art Scatter
“We have to rely on groups such as fEARnoMUSIC for a taste here in Portland. I thought the playing in this concert, which was incredibly demanding, was inspiring.”
— Barry Johnson, Art Scatter
“One of the Best Concerts of the Year… Modernism isn’t supposed to be this much fun.”
— Willamette Week
“…it would be hard to top a concert by a group that lives to its name — fEARnoMUSIC… one of the most unusual programs of the year…”
— The Oregonian
“…they provide a refuge from conventional rules and a chance to listen with a fresh and youthful ear.”
— Willamette Week
“…fEARnoMUSIC has produced stunning performances.”
— Seattle Weekly
“…music performed with energy, intelligence and technical polish… music the performers cared about…”
— Tacoma News Tribune
“Their whole concert showed a playfulness and unpretentiousness, coupled with a passionate commitment to the music, of whatever style, on their program.”
— Seattle Weekly
“…eclectic, intelligent taste in programming and a catchy way with a title.”
— Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“…they shaped phrases with a feel for the music’s language that more famous players at our perennial summer chamber festival have sometimes overlooked entirely.”
— Willamette Week
“…a fascinating program… well-played, with energy…”
— Seattle Weekly
“…extraordinary intensity. The performance was fascinating.”
— The Oregonian
“Best of 1994 — Funniest Entrance: fEARnoMUSIC. The perambulations of the players in William Bolcom’s Duets for a Quintet drew the chuckles they deserved.”
— Willamette Week
“…never expect fEARnoMUSIC’s programming to be doctrinaire.”
— Seattle Weekly