richard valitutto
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—> 17 june 2022 | now streaming everywhere: Julius Eastman Vol. 2 Joy Boy

———> 19 june 2022 |
"Julius Eastman Vol. 2 Joy Boy" < record release show > @ < 2220 Arts + Archives > dawn til dusk

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julius eastman, vol. 2: joy boy | with wild up

for more information visit:
  • album drop press release
  • new amsterdam records album page
  • wild up album page

"...in its dramatic variation and reverence, Wild Up’s take on Eastman’s work seems particularly faithful to the versatile and cantankerous spirit of the man." — Martin Johnson, WSJ

“["Stay On It"]'s opening stammering rhythm is the lodestar of the piece which gradually devolves into a raucous house party — with caterwauling saxophones and frenzied vocals — then chills into tranquility by the end of its glorious, exhilarating 10 minutes.” — Tom Huizenga, NPR Music

Wild Up - Julius Eastman - Stay On It (single)
Wild Up - Julius Eastman - Touch Him When (Heavy) (single)

—> 18 june 2021 | now streaming everywhere: Julius Eastman Vol. 1 Femenine

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julius eastman, vol. 1: femenine | with wild up

for more information visit: new amsterdam records

to order and stream: songwhip page

"Richard Valitutto, faced with the daunting task of matching Eastman’s work at the piano, switches between a convincing pastiche of the composer’s anarcho-Romantic manner and a crystalline lyricism very much his own."
— Alex Ross, The New Yorker: Julius Eastman’s Florid Minimalism

other reviews and critical commentary in:
  • Vogue | The Radical Queerness of Julius Eastman
  • NPR | A Misunderstood Composer Returns to the Light
  • NPR Music’s 26 Favorite Albums of 2021 (so far)
  • NY Times | From a Composer’s Resurgence a Masterpiece Rises
  • LA Times | Ah, the return of fabulousness
  • Best of Bandcamp Contemporary Classical: June 2021

—> 21 may 2021 | second single from: Julius Eastman Vol. 1 Femenine

Wild Up - Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine, "Unison" (single)
"Unison," the second excerpt from Wild Up's forthcoming album, Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine, is out today.

Due June 18, Femenine presents Eastman’s “marvel of open-form minimalism” (Pitchfork) with an electric performance that vibrates with a frenzied, kinetic energy punctuated by solo features that open up a conversation with the hugely influential composer’s notoriously unorthodox scores.

Stream "Unison" and first single "Prime," and pre-order Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine on CD, here.

—> 7 april 2021 | just announced: Julius Eastman Vol. 1 Femenine

Wild Up - Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine, "Prime" (single)
the first installment in Wild Up's epic Julius Eastman anthology,
to be released on June 18, 2021 by New Amsterdam Records*

a few singles (excerpts) will be released in the coming months
peep the first on YouTube, streaming everywhere this weekend

*(bandcamp: stream entire first track [cliffhanger!] & preorder)

—> 10 february 2021 | "A DECADE OF JULIUS EASTMAN: Developing a Contemporary Performance Practice"
the Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards posted my essay about a decade of researching and performing Julius Eastman's music

—> 20 march 2020 | new solo album released: nocturnes & lullabies

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"stunning solo recital of new work"
~ best of bandcamp: contemporary classical april 2020

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"valitutto creates an almost entirely new landscape of piano music and sound....killer use of dynamics and attack along with pedal deployment of nearly unreal expertise"
~ anearful: of note in 2020 classical

"this entire album grips both performer and listener alike, glimpsing a hazy yet urgent future where nocturnes and lullabies still haunt our dreams"
~ the whole note


"all eight of the works on this album espouse a poetry of sound that invites a kind of expansive introspection"
~ 
gapplegate classical-modern music review

​"clearly a real labour of love...a wonderfully distinctive album"
~ see the full interview with composers edition

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