Relâche

Relâche is a new music ensemble which for thirty-five years has maintained an international reputation as a leader in commissioning and performing the innovative music of our time.

 

Relâche has a unique sound - flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, viola, piano, bass and percussion, and performs works that are neither classical, nor popular, but somewhere in between - a melding of Western classical traditions with jazz, rock, electronica, world music, and more. Among the oldest continuously operating, non-profit organizations and chamber ensembles dedicated to contemporary music in the United States, to date, Relâche has performed more than 600 concerts in the Greater Philadelphia area, around the country and the globe, including residency, festival and touring appearances in South America, Japan and Eastern and Western Europe.

 

The Ensemble boasts a touring-ready repertoire of over 50 pieces and a repertory library of over 400 works. Nearly 200 of these are Relâche commissions, including works by Robert Ashley, Kitty Brazelton, John Cage, Uri Caine, Fred Frith, Kyle Gann, Philip Glass, Fred Ho, Michael Nyman, Gavin Bryars, Pauline Oliveros, Bobby Previte, George Russell, Somei Satoh, and Lois V Vierk, as well as the three living composers featured on this album.