As part of To the Fullest, a multi-month series, the music of Julius Eastman and Arthur Russell will be coming to the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Tuesday, March 4, at 7:00 PM. Under the guidance of conductor/music director Christopher Rountree and his Wild Up collective, these late composers will be honored in a concert playing selected works across two careers that flew under the radar during their time but later found their way to the ears of the right people.

Tickets for the concert are available now. Similar to the many shows we write about, especially at the Walt Disney Hall, Grimy Goods will be giving away tickets to this concert. Subscribe to our newsletter and/ or follow Grimy Goods on Instagram for a chance to win a pair of tickets. The giveaway will be announced soon.

Words: David Sosa

Late, great composers

Although Arthur Russell is perhaps the most recognized of the two, Julius Eastman left behind his own expansive legacy independent of their artistic relationship. Hailing from New York, Eastman immersed himself in music composition early on, first through the piano and then formally in his college years. Later, in the 70s, he managed to move between scenes in New York City, ranging from the experimental to the classical. That cross-pollination is what quickly distinguished Eastman and attracted the similarly brilliant Russell. However, both would largely remain in obscurity until their untimely deaths in the early 90s.

As for Russell, he’s experienced somewhat of a rebirth thanks to carefully handled posthumous releases that expanded upon World of Echo, the only album he dropped in his lifetime. The composer/cellist was a perfectionist through and through, often composing countless versions of his music across wide-ranging disco, folk, and ambient eras. After his death, Russell’s music finally found an audience over time, inspiring artists like Blood Orange and astounding listeners with how ahead of his time he was. Even today, many full-length compilations and albums are released regularly, often to universal acclaim that neither he nor Eastman ever saw in their lives.

A fellow vanguard

For conductor Christopher Rountree, performing the works of Eastman and Russell is right up his alley. An experimentalist in his own right, Rountree routinely pushes the boundaries of classical music, whether it’s through Wild Up, his LA-based experimental ensemble, or the unique shows he has conducted over the years. At the Hall alone, he’s mostly known for being one of the minds behind FLUXUS Festival, an LA Phil music program meant to recognize and showcase experimental music for their 100th anniversary.

With FLUXUS, Rountree curated a program dedicated to forward-thinking minds not often placed alongside one another or even thought of as contemporaries due to their idiosyncrasies. In 2019, he served as conductor for an excerpt of “The Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart, a concert that moved through disciplines for an engrossing audio and visual experience. To say Rountree is worthy of conducting the music of Eastman and Russell would be an understatement, especially when he’s proven time and time again he understands what it means to be a vanguard in classical music.

Enhance your experience

Considering there is so much history behind Eastman and Russell, there are opportunities before the concert to know more about the compositions being performed, from “The Arthur Russell Songbook” to “Gay Guerrilla.” From March to April, Wild Up and other groups are putting together an exhibit and performances for Eastman and Russell. Titled To the Fullest, inspired by a defining quote from Eastman, the multi-disciplinary experiences are the kaleidoscopic and arguably proper way of dissecting two artists far beyond their time.

Before the actual concert on Tuesday, March 4, composer Veronika Krausas will be at Upbeat Live at the BP Hall (at the Walt Disney Concert Hall). The event, which comes free with tickets, finds Krausas and others giving a formal introduction to the program. For any questions about the performance or the two artists themselves, guests will be able to participate in a Q&A meant to help them understand the wealth of music left behind by Eastman and Russell.

While Eastman and Russell went unappreciated when they were still with us, that doesn’t mean their music has to fall into obscurity. With the help of Rountree, who understands these artists in a way most do not, guests will be able to open themselves up to a side of music that would otherwise be lost if it weren’t for the careful preservation and subsequent appreciation of art finally finding its place in the world.

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