WOrds of PRaise

MOSAIC MINDS PRESS

“Some Highfalutin at the Loewe”

by John De Clef Pineiro

“...Even more remarkable, however, for its sheer intelligence, pungency, refreshingly original conception and stunning execution, was JoAnne Maffia’s Di-a-Tribal Rant for four voices and muted trumpet.”

The New Music Connoisseur, Vol. 9, No. 2- Summer 2001

DOTTED NOTES

by John de Clef Piñeiro

In Mosaic Minds, presented at the Flux Factory in Queens, N.Y., on October 16, 2003, writer/composer/co-director JoAnne Maffia has produced an important multi-media/multi-movement/multi-dimensional work, encompassing in sight, sound and text a breathtaking range of moments concatenated like fleeting glimpses of the human experience as an evaporating progression.

Employing a broad palette of theatrical, video and acoustic means to heighten an audience’s awareness of the precious passing of seconds, minutes and hours of one’s life and the lives of others, Ms. Maffia brilliantly succeeds in conveying an unsentimental humanistic portrait, an impressionistic "mosaic" gestalt if you will, of a life and lives in process and decline.

With a well-selected troupe of highly-skilled and well-rehearsed young performers, including the very fine flutist Christine Perea, among others, Ms. Maffia has made clear that she is a serious up-and-coming artist to watch for and enjoy in years to come.

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June 2004 issue of The New Music Connoisseur From The Lerkim - James-barry.blogspot.com

Saw many good concerts/exhibits/shows this past fall. Highlights include the Philadelphia Orchestra’s New York premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s percussion concerto with Collin Currie; Wally Cardona Quartet’s Everywhere at BAM with music by Phil Kline, performed by Ethel; though a not well performed, the American Composers Orchestra’s premiere of Michael Torke’s chamber orchestra version of Four Proverbs; was happy to see the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy; seeing violinist Leonidas Kavakos in roles as soloist (New York Philharmonic) and chamber musician (92nd Street Y); a concert devoted to George Perle’s music at Zankel Hall;JoAnne Maffia’s THe jojo EXperiment at McCarthy’s Pub; the Whitney Museum of American Art exhibit of Ed Ruscha; and all trips to the Modern Museum of Art.

Monday, January 16, 2006; Posted by James at 1:56 pm