Friday May 30, 2008 (8:30pm)
Saturday May 31, 2008 (8:30pm)
Tossing Western music's standard 12-tone scale to the curb, avant-garde oddity Harry Partch created his own 43-note intonation system, then handcrafted instruments to play within it — not bad for a Depression-era grifter who was once a rail-riding hobo. It was a fascinating way to work, but, unfortunately, one that made reproduction of his compositions nearly impossible. In Thursday's rare performance at Redcat, John Schneider brandishes a number of Partch's sculpturelike instruments, reviving the African and Latin polyrhythms and bizarre string hammerings of hybrid theatrical piece Plectra and Percussion Dances: Satyr-Play Music for Dance Theater for the first time since 1953.
– Andrew Phillips