# Phil Kline

Phil Kline (born 1953) is an American composer, sound artist, and performer most recognized for his Unsilent Night (1992) and Zippo Songs (2004). Beginning as a guitarist and singer in the New York City art punk scene, Kline has since gained notability through his song cycles and theatrical works, musical performance art pieces, work with Bang on a Can, and WQXR's online new-music radio show. With five studio albums to date, a majority of his compositional work can be found on Cantaloupe Music.

## Education and early works

Kline was born in 1953 and grew up in Akron, Ohio. After moving to New York City to pursue a degree in English literature from Columbia University and graduating in 1975, he attended Mannes College of Music. In the late 1970s, Kline began his career as a full-time musician and first joined the band Dark Day with Robin Crutchfield (also of the band DNA). When he left Dark Day, he co-founded the no-wave, art-punk band The Del-Byzanteens alongside filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, author Lucy Sante, and painter James Nares. After these projects, he also toured internationally and recorded with the Glenn Branca Ensemble and began assisting with video projects by Nan Goldin.

## Career

As a continuation of his experimental work, Kline began creating tape-based sound installations for collections of boomboxes inspired by the work of Brian Eno, Steve Reich, and Glenn Branca. The first of these was called Bachman's Warbler (1990), which was written for harmonicas and twelve boomboxes and premiered at the Bang on a Can Marathon in New York City in 1992. The concept behind these pieces later contributed to his Unsilent Night (1992), which has since brought Kline worldwide recognition.
First performed in New York City, Unsilent Night is an annual public performance piece in which anyone may participate. Every December, as part of this performance, a volunteer parade carrying boomboxes and other music players passes through Greenwich Village, presenting an ambient cacophony made of recorded bells, harps, and electronic instruments to the neighborhood. While Unsilent Night features musical references to ancient Christmas music, the piece itself and its performance are not religion-specific. Since its premiere in 1992, the Unsilent Night tradition has spread to over 116 cities around the world, mostly in the United States and Canada, but also to major cities across Europe, Oceania, Africa, and Asia.
Kline's other notable work primarily includes song cycles and opera. Kline's song cycles have historically had political themes, such as his Three Rumsfeld Songs, which borrow text from the Pentagon briefings of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld following the September 11 terrorist attacks and during the War in Iraq. The source for Kline's Zippo Songs (2004), the song cycle for which he is best known, comes from US government-issued Zippo Lighters from the Vietnam War, on which some soldiers etched short sayings or poems. These sayings and poems, compiled into Zippo Songs, therefore offers a lens into the social, spiritual, sexual, and emotional lives of these American Vietnam War soldiers. Zippo Songs was written for singer Theo Bleckmann, as well as for violin, percussion, and guitar. Kline's lounge-inspired, staged song cycle Out Cold (2012)—about the desperation of lost love—was also written for and performed by Bleckmann.
More recently, Kline has delved into the opera genre with his Tesla, which explores the life and works of inventor Nikola Tesla in collaboration with filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, a colleague from their band, The Del-Byzanteens. Kline has also written music for dance and ballet, such as his work for the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Other than these projects, Kline's work includes continuing commissions from Bang on a Can, American Opera Projects, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, WNYC, the New York State Council on the Arts, Ethel and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Jennifer Koh, Muzik3, the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra, the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, and for the Kotschmar Memorial Organ in Portland, Maine. Furthermore, his works have had performances at venues across the world including, Lincoln Center, the Barbican Centre, the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, The Whitney Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Kimmel Center, Trinity Church, Symphony Space, National Sawdust, The Kitchen, and the Badlands National Park.

## Critical reception

Throughout his career, Phil Kline's music has been respected for its experimental nature. The New York Times describes it as having "the tonal richness of Barber, the austerity of Stravinsky, and the harmonic piquancy of Ligeti," and New York magazine has said that Kline "long ago declared independence from any musical Establishment."
Kline's Unsilent Night has been called "a magical musical parade," “a tribute to the joy of caroling" (The Village Voice), and "an ethereal sound sculpture" (The Guardian); it's been noted for the "benign sense of wonder it instilled in observers" (San Francisco Chronicle).
Furthermore, although Brian Olewnick (The Squid's Ear) said that Kline's Zippo Songs has a "lack of memorability," Alex Ross (The New Yorker, The Rest is Noise) described this collection as "one of the most brutally frank song cycles ever penned," and Anne Midgette for The New York Times described it as "brilliant American lieder for the 21st century."
Kline's contemporary adaptation of the Catholic Mass, John the Revelator (2006), was called "offbeat" and "moving" (The New York Times), and AllMusic called it "easily one of the most moving and engaging mass settings in recent memory."

## Discography

Studio Albums :
| Title | Label | Year |
| John the Revelator | Cantaloupe Music | 2009 |
| Around the World in a Daze | Starkland | 2009 |
| Zippo Songs | Cantaloupe Music | 2004 |
| Unsilent Night | Cantaloupe Music | 2001 |
| Glow in the Dark | Composers Recordings, Inc. | 1998 |
| Emergency Music | Composers Recordings, Inc. | 1997 |
Compilation Albums :
| Title | Track | Label | Year |
| Messiah Remix | "Hallelujah!” | Cantaloupe Music | 2004 |
| Ethel | "Blue Room and Other Stories" | Cantaloupe Music | 2003 |
| Renegade Heaven | "Exquisite Corpses" | Cantaloupe Music | 2001 |
| Immersion | "The Housatonic at Henry Street" | Starkland | 2000 |
| The Alternative Schubertiade | "Franz in the Underworld” | Composers Recordings, Inc. | 1999 |
| New York Guitars | "Fantasy on One Note” | Composers Recordings, Inc. | 1996 |
| Bang on a Can Vol. 2 | "Bachman's Warbler” | Composers Recordings, Inc. | 1993 |

## Sources

* ↑ Sisario, Ben (December 3, 2000). "MUSIC; A Provocateur Takes On a New Challenge". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
* 1 2 3 4 Duckworth, William (2013). Virtual Music : How the Web Got Wired for Sound. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 9781136087301. OCLC 826856037.
* ↑ "Phil Kline: Cascades of Vigorous, Multi-Dimensional Sound | New Sounds | Hand-picked music, genre free". newsounds. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
* ↑ "Phil Kline". discogs. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
* ↑ Clark, Justin (November 2009). "Phil Kline '75 Strikes a Chord with Critics and Masses". Columbia College Today. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
* ↑ "Dark Day reviews, music, news – sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
* ↑ BWW News Desk. "Phil Kline's Avant-Garde Holiday Tradition UNSILENT NIGHT to Parade Through 37 Cities This December". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
* ↑ Sisario, Ben (December 3, 2000). "MUSIC; A Provocateur Takes On a New Challenge". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
* ↑ "Your Unsilent Night | WQXR | New York's Classical Music Radio Station". WQXR. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Goodson, Jessie. "Unsilent Night Fills Downtown Athens With Seasonal Cheer". Flagpole Magazine | Athens, GA News, Music, Arts, Restaurants. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "From a 'block-long stereo system,' the stirring sound of 'Unsilent Night' – The Boston Globe". Boston Globe. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
* ↑ "yaledailynews.com – 'Souls' and 'Zippo' are modern classics". May 23, 2006. Archived from the original on May 23, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
* ↑ "#2249: Zippo Songs | New Sounds | New Sounds". newsounds. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
* ↑ Schweitzer, Vivien (October 26, 2012). "'Out Cold/Zippo Songs' at BAM's Next Wave Festival". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Stearns, David Patrick (November 2, 2012). "Phil Kline's staged song cycle: Better seen or heard?". Condemned to Music. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Jahn, Pam (April 27, 2014). "Tesla in New York: Metal Machine Music on Lithium". Electric Sheep. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* 1 2 "Hopkins Center Co-Commissions an Opera by Jim Jarmusch and Phil Kline | Dartmouth News". news.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Mackrell, Judith (June 18, 2018). "Birmingham Royal Ballet: Polarity and Proximity review – dialogues of desire". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
* ↑ "PSNY: Phil Kline Biography". eamdc.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Smith, Steve (August 5, 2012). "Phil Kline's 'dreamcitynine' at Lincoln Center Out of Doors". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Sheridanon, Molly (May 18, 2009). "Sounds Heard: Phil Kline's John the Revelator—A Mass for Six Voices". NewMusicBox. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "Jennifer Koh's Bach and Beyond". jenniferkoh.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "Phil Kline at Pytheas ~ Contemporary, Modern, New, Non-Pop Art Music Composers, Ensembles & Resources". pytheasmusic.org. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Smith, Steve (November 14, 2006). "Music in Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Davidson, Justin (July 2, 2009). "Tiny Blockbusters". New York. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "Phil Kline's "Unsilent Night"". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "ALTERNATIVE CAROLING". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Longley, Martin (December 11, 2014). "Unsilent Night: the boombox choir sweeping America". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Kosman, Joshua (December 20, 2015). "'Unsilent Night' spreads music through Hayes Valley". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "Review: Phil Kline – Zippo Songs (Cantaloupe)". squidco.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "America the Baleful". Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Midgette, Anne (December 12, 2004). "The Best Classical CD's of 2004; KLINE: 'ZIPPO SONGS: AIRS OF WAR AND LUNACY'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "Music in Review". The New York Times. November 14, 2006. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "Phil Kline: John the Revelator – Lionheart, Ethel, Phil Kline | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "Phil Kline / Lionheart (9) / Ethel – John The Revelator". discogs. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "Phil Kline – Around The World in a Daze". discogs. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "Phil Kline – Zippo Songs". discogs. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ "Phil Kline – Unsilent Night". discogs. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
* ↑ Smith, Steve (December 20, 2009). "Kindred Spirits in John Cage and Phil Kline, at Tank". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
* ↑ "Emergency Music – Kline: Glow In The Dark – Composers Recordings, Inc. (Cri): NWCR801". arkivmusic.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
* ↑ "Various – Messiah Remix". discogs. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
* ↑ "Bang on a Can – Renegade Heaven". discogs. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
* ↑ "Various – Immersion". discogs. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
* ↑ "Various – The Alternative Schubertiade". discogs. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
* ↑ "Various – New York Guitars". discogs. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
* ↑ "Bang on a Can – Live Vol. 2". discogs. Retrieved February 20, 2019.