PUNTO – gustavo matamoros

PUNTO was a composer-based ensemble founded in Miami in 1990 by Gustavo Matamoros and Armando Rodríguez Ruidíaz. Independent but closely aligned with Subtropics, it began as a way to explore conceptual and indeterminate scores. Its repertoire included music by its members as well as works by composers whose scores invited performers to make consequential decisions about their realization.

PUNTO was not organized around fixed instrumentation or a single method. It evolved with every piece it undertook, drawing upon new and old technologies, changing combinations of sound and image, and the particular interests of its members. After moving to Miami from Cuba in the mid-1990s, Julio Roloff became a core member. Numerous guest artists—including Robert Gregory, Russell Frehling and Jan Williams—also participated in projects that expanded the ensemble’s possibilities.

Following an active period that lasted through 1995, PUNTO entered a long hiatus. When Armando retired from his banking career and returned to composition, the ensemble reappeared in 2013 with Flow, an eight-source sound installation created for Listening Gallery. Its subsequent projects continued to evolve according to its members’ interests and the conditions of the group, moving freely among composed music, improvisation, installation, electronics and audiovisual work.

That ability to change was PUNTO’s continuity. After its later projects, I believe the ensemble finally reached its limit. The performance history below traces the forms it took along the way.

PERFORMANCE HISTORY

February 5, 1991

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

World Premiere Concert
Music by Rolf Julius, Holland Hopson, Gustavo Matamoros and Armando Rodríguez
PUNTO: Gustavo Matamoros and Armando Rodríguez
Performing Arts Series
Bonnie Miller, program coordinator
Miami-Dade Community College, North Campus
North Miami, Florida

PROGRAM

Solitary Piano Concerto — Rolf Julius; realized by PUNTO
Quartet 60 × 88 × 120 × 208 — Holland Hopson
Occupied Space — Armando Rodríguez
In Memory of Gentle Giant — Gustavo Matamoros
Triangular — Armando Rodríguez; world premiere

Yellow-orange program cover with black lettering announcing PUNTO’s February 5, 1991 concert at Miami-Dade Community College. — Program cover for PUNTO’s World Premiere Concert, February 5, 1991, Miami-Dade Community College, North Campus.

April 13, 1991

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Subtropics 3 Marathon
Music by Holland Hopson, Gustavo Matamoros, Robert Gregory and Armando Rodríguez
Performed by Robert Gregory, Gustavo Matamoros and Armando Rodríguez
Miami-Dade Public Library, Main Branch
Miami, Florida

PROGRAM

Quartet 60 × 88 × 120 × 208 — Holland Hopson
Occupied Space — Armando Rodríguez
Lo Bueno Sería — Gustavo Matamoros, with poetry by Robert Gregory

Black-and-white PUNTO program page listing three compositions, followed by program notes and biographical information. — Program page for PUNTO’s appearance at the Subtropics 3 Marathon, April 13, 1991, Miami-Dade Public Library Main Branch.

June 27, 1991

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Music Out of a Cage
Music by Earle Brown, John Cage, Robert Gregory, Gustavo Matamoros and Armando Rodríguez
Performed by Robert Gregory, Gustavo Matamoros and Armando Rodríguez
Center for the Fine Arts—now Pérez Art Museum Miami
Miami, Florida

PROGRAM

Cartridge Music — John Cage
Triangular — Armando Rodríguez
Crypsis — Robert Gregory and Gustavo Matamoros
Mobile Textures — Armando Rodríguez
To the Victims — Gustavo Matamoros
December 1952 — Earle Brown
Lo Bueno Sería — Gustavo Matamoros, with text by Robert Gregory

Minimal black-and-white program cover with the words “PUNTO: Music Out of a Cage” and the date June 27, 1991. — Program cover for PUNTO: Music Out of a Cage, June 27, 1991, Center for the Fine Arts, Miami.

Black-and-white publication page with concert descriptions, photographs and separate sections devoted to Margaret Leng Tan and PUNTO. — Page from the Center for the Fine Arts’ iConcerts publication announcing PUNTO’s Music Out of a Cage program, June 27, 1991.

April 5, 1992

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

In State of Fluxus
A program of classic Fluxus works co-curated by Gustavo Matamoros and Russell Frehling from the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Collection
Subtropics 4
Cameo Theater
Miami Beach, Florida

PUNTO ENSEMBLE

Core members: Gustavo Matamoros and Armando Rodríguez
Special guests: Robert Gregory and Russell Frehling
Guest performers: Eduardo Amaral, FIU Winds, Orlando Garcia, Jef Laibson, Bobby Lombardi, Jon C. Nelson, Robert Mark Parker, Barbara Rodríguez, Doris Ronai, Adriana Sauchenco, Arline Sobalvarro and Deborah Vuxum

PROGRAM

Overture — Benjamin Patterson
Orchestra Piece #4 — Ben Vautier
Organic Music — Takehisa Kosugi
Pendulum Music — Steve Reich
Piano Piece #11 — George Maciunas
Audience Variation #10 — Ben Vautier
Piano Piece #5 — Toshi Ichiyanagi
Solo for Conductor — George Maciunas
Symphony #2 — George Brecht
Disappearing Music for Face — Chieko Shiomi
Octet for Winds — George Brecht
Fluxation #2 — Russell Frehling
Heavy Metal — Gustavo Matamoros
Event 10 — Robert Watts
Flux Radio Video — Takehisa Kosugi
Incidental Music #2 — George Brecht
Piano Piece #13 for Nam June Paik — George Maciunas

Black-and-white photograph of Russell Frehling bending over a raised platform and manipulating a container during a performance. — Russell Frehling performing the world premiere of Fluxation #2 during PUNTO: In State of Fluxus, April 5, 1992, Cameo Theater, Miami Beach.

“Avant-garde Sights And Sounds At Subtropics Music Festival – Sun Sentinel” — Articles.sun-sentinel.com. 1992-03-08. Retrieved 2012-07-16.

April 13, 1992

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Hexagonal Galleries
World premiere
Music by Armando Rodríguez, based on Jorge Luis Borges’s short story The Library of Babel
Subtropics 4
Wolfson Auditorium, Miami-Dade Community College
Miami, Florida

PROGRAM

The Hexagonal Galleries — Armando Rodríguez

The Hexagonal Galleries
The Mirror
The Spiral Staircase
MCVMCVMCVMCVMCV
Labyrinth
Cryptographs
Limitless and Periodic

PUNTO ENSEMBLE

Armando Rodríguez, keyboards
Gustavo Matamoros, keyboards
Carmen Carrodeguas, guest artist, piano

“PUNTO hexagonal galleries — Calendar, Miami New Times” 1992.04.08. Subtropics Archives

March 26, 1993

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Round Trip Miami/Madrid
Music by Ramón González-Arroyo, Marisa Manchado, Gustavo Matamoros and Armando Rodríguez
Featuring guest percussionist Keith Aleo
Subtropics 5
Wolfson Auditorium, Miami-Dade Community College
Miami, Florida

PROGRAM

Portrait of Keith Aleo (1991) — Gustavo Matamoros; performed by Keith Aleo; world premiere
d MnStR (1988), for tape — Ramón González-Arroyo
Obertura (1990), for tape — Marisa Manchado; world premiere
A Quiet World (1993), for voice and tape — Armando Rodríguez; composed and performed by Armando Rodríguez; world premiere

Spanish-language newspaper clipping with a large vertical headline, two columns of text and a photograph of Gustavo Matamoros and Armando Rodríguez leaning toward the camera. — “Subtropics explora el sonido,” by Paloma Villaverde, El Nuevo Herald, March 26, 1993.

Subtropics explora el sonido, Al Ritmo – Paloma Villaverde, El Nuevo Herald. 1993.03.26. digital image [png]. Subtropics Archives

April 30, 1994

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Of Cycles and Water
A two-and-a-half-hour performance and sound installation by Gustavo Matamoros and Julio Roloff
Center for the Fine Arts—now Pérez Art Museum Miami
Miami, Florida

Black-and-white program page with widely spaced lettering announcing PUNTO: Of Cycles and Water and naming Gustavo Matamoros and Julio Roloff. — Program for PUNTO: Of Cycles and Water, a performance and sound installation by Gustavo Matamoros and Julio Roloff, April 30, 1994, Center for the Fine Arts, Miami.

April 5, 1995

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Fluxfested
Featuring Shahreyar Ataie, Steve Bolman, Amy Cappallazzo, Russell Frehling, Jef Laibson, Ricky Leath, Gustavo Matamoros, Nina Plot and David Weisbrot
Subtropics 7
Centre Gallery, Miami-Dade Community College
Miami, Florida

PROGRAM

Audience Piece — Gustavo Matamoros
Hens — Ben Vautier
Instruction for Radio — George Brecht
Fluxaction IV, Variation 1 — Russell Frehling
Zyklus — Tomas Schmit
Cheaper Imitation — Gustavo Matamoros
Drip Music, Fluxversion 1, No. 2 — George Brecht; arranged by PUNTO
In Memoriam to George Maciunas No. 2 — Robert Bozzi; arranged by PUNTO
Fluxation III — Russell Frehling
Flux Radio/TV Piece — Takehisa Kosugi
Solo for Rich Man — George Maciunas
Piece for Winds — Joe Jones
South No. 2 (to Nam June Paik) — Takehisa Kosugi; arranged by PUNTO
Fluxversion I — George Brecht
C/T Trace — Robert Watts; arranged by PUNTO
Music for Two Players — Mieko Shiomi
Fluxversion V — George Brecht; arranged by PUNTO
Flute Solo — George Brecht
Orchestra — Ken Friedman
Fluxaction V — Russell Frehling
Incidental Music, Nos. 2 and 3 — George Brecht; arranged by PUNTO
12 Piano Compositions for Nam June Paik, Nos. 8 and 9 — George Maciunas
Piece for Any Number of Vocalists — Alison Knowles

Newspaper review with a large headline, two columns of text and a small portrait of Gustavo Matamoros. — “Fluxus flexes hens, hacksaw and funnybone,” a review of PUNTO’s Fluxfested by Tim Smith, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, April 8, 1995.

November 30, 1995

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

RE Disobedience — Songs of Order and Disorder
The Black Box Project
Ground Level Gallery
Miami Beach, Florida

PERFORMERS

Shahreyar Ataie, pails
Gustavo Matamoros, electronics and voice
Armando Rodríguez, voice
Julio Roloff, percussion and electronics
Jan Williams, special guest, clay pots, snare drum and voice

PROGRAM

A Quiet World, for voice and tape — composed and performed by Armando Rodríguez
Zyklus, for multiple pails — Tomas Schmit; performed by Shahreyar Ataie
The Williams Tell of Rights, a song for snare drum — Gustavo Matamoros; written for Jan Williams
Voces, for percussion, electronic instruments and tape, with text by José Martí — composed and performed by Julio Roloff with assistance from Gustavo Matamoros
Enclosures with Dreams and Spirits, a song for electronic devices — composed and performed by Gustavo Matamoros
To the Earth, for voice and clay pots — Frederic Rzewski; composed for Jan Williams

Black-and-white poster with the PUNTO name above the large words “RE: Disobedience — Songs of Order and Disorder.” — Poster for PUNTO: RE Disobedience—Songs of Order and Disorder, November 30, 1995, Ground Level Gallery, Miami Beach.

June 12–July 28, 2013

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Flow
World premiere
Eight-source sound installation by PUNTO: Armando Rodríguez and Gustavo Matamoros
Unpredictable Patterns of Behavior
Curated by Ombretta Agró
Listening Gallery, ArtCenter/South Florida
Miami Beach, Florida

Flow is a sound structure based on improvisations by Gustavo Matamoros and Armando Rodríguez using acoustic and electric guitars, kemenche, psaltery, bagpipe chanter and percussion instruments. It follows the idea of a “scattered unison”—a complex musical texture based on a single melodic idea unknown to all but one musician in the group.

“It’s like what happens in a moment of instant listening, when you are so focused that you feel you can speak along with what someone else is about to say without knowing what the words will be.”

Hand-drawn graphic on a white background with the words “PUNTO: FLOW” beside tangled black lines and areas colored red, blue and yellow. — Artwork for Flow, an eight-source sound installation by PUNTO—Armando Rodríguez and Gustavo Matamoros—at Listening Gallery, June 12–July 28, 2013.

November 14, 2013

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Vanishing Point
The return of PUNTO, with music by Steve Antosca, Gustavo Matamoros, Armando Rodríguez and Julio Roloff
Performed by Gustavo Matamoros, Armando Rodríguez and Julio Roloff
Audiotheque, ArtCenter/South Florida
Miami Beach, Florida

PROGRAM

Las Arpas y Las Sombras — Julio Roloff; performed by Armando Rodríguez, guitar
Flow — Armando Rodríguez and Gustavo Matamoros; performed by Matamoros, Rodríguez and Julio Roloff
Persona 1 — Steve Antosca; performed by Armando Rodríguez, viola
Four Images: Carnival, Disintegration, Meditation and Seascape — Armando Rodríguez
Ludus — Armando Rodríguez; performed by Matamoros, Rodríguez and Julio Roloff

Two musicians perform in Audiotheque, one playing small percussion instruments and the other bowing a double bass. — Armando Rodríguez and Julio Roloff of PUNTO performing during Vanishing Point at Audiotheque, ArtCenter/South Florida, November 14, 2013.

February 13, 2014

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Point of Sure Return
Music by Robert Ashley, James Tenney, Julio Roloff, Armando Rodríguez and Gustavo Matamoros
Audiotheque, ArtCenter/South Florida
Miami Beach, Florida

PROGRAM

Collage #1 (Elvis), for tape — James Tenney
In Memoriam Esteban Gómez — Robert Ashley; performed by Julio Roloff, percussion; Armando Rodríguez, viola; and Gustavo Matamoros, electric guitar
Spatial Progression, for tape and video — Armando Rodríguez
Foom — Julio Roloff; performed by Roloff, double bass; Rodríguez, flute in F; and Matamoros, piccolo saw with bow and mallet
Flow — PUNTO; performed by Roloff, percussion; Rodríguez, kemenche, chanter and bagpipe; and Matamoros, electric guitar
Visual Noise in Six Parts, a sound video — Gustavo Matamoros
Project for a Structure in Homage to Frank Gehry — Armando Rodríguez; performed by Roloff, double bass; Rodríguez, viola; and Matamoros, electronics

Promotional graphic for PUNTO: Point of Sure Return, February 13, 2014, Audiotheque, ArtCenter/South Florida.

May 10, 2014

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Untitled
Music by Jones, Matamoros, Moore, Rodríguez, Roloff, Seigido and Schoenhals
Kendall Sound Art: Concert 13
West Kendall Regional Library
Miami, Florida

August 2, 2014

PUNTO • conceptual and electroacoustic music

The Music of Armando Rodríguez
Kendall Sound Art: Concert 16
West Kendall Regional Library
Miami, Florida

PERFORMERS

Music by Armando Rodríguez
Performed by PUNTO: Armando Rodríguez, Julio Roloff and Gustavo Matamoros

Multicolored Kendall Sound Art invitation with a photograph of a seated electric guitarist, an audio-waveform screen and the names Armando Rodríguez Ruidíaz, Julio Roloff and Gustavo Matamoros. — Invitation for Kendall Sound Art Concert XVI, featuring music by Armando Rodríguez Ruidíaz and performances by PUNTO, August 2, 2014.

August 8, 2015

PUNTO + INLETS ENSEMBLE • conceptual and electroacoustic music

Virtual Images
A multimedia program featuring music by Armando Rodríguez Ruidíaz
Kendall Sound Art
West Kendall Regional Library
Miami, Florida

PERFORMERS

Inlets Ensemble: Jorge Gómez Abrante, Robert Blatt, Eric Gottlieb and Alex Lough
PUNTO: Julio Roloff and Armando Rodríguez Ruidíaz
Liza Seigido and Federico Bonacossa

Multicolored Kendall Sound Art invitation with circuit-board imagery, a seated electric guitarist and performer information for Inlets Ensemble, PUNTO, Liza Seigido and Federico Bonacossa. — Invitation for Virtual Images, a multimedia program featuring music by Armando Rodríguez Ruidíaz, August 8, 2015, West Kendall Regional Library.