LA Phil's 2015-16 Green Umbrella Series Kicks Off Contemporary Music Lineup Tonight
By: BWW News Desk Dec. 08, 2015
Every season the Los Angeles Philharmonic, though its cutting edge Green Umbrella new music series, provides patrons with its most intellectually daring forays into the works of living composers and musicians. Overseen by LA Phil Creative Chair John Adams, the Green Umbrella series consists of five concerts during the 2015/16 season performed by the LA Phil New Music Group and guest ensembles and presents eight new commissions, seven world premieres, three U.S. premieres, and five West Coast premieres.
The series opening concert on December 8 showcases a trio of Los Angeles-based quartets in a program of classics and premieres for string quartet. Spearheaded by the Calder Quartet, who invited the Formalist and Lyris Quartets, the evening includes the LA Phil-commissioned world premieres of John Luther Adams' Canticles of the Sky for string quartet, performed by the Calders, and Tristan Perich's Triple Quartet with all three quartets. For his piece, Perich combines his signature 1-bit electronics with the talents of the triple quartet. The program also features John Cage's Music for Marcel Duchampperformed by the Formalist Quartet, Christian Wolff's Edges, featuring the Calder Quartet, Ben Johnston's wide-ranging Amazing Grace with the Lyris Quartet, and all three quartets performing Steve Reich's Triple Quartet and George Brecht's String Quartet, the latter using the composer's renowned Event Score.
The next Green Umbrella performance, January 19, presents the LA Phil New Music Group's program of contemporary Polish music, led by conductor Lukasz Borowicz. The program of visionary artists, who have all worked with Borowicz, runs the gamut from the powerful, avant-garde vocals of Agata Zubel presenting her new work to the darkly abstract sounds of Krzysztof Penderecki's Sinfonietta No. 2 in its West Coast premiere and featuring the LA Phil's Burt Hara on clarinet. Also featured are the U.S. premiere of Krzysztof Meyer's Musique scintillante, the West Coast premiere of Pawe Mykietyn's 3 for 13, and the West Coast premiere of Pawe? Szyma?ski's quasi una sinfonietta.
On February 2, the grandeur of the American southwest which served as the inspiration for Messiaen's 12-movement masterwork Des canyons aux étoiles..., and will be simultaneously experienced through a visual production created by artist Deborah O'Grady, envelops the stage of Walt Disney Concert Hall. Performed by the St. Louis Symphony, led by David Robertson, the multimedia production illustrates the interplay between sight and sound as the orchestra becomes part of the landscape displayed in the still and video work of O'Grady.
The series continues March 1, with the LA Phil New Music Group conducted by LA Phil Assistant Conductor Mirga Grazinyt-Tyla, leading her first Green Umbrella concert. The evening features twin virtuoso pianists Christina and Michelle Naughton, and explores the themes of identity, physicality and virtuosity. The Naughtons perform Nancarrow's Sonatina for Piano Four Hands, Lutosawsksi's Variations on a theme of Paganini, and the world premiere of a new work by Annie Gosfield, whom the BBC called "A one-woman Hadron collider, the queen of the detuned industrial noise." The Gosfield piece, for two pianos and electronics, was composed specifically for the sisters' almost mystical and connected style of performing. Also on the program, the New Music Group takes on the U.S. premiere of Clara Iannotta's Intent on Resurrection - Spring or Some Such Thing and the U.S. premiere of Ianotta's teacher, Chaya Czernowin's LA Phil-commissioned Knights of the strange/Tutti.
The finale Green Umbrella series performance of the 2015/16 season on April 19, brings Creative Chair John Adams to the podium for an ambitious evening of cutting-edge composers and multimedia artists. 21c Liederabend op. LA re-imagines the community-minded 19th century Viennese art-song recital for a modern Los Angeles audience in an immersive, multimedia experience. Curated and directed by Beth Morrison (Beth Morrison Projects) and Paola Prestini (VisionIntoArt), it is "a succinct definition of just what song is: a personal utterance with global reach and universal impact" (NY Times).The evening features world premiere LA-Phil commissions by rising stars Juhi Bansaland Jacob Cooper, the latter featuring Grammy-Nominated baritone Theo Bleckmann. Tenor Craig Wedren lends his indie rock voice to selections from the West Coast premiere of Jefferson Friedman's rock-classical hybrid chamber work, On in Love, followed by Leaha Villarreal's Never Not, featuring mezzo-soprano Peabody Southwell.Paola Prestini showcases arias from her Hubble Cantata, and tenor Timur Bekbosunovperforms selections from David T. Little's Artaud in the Black Lodge. Reflecting social and political current events, Adams leads the audience through his gripping "song play" I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, about the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and selections from Ted Hearne's judicial-system-inspired Sound from the Bench.
2015/16 Green Umbrella Series Schedule:
Tonight, December 8, 2015, at 8 PM
CALDER QUARTET
FORMALIST QUARTET
LYRIS QUARTET
CAGE (arr. Eric Byers), Music for Marcel Duchamp
Christian WOLFF (arr. Chiara Giovando), Edges
Ben JOHNSTON, Amazing Grace
Steve REICH, Triple Quartet
John Luther ADAMS, Canticles of the Sky for string quartet (world premiere, LA Philcommission)
George BRECHT, String Quartet
Tristan PERICH, Triple Quartet (world premiere, LA Phil commission)
Tuesday, January 19, 2016, at 8 PM
LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC NEW MUSIC GROUP
LUKASZ BOROWICZ, conductor
BURT HARA, clarinet
AGATA ZUBEL, soprano
Krzysztof MEYER, Musique scintillante (U.S. premiere)
Pawe MYKIETYN, 3 for 13 (West Coast premiere)
Krzysztof PENDERECKI, Sinfonietta No. 2 for clarinet and strings (West Coast premiere)
Agata ZUBEL, new work for soprano and ensemble (world premiere, LA Phil commission)
Pawe SZYMA?SKI, quasi una sinfonietta (West Coast premiere)
Supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the Polska Music programme.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016, at 8 PM
City of Light
ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY
DAVID ROBERTSON, conductor
DEBORAH O'GRADY, production director and photographer
SETH REISER, lighting and scenic designer
ADAM LARSEN, video consultant
MESSIAEN Des canyons aux étoiles...
This production is co-commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, CalPerformances, University of California, Berkeley, St. Louis Symphony, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Washington Performing Arts.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at 8 PM
LA PHIL NEW MUSIC GROUP
MIRGA GRAZINYT-TYLA, conductor
CHRISTINA NAUGHTON, piano
MICHELLE NAUGHTON, piano
NANCARROW, Sonatina for Piano Four Hands
Clara IANNOTTA, Intent on Resurrection - Spring or Some Such Thing (U.S. premiere)
LUTOSAWSKI, Variations on a theme of Paganini
Chaya CZERNOWIN, Knights of the strange/Tutti (U.S. premiere, LA Phil commission)
Annie GOSFIELD, new work for two pianos and electronics (world premiere, LA Philcommission)
Tuesday, April 19, 2016, at 8 PM
LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC NEW MUSIC GROUP
JOHN ADAMS, conductor
CRAIG WEDREN, voice
THEO BLECKMANN, baritone
TIMUR BEKBOSUNOV, tenor
PEABODY SOUTHWELL, mezzo-soprano
BETH MORRISON PROJECTS
BETH MORRISON and PAOLA PRESTINI, co-directors and co-curators
Juhi BANSAL, new work for piano and voice (world premiere, LA Phil commission)
Ted HEARNE, Sound from the Bench
"Mouth Piece"
"When You Hear"
Jacob COOPER, new work for ensemble and voice, with video (world premiere, LA Philcommission)
John ADAMS, I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky
"Mike's Song about Arresting a Particular Individual"
"Song About The On-site Altercation"
"Dewain's Song of Liberation and Surprise"
Jefferson FRIEDMAN, from On in Love (West Coast premiere)
"Tarrying"
"Fight Song"
Leaha VILLARREAL, Never Not
Paola PRESTINI new work (world premiere)
David T. LITTLE, Artaud in the Black Lodge (West Coast premiere)
"Petrograd 1917"
"Here, my severed digit"
Additional selections to be announced
A project of Beth Morrison Projects and VisionIntoArt, co-curated and co-directed by Beth Morrison and Paola Prestini, in collaboration with the LA Phil.
For more information and full artists' biographies, visit laphil.com.
Tickets for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's 2015/16 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall are currently available. To purchase, visit LAPhil.com, the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet. To order by phone with credit card, call the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office at 323.850.2000, or Ticketmaster at800.745.3000. For more information, call 323.850.2000.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Music Director & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, presents an inspiring array of music from all genres - orchestral, chamber and Baroque music, organ and celebrity recitals, new music, jazz, world music and pop - at two of L.A.'s iconic venues, Walt Disney Concert Hall (www.laphil.com) and the Hollywood Bowl (www.HollywoodBowl.com). The LA Phil's season extends from September through June at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and throughout the summer at the Hollywood Bowl. With the preeminent Los Angeles Philharmonic at the foundation of its offerings, the LA Phil aims to enrich and transform lives through music, with a robust mix of artistic, education and community programs.
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