NY PHIL BIENNIAL to Run Through June 7 at Lincoln Center Campus
By: BWW News Desk May. 29, 2013
From May 28 to June 7, 2014, the New York Philharmonic will present the inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL, a kaleidoscopic exploration of today's music by a wide range of contemporary and modern composers that will showcase an array of curatorial voices through concerts presented with partners in venues both on and off the Lincoln Center campus.
Inspired by visual-art biennials held around the world, the NY PHIL BIENNIAL will present a range of new-music events - from large-scale symphonies to intimate chamber pieces, violin concertos to two-act operas - featuring an international roster of composers. The events of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL will represent a collection of perspectives on today's music scene, as curated by Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic in consultation with specially invited artistic voices such as The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse, composer/conductor Matthias Pintscher, and conductor Pablo Heras-Casado. Many of the pieces will receive their World, U.S., and New York Premieres, while others will be rarely performed discoveries of the modern and contemporary repertoire.
A flagship project of the New York Philharmonic that will recur every two years, the NY PHIL BIENNIAL will include collaborations with a number of New York City cultural institutions that share a spirit of adventure and risk-taking, in order to amplify the variety of repertoire and to present an array of the best of what is happening in music across the city. Partners include 92nd Street Y, The Museum of Modern Art, Orchestra of St. Luke's, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Juilliard School, Gotham Chamber Opera, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Bang on a Can, American Composers Orchestra, and Kaufman Music Center's Special Music High School.
The NY PHIL BIENNIAL will allow audience members to immerse themselves in a cumulative experience; a Biennial Pass will facilitate entry into multiple events throughout the two weeks. Salons, receptions, talkbacks, and online discussions will encourage interactivity, allowing audience members to comment on their experiences in dialogue with composers, scholars, and artists. Further details on these activities will be announced at a later date.
"The NY PHIL BIENNIAL will be an adventure," said Music Director Alan Gilbert. "We hope to present people with the possibility of experiencing the fun of hearing new music, practically hot off the presses. Supporting contemporary composers has always been absolutely central to the New York Philharmonic's mission, and the NY PHIL BIENNIAL will offer a playful environment in which New Yorkers can learn about and experience currents that are fresh and new to the city. One aspect of the biennial that I'm particularly proud of is the participation of so many other important New York cultural organizations and institutions that we invited to join us as partners; their commitment to similar aesthetic goals but with different areas of focus will help create the fullest possible kaleidoscopic and immersive experience for everyone who lives in or visits this city. Harnessing the collective power and enthusiasm of all these forces should give the festival a special energy and sense of community that will make the event truly memorable."
"The NY PHIL BIENNIAL is a great example of what a 21st-century orchestra should be doing," said New York Philharmonic Executive Director Matthew VanBesien. "This Orchestra, which has a remarkable legacy as well as tremendous support across the city and around the world, has the good will and resources to spearhead such an ambitious project. Thanks to the collaboration of our engaged and creative partners, the results will be worthy of Alan Gilbert's vision for the Philharmonic, the future of music, and New York City."
Alan Gilbert To Conduct
WORLD PREMIERE of Christopher Rouse's Symphony No. 4, New York Premiere of DoReMi with MIDORI, and
World Premieres of Two Works To Be Selected from
National Open Call for Scores Facilitated by American Composers Orchestra's EARSHOT Program
June 5 and 7, 2014, at Avery Fisher Hall
Alan Gilbert will lead the New York Philharmonic in a program emphasizing the commitment to supporting the creation of new works and long-term relationships with composers that has become a hallmark of the Philharmonic under his leadership. The concerts will include the World Premiere of a large-scale symphony by Christopher Rouse (United States, b. 1949), who will be in his second season as The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence; violinist Midori performing the New York Premiere of DoReMi by Peter Eötvös (Hungary, b. 1944); and two works by young composers discovered through the assistance of the EarShot National Orchestral Composition Discovery Network. The program, June 5 and 7, 2014, at Avery Fisher Hall, is a presentation of the New York Philharmonic.
Christopher Rouse envisions his Symphony No. 4, commissioned for the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, to be a two-movement, 20-minute orchestral piece. The 2013-14 season marks Mr. Rouse's second year as the Orchestra's Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence, and will also include the New York Premieres of his Oboe Concerto, featuring Principal Oboe Liang Wang, and his Requiem, which he has called his magnum opus, at Carnegie Hall's Spring For Music festival. The Orchestra will also perform Rapture in New York and on the ASIA / WINTER 2014 tour. In his capacity as Composer-in-Residence, Mr. Rouse serves as an advisor for CONTACT!, the Philharmonic's new-music series, and for the NY PHIL BIENNIAL.
Peter Eotvos composed DoReMi (2011-12, rev. 2013), his second violin concerto, for Midori, the soloist in these concerts. The composer wrote: "After 60 years of experience ... I liked the idea of returning to where I began as a youngster: putting voices above or next to each other like building blocks and finding pleasure in the variations of the successions." Peter Eötvös is an accomplished opera as well as film-score composer, and his wide-ranging influences include Carlo Gesualdo, MiLes Davis, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, one of his early mentors. Mr. Eötvös frequently amplifies instruments and often requires musicians to be arranged on the stage in non- traditional ways. His scores, whether opera or instrumental, typically display dramatic or theatrical qualities and evoke their own unique tonal universe. Mr. Eötvös is one of the three composers with whom Henri Dutilleux shared the 2011 Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music at the New York Philharmonic.
Dedicated to commissioning and performing new music, Midori gave the World Premiere of DoReMi in January 2013 with Pablo Heras-Casado and the Los Angeles Philharmonic on the 30th anniversary of her performing career. Midori made her concert debut in 1983, at the age of 11, with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic.
On June 3 Alan Gilbert will lead the Philharmonic in a reading of works selected from a national open call for scores, facilitated by EarShot, the National Orchestral Composition Discovery Network. Two of the works read during this New Music Reading Session will be performed that week: one work on June 5 and the second on June 7 (a third work will be selected for performance in the June 6 program conducted by Matthias Pintscher). Alan Gilbert will meet with the participating composers before the reading, take part in feedback meetings along with Philharmonic musicians and mentor composers, and meet individually with the two composers whose works are selected.
A program of the American Composers Orchestra in collaboration with the American Composers Forum, League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA, the EarShot program helps orchestras around the country to identify and support promising composers in the Early Stages of their careers. EarShot advises organizations on the programs that would best suit their new- composer needs - from new-music readings to composer residencies and competitions - and assists with planning and execution.
Alan Gilbert said: "Christopher Rouse composes music that is highly individualistic but absolutely rooted in the tradition from which it springs. It will be an honor to unveil his Fourth Symphony during our inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL. Peter Eötvös also creates innovative music that stems from a rich tradition, and having Midori, an amazing artist and long-standing friend of the Philharmonic, perform his concerto will infuse this program with musical riches. A sense of discovery and surprise will be added with the works that will emerge from the EarShot readings - supporting new compositions and hearing new voices is exciting and important to me."
MATTHIAS PINTSCHER To Lead New York Philharmonic in New York Premieres of
His Cello Concerto, Reflections on Narcissus, with Cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and CARTER's Instances
World Premiere of Work To Be Selected from National Open Call for Scores Facilitated by American Composers Orchestra's EARSHOT Program
June 6, 2014, at Avery Fisher Hall
Conductor-composer Matthias Pintscher (Germany, b. 1971) leads the New York Philharmonic in a program that couples the New York Premiere of one of his own compositions with the New York Premiere of a work by a composer he profoundly admires. Mr. Pintscher will lead the Philharmonic in his own Reflections on Narcissus, a cello concerto spotlighting cellist Alisa Weilerstein, followed by the last completed work by American icon Elliott Carter (United States, 1908-2012). Mr. Pintscher will open the concert with the World Premiere of one of three works by young composers discovered through the assistance of the EarShot National Orchestral Composition Discovery Network. This program, June 6, 2014, at Avery Fisher Hall, is a presentation of the New York Philharmonic.
Reflections on Narcissus (2004-05) is Mr. Pintscher's second exploration of the Classical myth, following his 1992 work La metamorfosi di Narciso, also for solo cello. Described by the composer as having "a lot of antiphonal dialogue" and sonic representations of key elements of the story - such as "the reflection of the water, Narcissus's restless condition, and his wicked desire" - Reflections on Narcissus provides a fresh take on a timeless tale, which it uses to create a modern-day musical and visual conversation. Defying categorization, Mr. Pintscher's works (which nevertheless have been described as German neo-expressionist) seemingly straddle both traditional and radical schools of compositional thought. Matthias Pintscher's works have been featured on Philharmonic performances, and he was one of the three conductors who led Stockhausen's Gruppen as part of the Orchestra's acclaimed spatial music program Philharmonic 360, a co-production with Park Avenue Armory, in June 2012.
Cellist Alisa Weilerstein, a new-music champion and winner of a MacArthur Fellowship and Avery Fisher Career Grant, previously performed Reflections on Narcissus with Zurich's Tonhalle Orchestra in 2010, led by the composer.
Instances (2012) is the last completed work by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Elliott Carter, who described the approximately eight-minute piece for chamber orchestra as "a series of short interrelated episodes of varying character." Elliott Carter's association with the Philharmonic dates back to 1957, and includes Laureate Conductor Leonard Bernstein's leading the World Premiere of Carter's Concerto for Orchestra - which the Philharmonic commissioned for its 125th anniversary, and which Carter described as his favorite of his works - in February 1970. Most recently, Philharmonic musicians performed the World Premiere of Carter's Two Controversies and a Conversation on the June 2012 CONTACT! concerts, which the composer attended.
Matthias Pintscher said: "It is very moving for me to be given the honor of performing Carter's last finished orchestral composition, Instances, in New York, since he and the Philharmonic have a long history together. When I was looking at the score for Instances, I was reminded of Giuseppe Verdi, as both he and Carter brought a lightness and freshness to the musical compositions of their old age. Carter's music is beautifully transparent, highly expressive, and at ease with itself without ever losing its directness of expression. My own work on this program, Reflections on Narcissus, is less a cello concerto than a symphonic and virtuosic dialogue between a solo cello and a huge orchestra. Listeners have described the work as a sonic painting, and indeed the music not only tells the story of Narcissus, who morphs into a flower, and of the mute nymph Echo, who is insanely in love with him, but it also represents the scenery and aura of the myth's various settings and situations."
The program will also include one of the works that will be selected from the New Music Reading Session facilitated by the EarShot National Orchestral Composition Discovery Network. Alan Gilbert, who presides over the reading, will meet with the participating composers before the reading, take part in feedback meetings along with Philharmonic musicians and mentor composers, meet individually with the composers whose works are selected, and conduct the two other works on the June 5 and 7 NY PHIL BIENNIAL program, respectively.
A Double-Bill Featuring BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS and New York Philharmonic Bang on a Can All-Stars To Give New York Premiere of Julia Wolfe's Anthracite Fields New York Philharmonic To Perform New York Premiere of
Steven MACKEY's Oratorio DREAMHOUSE
With Baritone/Co-Librettist Rinde Eckert, Synergy Vocals, and
Catch Electric Guitar Quartet
JAYCE OGREN To Conduct
May 30-31, 2014, at Avery Fisher Hall
Works by two American composers - Julia Wolfe (United States, b. 1958) and Steven Mackey (United States, b. 1956) - reacting to American culture and highlighting unusual instrumentation will form a program featuring Bang on a Can All-Stars, in its Philharmonic debut, and the New York Philharmonic.
Bang on a Can All-Stars and a chorus providing "raucous singing" will perform the New York Premiere of Julia Wolfe's Anthracite Fields. The Orchestra will perform the New York Premiere of the powerful, Grammy-nominated oratorio Dreamhouse by Steven Mackey, featuring Mr. Mackey's co-librettist, baritone Rinde Eckert, singing the role of The Architect in his Philharmonic debut, as well as Synergy Vocals and Catch Electric Guitar Quartet (the latter also in its Philharmonic debut). Jayce Ogren, recently appointed music director of New York City Opera beginning in the 2013-14 season, will conduct. This program, May 30-31, 2014, at Avery Fisher Hall, is a co-presentation of the New York Philharmonic and Bang on a Can.
Julia Wolfe is composing Anthracite Fields (2013), commissioned through New Music USA (previously Meet the Composer) and the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, an homage on life in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, her home state. The work follows the life of a Pennsylvania coal miner, and Ms. Wolfe draws from letters and personal biographies in creating what she calls "a unique art-folk ballad" that provides an intimate look at a particular slice of American life. Bang on a Can All-Stars will perform the work on folk guitar, banjo, and accordion in addition to their usual instruments (cello, bass, piano, percussion, guitars, and clarinets). A post-Minimalist composer, Ms. Wolfe has described her compositional influences as "funk, hip-hop, Appalachian folk music, Led Zeppelin, and Beethoven." Julia Wolfe, along with composers David Lang and Michael Gordon, co-founded Bang on a Can in 1992 and remains one of its artistic directors. Bang on a Can All-Stars is a six-member ensemble dedicated to performing innovative classical, rock, and world music and is renowned for its high-intensity, amplified live concerts. This program will follow a month after the work's World Premiere in Philadelphia with the All-Stars and the Mendelssohn Club Choir.
Julia Wolfe said: "I am thrilled that in its inaugural year the NY PHIL BIENNIAL welcomes Bang on a Can in Anthracite Fields to the stage. The NY PHIL BIENNIAL is all about new work, and this piece is hot off the press - the ink still wet."
When Mr. Mackey received the commission for Dreamhouse (2003) from NPS (Dutch Radio) in 2001, his immediate desire, he later wrote, was "simply to hear a band of diverse elements playing and singing together with abandon - a traditional symphony orchestra, twanging electric guitars, [a] pure-toned vocal quartet, and a somewhat theatrical 'front man' inhabiting a place between operatic tenor and Jim Morrison." Mr. Mackey identifies the work's influences as "allegorical texts in '60s psychedelic rock, the symphonic vocalise of 16th-century masses and motets, and the unstaged theatricality of baroque oratorio." Mr. Mackey's background as an electric guitarist has strongly influenced his writing; in addition to composing two concertos for the instrument, his score for Dreamhouse calls for the use of three such guitars. Mr. Mackey co- wrote the libretto with longtime collaborator Rinde Eckert during a time of post-9/11 introspection as a meditation on the American Dream, "not as political commentary per se but rather a journal of self-reflection."
Steven Mackey said: "Dreamhouse uses the design and construction of a house as a metaphor for the inevitable fragility of human endeavor. As the libretto says, 'No matter how precisely strings are laid, there will be foundation flaws.' One could say that the piece was instigated by a need to return to creativity following the challenges, personal and otherwise, in the wake of 9/11. It is a dream come true that the first-ever presentation of my music by the New York Philharmonic will be Dreamhouse, not only because it is my most ambitious work but also because, from its inception, it was tied to this great city."
Mr. Eckert, Synergy Vocals, and Catch Electric Guitar Quartet performed on the 2010 recording of Dreamhouse, which was nominated for three Grammy Awards. Mr. Eckert and Mr. Mackey are members of Big Farm, the "prog-rock" super group with drummer Jason Treuting of So Percussion and bassist Mark Haanstra. Synergy Vocals has worked extensively with composer Steve Reich, and has performed music by composers including Louis Andriessen, Christian Henson, and the composers of Bang on a Can. Synergy Vocals last appeared with the Philharmonic in January-February 2008 performing Berio's Sinfonia, led by then-Music Director Lorin Maazel. Catch Electric Guitar Quartet officially formed when it performed Dreamhouse's World Premiere in 2003. Since then, the ensemble has performed premieres by Christopher Fox and Peter Adriaansz.
CONTACT! at the Biennial:
MATTHIAS PINTSCHER To Conduct Beyond Recall,
U.S. Premieres of Music Inspired by Sculptures Selected for the Salzburg Art Project May 29 and 31, 2014, at THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
Conductor-composer Matthias Pintscher conducts and curates Beyond Recall, a collection of 11 works, each inspired by a work of art residing in Salzburg created through the Kunstprojekt Salzburg (Salzburg Art Project), which brings contemporary art to the Austrian city's public spaces. The program of all U.S. Premieres will be performed by New York Philharmonic musicians as part of CONTACT!, the Philharmonic's new-music series. Taking place on May 29 and 31, 2014, at The Museum of Modern Art's Agnes Gund Garden Lobby, these performances of Beyond Recall are a co-presentation of the New York Philharmonic and The Museum of Modern Art.
Matthias Pintscher - appointed music director of Paris's Ensemble InterContemporain beginning with the 2013-14 season - selected the composers and determined which composer should respond to which Salzburg Art Project art work. The program will include Bruno Mantovani's (France, b. 1974) on "Spirit of Mozart" by Marina Abramovic; Johannes Maria Staud's (Austria, b. 1974) on "Caldera" by Anthony Cragg; Dai Fujikura's (Japan, b. 1977) on "Sphaera" / "Frau im Fels" by Stephan Balkenhol; Vykintas Baltakas's (Lithuania, b. 1972) on "Beyond Recall" by Brigitte Kowanz; David Fulmer's (United States, b. 1981) on "Awilda" by Jaume Plensa; Jay Schwartz's (United States, b. 1965) on "Mozart - Eine Hommage" by Markus Lüpertz; Mark André's (France, b. 1964) on "Sky-Space" by James Turrell; Vito Zuraj's (Slovenia, b. 1979) on "Connection" by Manfred Wakolbinger; Michael Jarrell's (Switzerland, b. 1958) on "Vanitas" by Christian Boltanski; Olga Neuwirth's (Austria, b. 1968) on "Ziffern im Wald" by Mario Merz; and Nina Šenk's (Slovenia, b. 1982) on "Gurken" by Erwin Wurm.
The music-and-art-centered performances will be prefaced with introductory remarks by ?Bernd Heinrich Dinter, who conceived of and directed Beyond Recall. The program will receive its World Premiere at the Salzburg Festival in August 2013 with Mr. Pintscher conducting the Scharoun Ensemble, comprising members of the Berlin Philharmonic.?
Matthias Pintscher said: "I am very excited to bring Beyond Recall to the NY PHIL BIENNIAL for its U.S. premiere. I have had the honor of selecting young composers who I think represent today's musical composition in all its diversity to write pieces that directly relate to 11 of the Salzburg Art Project's installations. The artistic outcome of this collaboration between visual and sonic artists is fascinating. As a passionate contemporary art lover, I feel very enthusiastic about curating this outstanding project. It is an honor to now be bringing it to the world's epicenter of contemporary art: New York City."
Bernd Heinrich Dinter said: "Salzburg's rich musical history inspired me to create a series of compositions, each of which spoke to a particular commissioned artwork of the Salzburg Art Project. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with Matthias Pintscher as the curator of this project, and particularly gratifying to see it come to New York as part of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL so soon after its premiere this summer."
Entering its fifth season in 2013-14, CONTACT!, the New York Philharmonic's new-music series, is extending its reach by presenting in new venues across New York City. Dedicated to the works of emerging and iconic contemporary composers, CONTACT! in the 2013-14 season will feature works for larger ensembles, such as this program, as well as more intimate programs performed by New York Philharmonic musicians and distinguished soloists. These performances of Beyond Recall mark the New York Philharmonic's debut at The Museum of Modern Art.
CONTACT! at the Biennial:
World Premiere-New York Philharmonic Commissions of Solo Works by YOUNG AMERICAN COMPOSERS
June 3, 2014, at SUBCULTURE
Musicians from the New York Philharmonic will perform solo works by young American composers, including four World Premiere-New York Philharmonic Commissions and two New York Premieres, on CONTACT!, the Philharmonic's new-music series. This program, June 3, 2014, at SubCulture, is a co-presentation of the New York Philharmonic and 92nd Street Y.
The New York Philharmonic's Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse said: "The six composers featured in this program are writing music of real substance and worth. I'm really delighted with the makeup of the group, which represents quite a wide range of styles and offers a fine snapshot of the variety of approaches American composers are pursuing. The NY PHIL BIENNIAL is an exciting new idea for New York, and I'm really delighted that the Philharmonic has taken the lead in its conception and ultimate realization."
Hanna Arie-Gaifman, director of 92nd Street Y's Tisch Center for the Arts, said: "CONTACT! is more than a symbolic title for this series. It really points to the relationship between today's music, composers, musicians, audience, and all of us who make music happen. It also hints at the creative nature of the partnership between 92nd Street Y and the New York Philharmonic: innovative, energetic, and, like the music we jointly present, quite intimate. I am thrilled that CONTACT!, with 92Y's participation in its chamber facet, is part of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL and its celebration of the life and creation of music today, here and now." ?
Krank (2004) for solo percussion by Oscar Bettison (United Kingdom, b. 1976, now a U.S. resident) will receive its New York Premiere in this program. In a program note, Mr. Bettison wrote: "When I first started thinking about writing Krank, I imagined a little music box made up of 18 'found objects' arranged into three keyboards. Like a music box, Krank needs to be wound up in order to [be played], but Krank is a music box with a difference. Krank is a music box that tries to fight against its mechanical constitution; it wants to sing and be free of its constraints like a kind of musical Pinocchio. Three times it tries increasingly hard to break free. Three times it tries and ... well, that would be telling." Known for his innovative approach to presenting concert music, Mr. Bettison reimagines the instruments he composes for, finding new and unusual ways to employ them and incorporating electro-acoustic elements and instruments commonly used in rock music.
Also receiving its New York Premiere in this performance is Four Pieces for Solo Piano (2010) by Ryan Brown (United States, b. 1979). Comprising Cellar Door, Buckle, Stage Whisper, and Shoestring, the work uses the highest registers of the instrument to create percussive, playful, and strangely beautiful and engrossing mini-works. Ryan Brown's music reflects his diverse musical tastes and background as an electric guitarist and bassist, and has been performed by pianist Lisa Moore, guitarist Mark Stewart, Robin Cox Ensemble, BluePrint Project, Great Noise Ensemble, and MATA Festival. His teachers have included Dan Becker, Martin Herman, Steve Mackey, Julia Wolfe, and David Lang. As a celebrated electric guitarist and electric bassist, MR. Brown has been featured in works by John Adams, Steve Reich, and Steven Mackey.
Michael Hersch (United States, b. 1971) is composing his Philharmonic commission, which will receive its World Premiere at the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, for solo violin. Mr. Hersch has previously composed works for solo violin, including a commission from violinist Midori (who will be featured in the June 5 and 7 NY PHIL BIENNIAL performances). Celebrated composer George Rochberg said of Mr. Hersch's works: "His music sounds the dark places of the human heart and soul. The inherent drama of his work is remarkable for being completely unself- conscious, unstudied and powerful in its projection, convinced and convincing."
Chris Kapica (United States, b. 1986) is composing his Philharmonic commission, to receive its World Premiere at the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, for solo clarinet. An in-demand bass clarinetist, electric guitarist, and electric bassist as well as composer, Mr. Kapica draws on a wide range of influences in his compositions, including R&B, rock, flamenco, jazz, and world music. He is a former student of the New York Philharmonic's Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse.
Eric Nathan (United States, b. 1983) is composing his Philharmonic commission, receiving its World Premiere at the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, for solo trombone. Mr. Nathan - who has composed solo works for trumpet, piano, clarinet, and soprano - has said: "My biggest influences are from other art forms: painting, sculpture, dance, poetry. I analyze how each artwork is constructed, and this usually informs the processes and structures I use in my work. I'm also inspired by the physicality of performing music; when I compose I try to imagine someone performing the piece visually in my mind. As a result I think gesture plays a large role in my pieces, both musically and also with the physical reaction it produces."
Paola Prestini (Italy, b. 1975, now a U.S. resident) is composing her Philharmonic commission, receiving its World Premiere at the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, for solo cello. Named one of the top 100 composers in the world under 40 by NPR, Ms. Prestini has said her influences range "from [John] Zorn (his music, his life) and [Philip] Glass to Beethoven, Palestrina, and folk music." She has composed numerous solo works, including Limpopo Songs for solo piano, Sympathique for solo viola, and Phoenix for solo violin. In 1999 Ms. Prestini co-founded VisionIntoArt, which has created more than 50 multimedia productions around the world; she recently became creative director of the Brooklyn-based Original Music Workshop.
PABLO HERAS-CASADO To Lead ORCHESTRA OF St. Luke'S in Circles of Influence: Pierre Boulez, Featuring Works by Pierre Boulez, Heinz Holliger, Bruno Mantovani, Marc-André Dalbavie, and Philippe Manoury
May 31, 2014, at the Rose Theater at Lincoln Center
Pierre Boulez was greatly inspired by the composers of the Second Viennese School, and his interest in the 12-tone system led to his own innovative and radical explorations of serialism, pitch multiplication, and other techniques. As founding director of the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique Musique (IRCAM) and founder of the French chamber orchestra Ensemble InterContemporain (EIC), he became a seminal influence on a generation of composers. Also an important conductor, he was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from 1971 to 1977.
Orchestra of St. Luke's will perform Mr. Boulez's Mémoriale ( ... explosante-fixe ... Originel) (1985) and Une page d'éphéméride (2005). The first, for flute and eight instruments, is drawn from Mr. Boulez's ... explosante-fixe ..., conceived in 1971 as a tribute to Stravinsky. The Philharmonic performed the final version of ... explosante-fixe ... in December 2012 on CONTACT!, the new-music series. Mr. Boulez wrote Une page d'ephemeride as part of Universal Edition's Piano Project, designed to introduce contemporary music to young piano students; noted for its charm and arguably lush sonority, the piece features toccata-like bursts and allows for a studied exploration of pitch.
The works by Pierre Boulez will be juxtaposed with works by composers who were influenced by him: the U.S. Premiere of Ostinato funèbre (1991) by Heinz Holliger, who studied composition with Mr. Boulez; a work by Bruno Mantovani, who from 1998 to 1999 studied computer music at IRCAM and whose work Streets was led by Mr. Boulez, the work's dedicatee, in the World Premiere in 2006 by the EIC; a work by Marc-André Dalbavie, who studied conducting with Mr. Boulez in 1987, and whose works Mr. Boulez conducted in the following years: Diadèmes (1986), Seuils (1991-93), and Flute Concerto (2006), among other works; and the U.S. Premiere of Strange Ritual (2005) by Philippe Manoury, who joined IRCAM in 1980 as a composer and as a researcher of electronic music - in 1997 Mr. Boulez recorded Mr. Manoury's La Partition du ciel et de l'enfer (1989) and Jupiter (1987) with the EIC.
Orchestra of St. Luke's has commissioned more than 50 works; given more than 150 world, U.S., and New York City premieres; and made more than 70 recordings - four of which have won Grammy awards. Pablo Heras-Casado was named Orchestra of St. Luke's principal conductor in 2011.
Pablo Heras-Casado said: "An exciting thing about new music is hearing the influence of the past, while witnessing music's continuous evolution. Our first program at the NY PHIL BIENNIAL will celebrate my mentor and friend Pierre Boulez. I look forward to presenting Boulez's own music alongside pieces he curated specifically for this concert, by composers whom he deeply respects."
PABLO HERAS-CASADO To Lead ORCHESTRA OF St. Luke'S in Circles of Influence: George Benjamin, Featuring Works by George Benjamin, Colin Matthews, Helen Grime, and Ryan Wigglesworth
June 1, 2014, at the Rose Theater at Lincoln Center
Pablo Heras-Casado will lead Orchestra of St. Luke's in Circles of Influence: George Benjamin, a program celebrating the influential 20th-century English composer and scholar George Benjamin (United Kingdom, b. 1960). Mr. Benjamin's works will be set alongside the works of four colleagues and compatriots: British composers Colin Matthews (United Kingdom, b. 1946), Helen Grime (United Kingdom, b. 1981), and Ryan Wigglesworth (United Kingdom, b. 1979). This program, June 1, 2014, at the Rose Theater at Lincoln Center, is a co-presentation by the New York Philharmonic and Orchestra of St. Luke's. It is one of the ensemble's two contributions to the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, which together are titled Circles of Influence: Boulez and Benjamin.
George Benjamin's sparse oeuvre is consistently praised for its unique sonorities, superior counterpoint, and transcendent beauty. The composer has said: "I am obsessed with harmony and the perception of harmony. I don't write music in which I can't hear the harmonies and can't tell whether the notes are in the right place or not." He studied with Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatoire during the second half of the 1970s; his orchestral piece Ringed by the Flat Horizon, performed at the BBC Proms in August 1980 while he was still a student, made him the youngest composer ever to have had music performed at the Proms. His recent opera Written on Skin was a major event of the 2012-13 season, with triumphant premieres at the Aix-en- Provence Festival and Covent Garden; further performances are already scheduled to take place in 2013 at the Munich Opera Festival, Wiener Festwochen, and, in a student concert performance, at Tanglewood Music Center's Festival of Contemporary Music.
The program will include the New York Premieres of Mr. Benjamin's Upon Silence (1990) and Octet (1978). The intimate Upon Silence, set to Yeats's poem "Long-Legged Fly" and originally scored for mezzo-soprano and five viols, was subsequently transcribed by the composer for modern instruments. Mr. Benjamin wrote that his Octet, composed when he was only 18, "was very much my first attempt to integrate all that I had learnt in Paris on an instrumental canvas."
The program will juxtapose the above works with those by other prominent contemporary British composers, including the U.S. Premiere of Colin Matthews's Grand Barcarolle (2011); the New York Premiere of Helen Grime's Luna (2011); and the U.S. Premiere of Ryan Wigglesworth's A First Book of Inventions (2010).
Orchestra of St. Luke's has commissioned more than 50 works; given more than 150 world, U.S., and New York City premieres; and appeared on more than 70 recordings - four of which have won Grammy awards. Pablo Heras-Casado was named Orchestra of St. Luke's principal conductor in 2011. Pablo Heras-Casado said: "Orchestra of St. Luke's second concert as part of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL features four fantastic contemporary British composers who, for me, represent a compositional tradition of great musical transparency and technical skill. I am eager to introduce these composers and their works - many of which will be New York premieres - to a wider American audience."Staged Production of HK GRUBER's Gloria - a pigtale, a Collaboration with The Juilliard School Conducted by Alan Gilbert
Created by DOUG FITCH and GIANTS ARE SMALL
May 29-30 and June 1, 2014, at THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
Alan Gilbert will lead a staged performance of Gloria - a pigtale, a two-act comic opera by HK Gruber (Austria, b. 1943), featuring vocalists affiliated with The Juilliard School as well as Juilliard's AXIOM ensemble. The performance will be directed by Doug Fitch, produced by Edouard Getaz, and staged by Giants Are Small. May 29-30 and June 1, 2014, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, is a co-presentation of the New York Philharmonic, The Juilliard School, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Met Museum Presents series.
Gloria - a pigtale (1992-94) has been noted for its fast-paced action, syncopated rhythms, and challenging vocals. Described as "neo-tonal" and "neo-Viennese," Gruber's work stands out for its variety of influences (from jazz and cabaret to pop and modern music) as well as its skillful invocation of irony and dark humor. Alan Gilbert led Philharmonic musicians and Mr. Gruber, as chansonnier, in a performance of the composer's "pan-demonium" Frankenstein!! as part of CONTACT!, the new-music series, in December 2011. Gloria - a pigtale tells the story of a mountain-dwelling pig named Gloria, whose beauty and curly, golden hair leave her ostracized among the other pigs in her sty who are envious of her looks and disdainful of their unconventionality. Gloria's desire for love and acceptance causes her to fall for a butcher she mistakenly believes to be a prince, but she is rescued in time from her would-be assassin by another outcast, a wild boar named Rodrigo.
Alan Gilbert said: "HK Gruber is an iconoclastic, crazy, fabulous composer. When the Philharmonic performed his Frankenstein!!, the performance coupled perfection with a magnificent irreverence, and I know this same excitement will happen again when the forces from Juilliard perform this wonderful opera. Doug Fitch's signature visual touch combined with his incredibly developed dramatic sense, along with his total, faithful, and sensitive commitment to music, will be the perfect way to present Gloria - a pigtale in the ideal setting of The Metropolitan Museum of Art." ?
The New York Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert last collaborated with Doug Fitch, Edouard Getaz, and their Production Company Giants Are Small in June 2011 for the acclaimed production of Janá?ek's The Cunning Little Vixen. In June 2010 the New York Philharmonic and Giants Are Small staged Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre, a critical success that was named the number one cultural event of the year by several media outlets. In June 2013 they will again collaborate on A Dancer's Dream: Two Works by Stravinsky.
Gotham Chamber Opera To Present U.S. Premiere of Toshio HOSOKAWA's The Raven and André CAPLET's Conte fantastique
May 28 and 30-31, 2014, at John Jay College
Mr. Hosokawa has said of his works: "I am searching for a new form of Japanese spiritual culture and music, one through which I can remain true to myself as well as to my origins." The composer draws inspiration from ancient traditions like Zen Buddhism (with its connection to nature and its balanced appreciation of life and death) and gagaku (centuries-old music performed at Japan's imperial court), as well as from avant-garde works by 20th-century Western composers.
The Raven offers a twist on the Japanese Noh play, a theatrical genre dating to the 14th century. In a program note, Mr. Hosokawa wrote that The Raven reminded him of a Noh play, which often features animals and spirits as main characters, and that he was intrigued by how Poe depicted "the collapse of the modern rational world as a consequence of an invasion of the world by a weird animal 'raven,' which lives in the other world." Although Noh usually is performed by masked men portraying both male and female roles, Mr. Hosokawa wrote the protagonist's part for a woman, sung in these performances by mezzo-soprano Fredrika Brillembourg. Known for her versatility in music ranging from Wagner to Ligeti, Ms. Brillembourg also performed in the World Premiere of Mr. Hosokawa's opera Hanjo in 2004.
Alessandra Ferri (a former prima ballerina assoluta with the Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and La Scala Theatre Ballet) dances the role of the Raven, portraying what stage director and choreographer Luca Veggetti describes as "the inner world of the main character." The Raven is scored for 12 instrumentalists, in addition to the mezzo-soprano.
Neal Goren said: "Upon hearing Toshio Hosokawa's music for the first time, I was shocked that I had not known of this modern master previously. His music is wildly sensual and atmospheric, with luminous colors and exhibiting a huge emotional range. I heard The Raven performed in Amsterdam in 2012. Poe's text again struck me as a brilliant depiction of free-floating anxiety, a surgically precise deconstruction of a neurosis, obsessively observed from all angles. The unsettling text interacted with Hosokawa's diaphanous, iridescent colors to create an unforgettable evening of haunting, intense beauty. It will be my joy and honor to conduct the U.S. Premiere of The Raven for the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, contributing to this innovative exploration of new music today."
Pianist MARINO FORMENTI To Perform Solo Recital Liszt Inspections
Music by Franz Liszt Juxtaposed with Works by Modern and Contemporary Masters June 4, 2014, at LINCOLN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic have invited Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts to participate in the NY PHIL BIENNIAL with an intimate concert featuring Italian pianist Marino Formenti. The solo recital, Liszt Inspections, will provide a fresh look at the work of Franz Liszt (Hungary, 1811-86) and his sonic legacy by juxtaposing performances of his compositions with those of modern and contemporary masters. Mr. Formenti's past recitals juxtaposing the 19th-century Hungarian virtuoso's works with those of modern and contemporary masters have featured works by , Gérard Pesson, Wolfgang Rihm, Galina Ustvolskaya, Luciano Berio, Tristan Murail, John Adams, and Morton Feldman. This program, June 4, 2014, at Lincoln Center's Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, is a presentation of Lincoln Center's Great Performers series as part of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL.
Marino Formenti said: "This program explores the astonishing and prophetic aspects in the music of Liszt, who foresaw not only atonality, but also dodecaphony, spatial music, music without development, concept music, and minimalist music. By joining works of the 19th-century Hungarian Liszt with 20th-century mavericks, I have attempted to inspect, examine, and reveal multifarious and enlightening relationships and show how beautiful and timeless modern music can be. I am honored to contribute to the first-ever NY PHIL BIENNIAL." ?Known for his compelling and innovative interpretations of the piano repertoire, Mr. Formenti - who made his New York debut in April 2004 at Lincoln Center's Great Performers series and his New York Philharmonic debut in March 2011 performing Ligeti's Piano Concerto, and who, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, does for the piano recital what James Joyce did for the novel - explores relationships between past and present composers, underscoring how modern masterpieces are as timeless as the classics.
American Composers Orchestra (ACO) To Hold 23rd Annual Underwood New Music Readings One Young Composer To Receive a $15,000 Commission for a Work
To Be Performed by ACO in a Future Season
June 6-7, 2014, at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music
The hands-on readings provide young composers at the beginning of their careers with the opportunity to meet with ACO musicians, ACO's newly appointed artistic director Derek Bermel, music director George Manahan, artistic advisor laureate Robert Beaser, and members ?of the ACO artistic staff, as well as the chance to attend workshops on topics such as score preparation and copyright agreements. All of the readings are professionally recorded, and all of the featured composers receive feedback on their work from an advisory panel. ACO's working rehearsal of the pieces, on June 6, 2014, will be open to the public, and will feature the young composers' works. ACO will perform the same works in a run-through performance on June 7, 2014. Following the performance, ACO will select one of these composers to receive a $15,000 commission to write a work that will be performed by ACO in a future season. ?
Founded in 1977, ACO is dedicated to performing and supporting the creation of works by American composers. Through past New Music Readings, ACO has championed composers including Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Joseph Schwantner, both of whom received Pulitzer Prizes for ACO commissions, as well as Robert Beaser, Ingram Marshall, Joan Tower, Aaron Jay Kernis, Christopher Rouse, Sebastian Currier, and Tobias Picker, all of whom have created works that the New York Philharmonic has performed.
Michael Geller, executive director of ACO, said: "American Composers Orchestra looks forward to extending our role as a catalyst for emerging American composers by collaborating with the New York Philharmonic, whose NY PHIL BIENNIAL has a mission kindred to our own. For 23 years, through our Underwood New Music Readings, we have given emerging composers a hands-on opportunity to work directly with a professional orchestra, many of them for the first time. We are also delighted to partner with the Philharmonic in its own readings program under the auspices of EarShot, our national orchestra- composition discovery network."
Musicians from Kaufman Music Center's
SPECIAL MUSIC HIGH SCHOOL
To Perform Their Own Compositions and Works by Students in the
New York Philharmonic's VERY YOUNG COMPOSERS and Composer's Bridge Programs; FACE THE MUSIC To Perform World Premiere of Huang Ruo's Chamber Concerto No. 2, The Lost Garden, and Vijay IYER's Three Fragments
June 1, 2014, at Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Campus
The New York Philharmonic has invitEd Kaufman Music Center's Special Music High School (SMHS), committed to fostering the composers of tomorrow, to showcase the work of young student composers as part of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL. Students from SMHS and the Center's Face the Music ensemble, both led by music director Dr. Jenny Undercofler, will perform works - composed by a combination of student and established composers - that reflect the theme "East Meets West." This free program, June 1, 2014, at Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Campus, is a presentation of Kaufman Music Center's Special Music High School and its Face the Music ensemble as part of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL.
SMHS students will perform their own compositions as well as works by members of the New York Philharmonic's Very Young Composers program (grades 3-5) and Composer's Bridge Program (grades 6-8). The Face the Music ensemble will give the World Premiere of the chamber orchestra version of Chamber Concerto No. 2, The Lost Garden (2001), by Huang Ruo (China, b. 1976, now a U.S. resident) - a work that requires its eight players to sing, chant, act, speak, and move about the stage; and Grammy-nominated, New York City-based jazz pianist Vijay Iyer's (United States, b. 1971) Three Fragments (2011), which composer Darcy James Argue called "a rhythm-shifting tour de force."
The SMHS is an extension of the Special Music School (P.S. 859), which the Kaufman Music Center and New York City Department of Education co-founded in 1996 with the goal of combining pre-conservatory level music studies with a rigorous academic program. When the SMHS opens in the fall of 2013, the Special Music School (of which the High School will be a component) will be the only K - 12 school in the city that offers music as a core subject. Kaufman Music Center's Face the Music ensemble, which Dr. Undercofler founded in 2005, comprises more than 120 musicians between the ages of 11 and 18 from more than 40 schools across the New York metropolitan area. One of the few youth orchestras in the country dedicated to performing works by living classical composers, Face the Music has performed pieces by Steve Reich, Nico Muhly, and others.
Dr. Jenny Undercofler said: "The Special Music High School, which is dedicated to the music of now, is honored to participate in the first-ever NY PHIL BIENNIAL. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to present some of what is most current in the burgeoning 'young new-music' scene in New York City." ?New York Philharmonic Musicians and Teaching Artists To Perform Works by VERY YOUNG COMPOSERS of the New York Philharmonic
May 31, 2014, at Merkin Concert Hall
The NY PHIL BIENNIAL will also highlight the youngest composers of tomorrow through a performance of chamber works written by participants in the Philharmonic's Very Young Composers and Composer's Bridge programs performed by the Orchestra's musicians and Teaching Artists. The concert will showcase the breadth and depth of music created by these New York City-area elementary and middle school students. This program, May 31, 2014, at Merkin Concert Hall, is a presentation of the New York Philharmonic.
In addition to music by elementary, middle school, high school, and Teaching Artist composers from New York, the concert will present several works by Very Young Composers from other countries. The program will include works by middle-school student Milo Poniewozik, who was featured on NPR for his composition The Globetrotter, which the New York Philharmonic performed at a School Day Concert in May 2012; Daniela Melo, a member of the Jovenes Compositores de Venezuela, a program associated with Venezuela's El Sistema youth orchestra network; Farah Taslima, matriculating at Columbia University in September, whose piece Serenity was played by Philharmonic and North Korean musicians on the Philharmonic's historic visit to Pyongyang, DPRK, in 2008; and Very Young Composers Teaching Artist Richard Carrick, whose work Duo Flow was performed by Philharmonic violinist Kuan Cheng Lu and cellist Eric Bartlett at a New York Philharmonic Ensembles concert in October 2008.
Theodore Wiprud, New York Philharmonic Vice President, Education, said: "An extraordinary community of composers is evolving through the Philharmonic's Very Young Composer's program, and being part of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL is bound to have a big impact on these emerging voices. Since this project is an exhibition of what is happening today in music, it is only right that we also include a concert that points to what will be happening tomorrow."
The New York Philharmonic's Very Young Composers program - created by Young Composers Advocate Jon Deak, a noted composer and former Associate Principal Bass - enables public school students with or without a musical background to compose music that will be performed by Philharmonic musicians. Graduates of the Very Young Composers program may join the Composer's Bridge program in middle school. High school-age composers join Teaching Artists, professional composers who work with the younger students. In Very Young Composers, students make every compositional decision, with Teaching Artists serving as mentors and scribes. Each season, more than 100 new works by Very Young Composers are premiered by ensembles of Philharmonic musicians, or by the full Orchestra at the Philharmonic's School Day Concerts.
Jon Deak said: "It will be so exciting to be able to hear a cross-section of the entire continuum of the Very Young Composers program on the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, from grade schoolers through adults. Young people empowered to express themselves musically are giving us a glimpse of the future." ?---
Tickets for NY PHIL BIENNIAL concerts sold by the
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