Thursday 8:00 PM, May 10, 2007
6:30 pre-concert panel discussion with composers
Asia Society, 725 Park Ave. at 70th St., NYC
Box office: (212) 517-ASIA
Info: (212) 545-7536
Interpretations, the series featuring leading figures in contemporary music and multimedia, will continue on May 10th with a program celebrating four generations of Asian composers. This special event will highlight works by acclaimed Cambodian-born composer Chinary Ung, one of the most important composers of the last quarter-century, in honor of his 65th birthday. Works of four other composers will be showcased: Koji Nakano (Japan), whose recent works bridge Western and non-Western musical traditions, philosophies and spiritualities; Hi Kyung Kim (Korea), who recently wrote works for Yo-Yo Ma, gayageum (zither) master Aeri Ji, and the Contemporary Music Ensemble of Korea; Kee-Yong Chong (Malaysia), one of Malaysia's leading contemporary music composers known for his innovative and lyrical style; and Chou Wen-chung (China), a protégé of Edgard Varese who went on to become the mentor of contemporary Chinese music in the US.
The performance features a stellar array of artists including Antares (Vesselin Gellev - violin, Rebecca Patterson - cello, Garrick Zoeter - clarinet, Eric Huebner - piano), the 2002 Concert Artists Guild International Competition winner renowned for its concerts ranging from Classical and Romantic chamber masterpieces to modern works; Maya Beiser, "the queen of post-minimalist cello" (San Francisco Chronicle) who has created a new repertoire for cello; the prize-winning Brentano String Quartet (Mark Steinberg - violin, Serena Canin - violin, Misha Amory - viola, Nina Lee - cello) which has been singled out for its technical brilliance, musical insight and stylistic elegance; baritone Thomas Buckner, “a pillar of the experimental music non-establishment” (New York Times), who has performed and produced the works of emerging and established composers for over three decades; and percussionist Steven Schick, who has championed contemporary percussion music as a performer and teacher over the past 30 years.
The first part of the program will open with the world premiere of Koji Nakano's Time Song II: Howling Through Time for soprano, flute and percussion, a work which reflects the composer's interests in gagaku music, bugaku and noh theater. This will be followed by the New York premiere of Hi Kyung Kim's (2007) for clarinet and cello, a work influenced by Korean court music, sujecheon and gagok vocal music; the New York premiere of Kee-Yong Chong's The Lost Psalm of the Abyss for solo flute; and Chou Wen-chung's String Quartet No. 2 “Streams” with the Brentano Quartet. The second part will feature three works by Chinary Ung: Grand Alap: A Window in the Sky for amplified voices, cello and percussion, Spiral VI for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, and the world premiere of Spiral IX for amplified baritone, viola and percussion.