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Vijay Iyer

Plinth (for Kwame Ture)

Subtitlefor solo piano
Year(s) composed2020
PublisherSchott Music
Duration8'
PremiereMay 25, 2022; Wiener Konzerthaus; Vienna, Austria; Shai Wosner, piano
CommissionCommissioned for Shai Wosner by The Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund
Composer note

Plinth (for Kwame Ture) celebrates the life and activism of Kwame Ture (born Stokely Carmichael, 1941-1998), an immigrant from Trinidad to the U.S. who became a fierce champion for civil rights. With his robust critique, tireless organizing, and visionary transnational scope, Ture challenged the idea of the well-behaved, assimilated immigrant, instead committing himself to the cause of equal rights for all. This piece does not narrate his life, but aims to offer an occasion to contemplate his legacy, as a pedestal displays and gives support to a sculpture.

– Vijay Iyer

New York City, 16 May 2020

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