European American Music Distributors Company is a member of the Schott Music Group

Canadian Premieres of George Benjamin's Written on Skin, Duet and A Mind of Winter with Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Jan. 31, 2015

Canadian Premieres of George Benjamin's <em>Written on Skin</em>, <em>Duet</em> and <em>A Mind of Winter</em> with Toronto Symphony Orchestra

George Benjamin curates the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s 11th annual New Creations Festival opening February 28 at Roy Thomson Hall, featuring the Canadian premieres of his Duet for piano and orchestra, A Mind of Winter for soprano and orchestra, and his critically acclaimed opera Written on Skin. Benjamin joins the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as guest conductor for his works, with soloists including pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough and soprano Barbara Hannigan. 

Written for Pierre-Laurent Aimard and premiered at the 2008 Lucerne Festival, Duet constitutes Benjamin’s first piece for piano and orchestra, and seeks to reconcile what he describes as a “problematic mixture of sonorities.” A Mind of Winter, an earlier work written for the 1981 Aldeburgh Festival, is a setting of The Snow Man by American poet Wallace Stevens, in which he expatiates “the abundance of beautiful winter imagery within its compact frame, and the deep ambiguity of its meaning.” 

Written on Skin has proven to be among the most lauded operatic achievements in contemporary history, described by Zachary Woolfe as “one of the most unforgettable operas of the last decade or two.” Since its premiere production in August of 2012, the three-act opera has been decorated with prestigious awards including a UK Opera Award, Grand Prix for contemporary music from Académie Charles Cros, and a 2014 South Bank Sky Arts Award for opera. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s concert performance features members of the premiere cast, including Barbara Hannigan and Christopher Purves.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the New York Philharmonic, as part of a new partnership to present fully staged productions of contemporary operas, have recently announced the US staged premiere of Written on Skin, which is scheduled for perfornances in New York in 2016. More details on the US staged premiere performances in New York are here.

For tickets and program details, visit tso.ca. 

For more information on George Benjamin, visit fabermusic.com.     

George Benjamin
Duet (2008)
for piano and orchestra
2(2.pic).2.3(3.bcl).2(2.cbsn)-2.2.3.1-timp-3perc-hp.cel-str
14’ 

A Mind of Winter (1981)
text (Eng) by Wallace Stevens
for soprano and orchestra
2(2pic).1.ca.2.2-2.pictpt.1.0.0-perc-str(6.6.4.4.2)
10’

Written on Skin (2012)

opera in three parts

text (Eng) by Martin Crimp
for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone and countertenor

3(2.pic, 3.pic & afl).2.2.bcl(cl).cbcl.2(2.cbsn)-4.4(1.ptpt).3.1-4perc-hp-glass harmonica–bass viola da gamba-str
95’ 

News