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Andrew Norman Featured in Aspen, with Julian Anderson and Matthias Pintscher also on the Slate

Jun. 29, 2011

Andrew Norman Featured in Aspen, with Julian Anderson and Matthias Pintscher also on the Slate

Andrew Norman’s new work for orchestra is premiered by Hugh Wolff and the Aspen Chamber Symphony on August 12 in the Benedict Music Tent on the beautiful Aspen campus. The composer has been making waves in the new music community of late, as his most recent piece Try garnered high praise following its premiere conducted by John Adams on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series. Mark Swed commented on Norman's new work:

Try tries, and usually succeeds, to change direction every few seconds, and when it intentionally doesn't succeed, it is all the more amusing. There is no end to the odd sounds Norman entices from a fairly conventional chamber ensemble. Strings buzzed like insects. Winds burst in with pinpoint dabs of color. Frequently the action stopped and the piano hit a single note or two, a Chaplinesque stunt.

The music of Julian Anderson and Matthias Pintscher is featured on back-to-back evenings this July in Aspen. Matthias Pintscher conducts his very own songs from Solomon’s garden, featuring bass-baritone Evan Hughes and the Aspen Chamber Symphony on July 8. Originally co-commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Songs from Solomon's garden received its world premiere in April of 2010 at the New York Philharmonic's new music series CONTACT!, a program begun during current music director Alan Gilbert’s inaugural season. The composition, scored for baritone and chamber ensemble, takes its text from the Hebrew Bible’s Song of Songs.

Julian Anderson’s Alhambra Fantasy is performed by the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at Harris Concert Hall on July 9. Composed at the turn of the 21st century, Alhambra Fantasy is scored for 16-players and is dedicated in memory of the French composer Gérard Grisey.  The London Sinfonietta initially commissioned the work with funds provided by the Arts Council of England, and it was first performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in June of 2000. The fifteen-minute long Alhambra Fantasy celebrates the art and architecture of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, as the composer explains:

The two large parts of the work, sharply contrasted, relate to two different facets of the Alhambra: the building of the Palace itself in the rough and energetic first part, which is dominated by sounds of hammering and banging on all manner of percussion; and the more lyrical second part, which connects song evoking the landscape of the Vega. This is not programme music, however, and I would rather leave listeners to form their own images from the turbulent contrasts evident in the music.

For more on the music of Matthias Pintscher visit www.matthiaspintscher.com and www.baerenreiter.com

For more on the music of Julian Anderson visit www.fabermusic.com.

More info on Andrew Norman can be found at www.schott-music.com.

Matthias Pintscher
songs from Solomon’s garden (2010)
for baritone and chamber orchestra
1(pic).1.1.bcl.1(cbsn)-1.2.1.0-3perc.hp.pno-str
18’

Julian Anderson
Alhambra Fantasy (1999-2000)
for chamber ensemble
1(pic).1.1(bcl).1(cbsn)-1.1.1.0-2perc-hp.pno(cel)-2vn.va.vc.db
15’

Andrew Norman
New Work (2011)
for chamber orchestra
2.2.2.2-2.2.2.0-perc-hp.pno-str
ca. 10’

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