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US Premiere of Chaya Czernowin's Once I blinked nothing was the same

Oct. 01, 2018

US Premiere of Chaya Czernowin's <em>Once I blinked nothing was the same</em>

On October 13, the Pioneer Valley Symphony, led by Tian Hui Ng, presents the US premiere of Chaya Czernowin's Once I blinked nothing was the same. The composer describes this work:

"[Once I blinked nothing was the same] is my shortest piece ever: around three minutes. Yet in this short time, the piece covers huge transformational shifts, especially in its dimensionality. Can you imagine making your ear into a huge microphone listening to an amalgam of noises like the noises inside one’s body, then at once listening to a huge crowd of thousands of people, then perhaps shifting to one's own breathing … and so on: vast changes in what one is listening to and how the attitude of listening shifts and reshapes itself."


In addition, Ensemble Linea performs Czernowin's Lovesong on October 3 at Biennale Venezia, Italy. The composer notes:

"Falling in love is one of the most intense times in one’s life. One loses a certain control, every second is drenched in and colored with emotion, and the passing seconds are loaded with resonances, echoes shimmer strange energy. In Lovesong, there is music which follows the gesture of imaginary hands as they touch an instrument, there is the song, the love song, created by the hands touching the instrument, and there is the shimmer and resonance, vital resonance, which grows. The overall flow tries to reflect on the strange energy and flow of time when falling in love. The piece, which is dedicated to ensemble recherche, is a virtuoso ensemble piece. While the individual voices are not extremely demanding, the chamber-music factor demands an exceptional virtuosity of ensemble playing, which is only possible in ensembles who are able to create real chamber music...."


Finally, Krassimier Sterev and Yaron Detusch of Klangforum Wien perform Knights of the strange (duo version for electric guitar and accordion) at iMusikprotokols in Graz, Austria. Czernowin notes:

"Knights of the strange is a work of music poetry, where a few words highlight the speculative/poetic connections between dreams, reality and reflection. The duo version is like an independent plant which comes from another climate inside the jungle of the tutti version. Both versions are dedicated to my son Ko, as he leaves home for college. The title is taken from a book Ko created when he was four. The piece also includes some spoken phrases which derive from mundane exchanges at home."


Listen to Chaya Czernowin's Sahaf (2008) here:


(Sahaf/Chaya Czernowin/Ensemble Nikel)

To learn more about Chaya Czernowin, visit schott-music.com.

Chaya Czernowin
Once I blinked nothing was the same (2015)
a large-scale miniature for orchestra
3.3.3.3-4.3.3.1-timp.2perc-str(14.12.10.8.6)
3’

Lovesong (2010)
fl(bfl).ob.bcl-perc-pno-vn.va.vc.
10’ 

Knights of the strange (2015)
for electric guitar and accordion
6'



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