Composition Professor Dalit Warshaw has sent news of her noteworthy summer exploits:
“I am tremendously excited to announce that the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) will open its 2019–20 season with the premiere of my new theremin concerto, Sirens, on October 4 in Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory, featuring theremin soloist Carolina Eyck. Also on the program is the first piece ever written for theremin and orchestra, Joseph Schillinger’s First Airphonic Suite (1929). Sirens will then receive its New York premiere by the Albany Symphony on November 9. I so look forward to working with both orchestras, and with conductors Gil Rose and David Alan Miller, in the coming months!
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“A note about Sirens and the theremin:
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“The fascinating tale of this instrument, its inventor, and the various historical personalities involved in its development begged to be addressed through music. The first movement of Sirens, entitled “Clara’s Violin,” highlights Clara Rockmore’s deep and early relationship with the violin then sublimated into her theremin playing. It also is a musical depiction of Clara’s own personal and musical story, the narrative created through an interaction of leitmotifs derived from the names of the characters and the instruments they played. In addition to the leitmotif for Clara, included are the inventor (and her suitor) Lev Termen, her sister Nadia, her violin, her theremin, even the KGB (responsible for the mysterious and sudden disappearance of Termen in 1938).
“The second movement, “Ulysses,” addresses Kafka’s interpretation of Homer’s tale of the Sirens, culminating in a theremin “loop canon.” The third movement, “Fugal Horn,” presents a romping, scherzando fugue that degenerates into the final type of “siren” presented in this work: an alarm, evoked by the wide glissando effect that is one of the instrument’s trademarks (not unlike the orchestral “siren” utilized frequently by composers of the early-mid-20th century, notably Varese). Finally, leitmotifs based upon my own signature both begin and conclude the piece.
“The world premiere of Sirens, alongside the Schillinger, will occur on BMOP’s opening concert of the season, “The Roaring Twenties.” Also on the program are two works by John Alden Carpenter, and Kurt Weill’s Three Penny Music (1929). I’m so tremendously excited to be part of this unusual, lively program!”
More information about the October 4 concert is available on the BMOP website.
Warshaw later added:
“Some exciting news, as preparations are continuing for the upcoming premiere and recording of my theremin concerto, Sirens: The performance has been listed among Zachary Woolf’s “10 Months of Classical Concerts You Won’t Want to Miss” in The New York Times!
“I would also lhttps://preview.nytimes.com/2019/09/12/arts/music/classical-music-calendar.html?searchResultPosition=1ove to share with you an online interview featured by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), in which I address the background of Sirens, the idiosyncrasies of composing for theremin, my teaching, and working with the astounding thereminist Carolina Eyck.”
Jason Eckardt
Composer Jason Eckardt’s work continues to garner attention and accolades. The New York Times recently published two articles that focused on his music. The first was a preview of a recent concert that included Eckardt’s composition Dithyramb, including a video link to the work:
https://nytimes.com/2019/11/21/arts/music/lucy-dhegrae-national-sawdust.html
The second was a review of Conrad Tao’s Carnegie Hall debut, which included another one of Eckardt’s compositions, Echoes’ White Veil. The article exclaimed, “Mr. Tao tore into Jason Eckardt’s ‘Echoes’ White Veil,’ a ferocious 11-minute work, all frenzied eruptions of hellbent runs and leaping chords.”:
https://nytimes.com/2019/11/21/arts/music/conrad-tao-carnegie-review.html
Lars Frandsen
Guitar Professor Lars Frandsen performed a lecture-recital for the IGRC Conference in Hong Kong in July. The conference ran from July 14 to 20 at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, simultaneous to the 4th Altamira Hong Kong International Guitar Symposium and the HKAPA International Guitar Forum.
