Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Limited June 2012 2012/2 Lindberg Piano Concerto No.2 van der Aa Magnus Lindberg’s new concerto was premiered in May by spiralling bursts of runs and sputtering Included in this issue: pianist Yefim Bronfman and the New York Philharmonic arpeggios; cascades of double thirds; finger- 3D opera Glanert twisting counterpoint…” Interview about his new conducted by Alan Gilbert. Dutch composer With a full symphony orchestra at Lindberg’s Michel van der Aa’s opera Solaris in Bregenz disposal, Piano Concerto No.2 is a larger- and Berlin latest operatic project boned work than the composer’s first has been announced concerto, and though French models are still - a collaboration with apparent, the new score also embraces the the celebrated more muscular worlds of Bartók, Prokofieff, novelist David and even Rachmaninoff, to suit Bronfman’s Mitchell, author of wide-ranging repertoire skills. Lindberg has Cloud Atlas. The new commented that “if the first concerto looks film opera, Sunken to Ravel’s G major concerto, the second is Garden, will be a co- closer to his left hand concerto. I also production by English Photo: Marco Borggreve wanted it to survey my own pianistic National Opera, the experience, from Kraft in the mid-’80s Barbican Theatre, Toronto Festival of Arts, through Related Rocks to the present.” Culture and Creativity, Opéra de Lyon and “It took all of [Bronfman’s] technique and stamina the Holland Festival. to dispatch this monster concerto, a surging, Like its predecessors One, The Book of mercurial 32-minute work in three contrasting Disquiet and After Life, van der Aa’s new Britten sections that unfold continuously. The concerto stagework will employ a distinctive Coronation opera Gloriana opens with slowly emerging lines and chords in the low register of the piano and deep, quietly ominous combination of live action and video in Prague, Hamburg and projections to tell its story, and for the first London stirrings in the orchestra. Inexorably the strands coalesce into tense, swelling sustained orchestra time includes 3D film. Mitchell’s libretto tells harmonies and restless bursts of chords and quasi- an ‘occult mystery’ story involving a software crazed figures in the piano…. for all the shifts in engineer, a glamorous young socialite, a Photo: Chris Lee/New York Philharmonic language and style, the concerto comes across as neurotic film-maker and a gullible patroness Magnus Lindberg, Alan Gilbert and Yefim Bronfman take their bows after Piano Concerto No.2’s premiere. organic and inevitable.” New York Times of the arts. Each shares a dream of a ‘walled garden’ between life and death in which there Next season brings the first performances After a 20-year interval, Magnus Lindberg has The Financial Times described how “the is no guilt or grief. returned to the genre of the piano concerto celebrated Finnish composer shared his of Lindberg’s new commission for the with his new work for Yefim Bronfman, kudos with the virtuoso pianist Yefim Royal Concertgebouw, celebrating the The world premiere of Sunken Garden will be premiered in New York in May. The concerto Bronfman” whose “knuckle-busting solos 125th anniversary both of orchestra and hall. given by ENO at the Barbican Theatre on was the last major commission under [were] played with boundless energy… the The world premiere in Amsterdam is 12 April 2013, with further performances at Lindberg’s three-year residency with the New audience responded with instant cheers”. scheduled for 17 January conducted by the Holland Festival in Amsterdam in June York Philharmonic and, following the premiere The New York Times likewise hailed David Robertson, followed by the UK 2013. The production will be staged by conducted by Alan Gilbert, the orchestra Bronfman’s “brilliant and triumphant premiere by the BBC Symphony Orchestra Michel van der Aa, conducted by André de o toured the work to Los Angeles and San performance. He mastered every challenge: under John Storgards at the Barbican on Ridder and the cast includes Roderick Jenkins Francisco. thick chords that leap across the keyboard; 9 March. Williams and Claron McFadden. Further New choral work and the performances will follow in Toronto and Lyon London 2012 Cultural in future seasons. This October brings the Olympiad Australian premiere of After Life at the Melbourne Festival and the French premiere of van der Aa’s concerto for cello and film, Rouse Chin Up-Close, within the Nuit Blanche New York premiere celebrations in Paris. Unsuk Chin’s most residency recent work is cosmigimmicks, a Christopher Rouse has musical pantomime for Panufnik been named as the New seven instrumentalists, York Philharmonic’s new premiered in Amsterdam new website Composer-in-Residence, on 26 April by the A new website exploring Andrzej Panufnik for a term of two seasons Nieuw Ensemble beginning in 2012/13. (1914-91), the music and the man, has been Photo: Weonki Kim conducted by Celso launched at www.panufnik.com. 2014 is the Bernstein During his first year the Antunes. The 24-minute score extends orchestra will perform Polish-born composer’s centenary and the New production of Wonderful A new guide to the choral music of Benjamin further the imaginary theatre explored in her Photo: Jeffrey Herman three works by Rouse: a website provides a welcome overview for Town tours UK Britten has been released in anticipation of recent work Gougalo-n, here deployed for a world premiere of a concert opener entitled those researching repertoire for the the composer’s centenary in 2013. The guide smaller ensemble centred around the Prospero’s Rooms in April 2013, which will celebrations. consists of a CD sampler with 36 tracks and distinctive combination of guitar, mandolin also be toured to Europe; Phantasmata for over an hour of music, together with PDFs in and harp. The work was co-commissioned As well as details of Panufnik’s music and orchestra in February; and an earlier English and German containing a detailed by the Nieuw Ensemble, Southwest soundclips of his works, the website offers a Philharmonic commission, Seeing featuring survey of Britten’s choral works, written by Chamber Music and Wittener Tage für neue gallery of photographs, many never seen pianist Emanuel Ax, in June next year. Paul Spicer – the first to cover the Kammermusik. before, and detailed biographical information. Over the past 30 years the New York composer’s complete output. Social history and musical life intertwine in Philharmonic has presented twelve of Rouse’s Unsuk Chin describes how the “plucked Panufnik’s personal story: survival in wartime works, three of them commissioned by the Paul Spicer’s repertoire notes cover all choral instruments play the main roles, while the Warsaw and the Nazi occupation, political orchestra. The orchestra’s Music Director Alan genres explored by Britten: music for concert other instruments (prepared piano, violin, pressures under the Soviet-led regime, Gilbert has described how Rouse “is one of halls, church and school, for chamber and trumpet and percussion) disguise themselves escape to the UK, challenges in exile, and the the most important composers working today. symphony choruses, and for young voices in order to join in a play of masques and composer’s momentous return visit to I’ve recorded a lot of his music, and it has and church choirs. For each work there is a mimicry... At best, pantomime is able to Warsaw in 1990. practical commentary, including level of embrace both the sublime and the low in an been a very meaningful and a large part of my If you would like assistance with centenary difficulty and rehearsal tips for choral often baffling mixture of ritual and nonsense, musical life for a long time. He has a unique repertoire suggestions and details of directors. Links are provided to all sales of street and high art, of madness and voice and is one of the composers who truly recommended Panufnik interpreters please items. contemplation, of the tragic and the roughly hears what he writes. He doesn’t leave contact us on [email protected]. anything to chance: he actually shapes the The new guide is a collaboration between the comical.” sound and the emotional flow of his music in Britten-Pears Foundation and the three Other Chin highlights in the coming months a way that only great composers can.” publishers of Britten’s music: Boosey & include the US premiere of her opera Alice in Hawkes, Chester Music and Faber Music. If In addition to these performances, Rouse will Wonderland in a new reduced orchestration, you are a choral director, festival programmer advise on the orchestra’s new-music series, opening at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis or broadcaster and have yet to receive a CONTACT! The 2012/13 season features on 13 June. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts copy, or would like to inform us of your premieres of works by eight composers, her Violin Concerto with soloist Viviane Britten Centenary plans, please email us on including the North American premiere of Hagner and the Philharmonia Orchestra at [email protected]. Gougalo-n by Unsuk Chin, and a performance the Edinburgh Festival on 30 August and at of Counterpoise by Jacob Druckman. A new Britten 100 website is due to be soft- the Beethovenhalle in Bonn on 3 October. launched by the BPF in mid-June, including Chin was recently awarded the Ho-Am Prize, Rouse’s new trumpet concerto, Heimdall’s an overview of centenary performances the most prestigious within the arts sector in Trumpet, is premiered on 20 December by which can be added to by performing Korea, recognising “those who have made Christopher Martin and the Chicago organisations.