Two Juilliard Concerts Are Part of "Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture" in Partnership with Carnegie Hall
Juilliard partners with Carnegie Hall on two concerts as part of Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture that pays tribute to China's diverse and vibrant culture and its influence around the world. As a partner, Juilliard presents an all-Tan Dun program on Monday, October 26 at 7:30 PM in Alice Tully Hall. The Juilliard Orchestra will be conducted by the composer, and the program features the world premiere of Tan Dun's Violin Concerto ("The Love") with soloist and Juilliard faculty member and alumnus Cho-Liang Lin. The Violin Concerto has been co-commissioned by Juilliard and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for Cho-Liang Lin. Chamber works by Tan Dun - Concerto for Six, Secret Land for 12 cellos, and Silk Road with Juilliard alumna, soprano Jennifer Zetlan, and Juilliard percussionist Mike Truesdell - complete the October 26 program.
FREE tickets are available beginning October 12 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard (155 West 65th Street). Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 11 AM to 6 PM. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
Tan Dun describes his work, Concerto for Six: "As a playful, dance-like piece, Concerto for Six evokes the joy of a village ritual. Traces of classical Chinese instrumental music are nonetheless evident in this one-movement work, which is constructed as a set of variations upon the number series 7-6-5-4-3-2-1. This numerical sequence governs the piece's metrical scheme and affects its rhythm and tempo as well. Contrasting with this strict formal structure are cadenzas and sections of free improvisation for each of the six players, as one might expect in a concerto."
Secret Land for 12 cellos is Tan Dun's discovery of all those things that are invisible, and states of mind that are intangible. Tan Dun sees himself as a shaman, observing every single note as a life and a spirit. Each note has a head, body, and tail. Each note has a story about where it is from and goes. Secret Land has two meanings: one is on the philosophical level - about humanity. It's a reflection of the phenomenon of historical Silk Road cultures, a search that is still so haunting. Secondly, as a composer Tan Dun always retreats to his own secret land, that inner creative source that he revisits from time to time, from piece to piece.
Silk Road is a section of a collaborative performance work with New Mexico poet Arthur Sze based on his long poem The Silk Road. The work was commissioned by the Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Art and first performed by Joan LaBarbera and Christopher Shultis.
Tan Dun's Violin Concerto ("The Love"), a 30-minute work, is in three movements: I. Hip Hop, II. Maliconia, and III. Dramatico. The movements are to be performed attaca.
Composer Tan Dun's film score, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, won both an Oscar and a Grammy, while his music for the concert hall has won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award. He has made an indelible mark on the world's music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical, multimedia, Eastern and Western musical systems. His work reflects his individual compositional concepts and personal ideas - among them a series which brings his childhood memories of shamanistic ritual into symphonic performances; works which incorporate elements from the natural world; and multimedia concerti. Opera has a significant role in Tan Dun's output of the past decade, most recently with the premiere of The First Emperor by the Metropolitan Opera in December 2006 with a title role created for Plácido Domingo.
Soprano Jennifer Zetlan is swiftly garnering recognition for her beautiful voice and captivating stage presence. Since graduating from Juilliard in 2006, Ms. Zetlan has made debuts with the Florida Grand Opera as Lisa in La sonnambula, with New York City Opera as Frasquita in Carmen, and with the Metropolitan Opera as Second French Actress in War and Peace. She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Emily Webb in Our Town at the Aspen Music Festival and with Juilliard Opera. This season, she makes her debut with the Nashville Opera and will appear with the Seattle Opera, New York City Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera.
Percussionist Mike Truesdell is currently a master of music candidate at Juilliard where he studies with Daniel Druckman. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, he is a versatile performer, teacher, and clinician. He received his bachelor's degree in percussion performance from Lawrence University. He was selected to rehearse, perform, and travel with the Lucerne Festival Academy Ensemble, under the baton of Pierre Boulez and Jean Deroyer in the summer of 2007, which brought him across Europe and to Japan. He performed again with Boulez in a performance in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall in January 2008. Active in non-western styles of music, Mr. Truesdell feels equally comfortable performing the traditional music of Ghana, Brazil, and Cuba. Recently, he has co-founded Spectrum Trio, a percussion trio dedicated to creating new works for percussion trio, based in music of the African diaspora.
Juilliard's next event in the Ancient Paths, Modern Voices festival takes place on Wednesday, October 28 at 8 PM when Carnegie Hall presents conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the Juilliard Orchestra in the world premiere of Chen Qigang's Er Huang for Piano and Orchestra with guest artist, pianist Lang Lang. The program also includes Lou Harrison's Pacifika Rondo; Chinese works for solo piano; and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. Other guest artists for the concert are mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, and tenor Gregory Kunde. Tickets range from $22 - $59 and are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office or through CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800 or online at www.carnegiehall.org.
Juilliard's last concert of the festival takes place on Monday, November 9 at 8 PM in Alice Tully Hall, when the New Juilliard Ensemble performs a program showcasing works written by contemporary Chinese composers living and working in China today. Music director and conductor Joel Sachs leads the New Juilliard Ensemble in a program featuring the world premiere of Li Shaosheng's Skyline on the Moon (2009); Guo Wenjing's Concertino for Cello and Chamber Orchestra (1997); Jia Daqun's Three Images from Ink and Wash Painting (2005); Liu Sola's In-Corporeal I (1998); and an additional work to be announced. FREE tickets are available beginning October 26 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
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FOR CALENDAR LISTINGS:
Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture
Monday, October 26, 7:30 PM
Alice Tully Hall
Juilliard Orchestra
Tan Dun, Conductor
Cho-Liang Lin, Violin
Jennifer Zetlan, Soprano
Mike Truesdell, Percussion
All-Tan Dun Program:
Concerto for Six
Secret Land for 12 Cellos
Silk Road
Violin Concerto ("The Love") (World Premiere co-commissioned by Juilliard and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for Cho-Liang Lin)
FREE tickets are available beginning October 12 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
Wednesday, October 28, 8 PM
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage
Carnegie Hall Presents
Juilliard Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas, Conductor
Lang Lang, Piano
Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo-Soprano
Gregory Kunde, Tenor
Lou Harrison - Pacifika Rondo
Chinese works for solo piano
Chen Qigang - Er Huang for Piano and Orchestra (World Premiere, commissioned by Carnegie Hall through the generosity of Henry R. Kravis in honor of his wife, Marie-Josée)
Gustav Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde
Tickets range from $22 to $59 and are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, through CarnegieCharge, or online at www.carnegiehall.org/chinafestival.
Monday, November 9, 8 PM
Alice Tully Hall
New Juilliard Ensemble
Joel Sachs, Music Director and Conductor
Li Shaosheng - Skyline on the Moon (2009)
Ye Xiaogang - Nine Horses (1993)
Guo Wenjing - Concertino for Cello and Chamber Orchestra (1996)
Jia Daqun - Three Images from Ink and Wash Painting (2005) (Composed for the New Juilliard Ensemble)
Liu Sola - In-Corporeal I (1998, revised 2009) (Composed for the New Juilliard Ensemble) First performance of revised version
(An additional work on the program will be announced.)
FREE tickets are available beginning October 26 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
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