“Art songs have been moving out of classical music in the last many years,” writes composer David Lang. “Indie rock seems to be the place where Schubert’s sensibilities now lie, a better match for direct story telling and intimate emotionality.” Lang’s death speaks, along with his work depart, is released on Cantaloupe music on April […]
Read MoreDavid Lang is among 20 of America’s most vital artists working in the fields of contemporary dance, jazz and theatre announced by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) as recipients of the 2013 Doris Duke Artist Awards. The grantees include: • Anthony Braxton (Middletown, CT (New York, NY)• Billy Childs (Los Angeles, CA)• Ping Chong […]
Read MoreAlthough we all eventually face death, it’s a topic most avoid — except perhaps for philosophers, who explain it to our heads, and artists, who present it to our hearts. Composer David Lang offers something for both head and heart — and goes one step further in his new song cycle, Death Speaks. Here, death […]
Read MoreFrom May 11-19, Long Beach Opera stages Michael Gordon’s opera Van Gogh. Based on Vincent Van Gogh’s letters to his beloved younger brother Tlusteheo, an art dealer and often Vincent’s sole means of personal and financial support, Gordon’s powerful opera has been praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as “puls[ing] with a distinctive brand of […]
Read More[video:http://youtu.be/aT5B6tmNYWA width:300 height:300] It’s been a long time coming, but Shelter is finally here! The latest collaborative work by Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe is a modern oratorio that reunites the Bang on a Can founders with Deborah Artman (author of the libretto for 2001’s Lost Objects). Produced by Michael Riesman, this premiere […]
Read MoreOn Sunday March 17, Michael Gordon’s newest work for orchestra, Beijing Harmony, is premiered by Kristjan Jarvi and the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra. Gordon writes about the new work: I wrote Beijing Harmony as part of Composing China, a project in which I (along with four other composers) was asked to […]
Read MoreMichael Gordon’s percussion sextet Timber, “six players, six two-by-fours, one hour of aural hypnosis” (TimeOut NY) is toured from Canada to Ireland to Germany and beyond by co-commissioners Slagwerk Den Haag and Mantra Percussion. 8 March Muziekgebouw — Amsterdam (SDH) 9 March Vancouver New Music — Canada (MP) 15 March Maerzmuzik — Berlin (SDH) 21 […]
Read MoreCommissioning Rushesby Dana Jessen http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/commissioning-rushes/ As musicians, we frequently talk about the process of composing music. Most often we discuss the various methods a composer goes through to realize his or her work. Yet there is another facet of such an undertaking that often isn’t discussed—the performer’s side of commissioning a large-scale work. On September […]
Read More[video:http://youtu.be/EZhi0ta-v90 width:300 height:169 align:left] http://www.carnegiehall.org/lang/ http://www.carnegiehall.org/Subscriptions/2013-2014-Season/David-Lang/ David Lang — Carnegie Hall’s 2013–2014 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair — embodies the restless spirit of invention with his creation of new forms that defy categorization. The musically omnivorous creator references folk, pop, and jazz influences in his compositions, while at the same time being deeply rooted […]
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