Talea Ensemble presents the latest installment in its influential series of Written for Talea concerts on Wednesday, March 16, at 8:00 pm. This not-to-be-missed evening includes new works composed for the ensemble by Brian Ferneyhough, Georges Aperghis, and Jeffrey Holmes. Advance tickets are $15 general admission and can be reserved by visiting taleaensemble.org/concerts.
PROGRAM:
Jeffrey Holmes: Hagall (2015) *World Premiere
Georges Aperghis: Wild Romance (2012)
Brian Ferneyhough: Contraccolpi (2015)
Jane Sheldon, soprano
James Baker, conductor
New music giant Brian Ferneyhough’s newest work, commissioned by the Library of Congress for the Talea Ensemble, is a highlight of Talea’s season. Contraccolpi delves into the opposition experienced when juxtaposing musical material collides. From his classic virtuosic writing to moments of unnatural stillness, Contraccolpi demonstrates the amazing versatility of the musicians. Wild Romance by Georges Aperghis is fragile and bittersweet while the words and notes pass by at lightning speed. The ultra-accomplished soprano Jane Sheldon joins Talea for this work that explores fragments of memory struggling to be whole without success. The concert will also include Hagall by Jeffrey Holmes. Holmes’ work engages in the idea of landscape and mysticism through his spectral technique. Through his choice of pitch and rhythmic textures, stunning colors emerge.
Brian Ferneyhough
The Talea Ensemble has been labeled “. . . a crucial part of the New York cultural ecosphere” by the New York Times. Recipient of the 2013 CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the ensemble has given many important world and US premieres of new works by composers including Pierre Boulez, Tristan Murail, Olga Neuwirth, John Zorn, Unsuk Chin, Rand Steiger, Beat Furrer, and Fausto Romitelli. Talea has performed at Lincoln Center Festival, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, Warsaw Autumn, Wien Modern, Contempuls, Newport Jazz Festival, La Ciudad de las Ideas (Mexico), Art Summit Indonesia (Jakarta), and the International Contemporary Music Festival (Peru). Radio broadcasts of performances have been heard on ORF (Austria), HRF (Germany), and WQXR’s Q2. As an active collaborator of new music Talea has joined forces with the Austrian Cultural Forum, Consulate General of Denmark, Korean Cultural Service NY, Italian Cultural Institute, and the Ukrainian Institute. Assuming an ongoing role in supporting and collaborating with student composers, Talea has served as ensemble in residence at Harvard University, Columbia University, Stanford University, Ithaca College, Cornell University, and New York University. Talea has recorded works on the Living Artists Label, Gravina Musica, Tzadik, Innova, Wergo, and New World Records.
Jane Sheldon
Praised by the New York Times for singing “sublimely” and described as “superb, with a voice of penetrating beauty, precision and variegated colours” (Sydney Morning Herald), New York-based Australian soprano Jane Sheldon has sung under the direction of William Christie, Charles Dutoit, Antony Walker, and Reinbert de Leeuw. Specializing in early music and active in the creation and performance of new works, she has performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, Boston Camerata, Sydney Symphony, Halcyon, The Song Company, Synergy Percussion, Sydney Chamber Opera, and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. She has appeared in New York City Opera’s Vox Festival (2012), and in the MATA Festival (2014) as a member of Ekmeles. She is a member of the acclaimed touring ensemble for composer John Zorn, and has also appeared with Boston’s Sound Icon and Firebird Ensemble, and New York’s Wet Ink. In 2011 Jane was awarded Performance of the Year at the Australian Art Music Awards for The Origin Cycle, a work she co-commissioned. Jane’s recent album, North + South, was nominated for Best Classical Album of 2013 at Australia’s ARIA awards.
Brian Ferneyhough’s Contraccolpi is commissioned by the Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund in the Library of Congress, with further support from Ensemble musikFabrik and Kunststiftung NRW.
Jeffrey Holmes’ commission was made possible by a grant from the Jebidiah Foundation New Music Commissions. Additional collaborative support for Holmes’s work was provided by Firebird Ensemble: www.FirebirdEnsemble.org
Georges Aperghis’ Wild Romance is made possible with the friendly support of:
Advance: $15 | Door: $20 | Students with I/D: $10
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