3 Nov 2018

Sound Lounge: Nine NZ composers pay tribute to Lilburn; Virtuosic violinist Jennifer Koh talks about new works written for her

From Sound Lounge, 12:13 pm on 3 November 2018

9:30 Lilburn - Nine Echoes

In November 2015 Stroma presented a major tribute to Douglas Lilburn on the day of his 100th birthday. Nine Echoes features nine new works written by New Zealand composers, each work responding to one of Lilburn's Nine Short Pieces for piano. The piano pieces were performed in the concert by Emma Sayers. The new pieces were as diverse as the composers themselves, who ranged from major figures such as Eve de Castro-Robinson and John Elmsly, to recent graduates, and postgraduate students such as Stephen Clothier and Salina Fisher. (Stroma) (Recorded by RNZ)

Listen to Stroma's co-director Michael Norris talking about Nine Echoes

10:30 2018 NZ Composer Sessions

Alex van den Broek - Barbour St. Late Evening

Alex van den Broek

Alex van den Broek Photo: SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music

"In Barbour St. Late Evening, I have amalgamated modern classical compositional techniques with echoes of jazz standards and spirituals. This is a further development of work I have been making over my compositional career which incorporates the harmonies and textures of ensemble jazz with the melodies of folk and modern classical composition. The strings largely provide an atmospheric backdrop until they transform into a jazz refrain, whilst the winds and brass juxtapose with strains of various bluesy and spiritual tunes." - Alex van den Broek

VAN DEN BROEK: Barbour St. Late Evening - New Zealand SO/Marc Taddei (RNZ)
 

Philip Norman - And Soon it will be Dawn

Christchurch composer, Philip Norman

Christchurch composer, Philip Norman Photo: Gareth Watkins/Wallace Arts Trust/Lilburn Trust

This work was commissioned by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, to be written for the same forces (orchestral brass, tam-tam, bass drum and timpani) as Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man.

Faced with the choice of writing a fanfare in a similar “heroic” style as Copland’s, or in a contrasting mode, Norman chose the latter, taking as his source the words of a 12th-century troubadour love song. The resulting work is lyrical in character, and preserves the quintessential clarity of plainchant. Featuring alternating passages of calmness and more impassioned writing, the Fanfare finishes on an enigmatic note and in the hushed soundscape with which it began.

NORMAN: And soon it will be dawn - New Zealand SO/Marc Taddei (RNZ)

 

 

K BEECH: The Storm - New Zealand Guitar Quartet (Ode CDMANU 5153)

VARIOUS: Selection from the album Dirt Beneath the Daydream (Wire Magazine NZAF 001)

11:05 Relevant Tones

Virtuosic violinist Jennifer Koh is known for her commanding performances and technical assurance. Although she performs Tchaikovsky and Bach, she’s interested in finding the connection between the arts and music of all eras, from traditional to now. Jennifer Koh tells us about some of the 60 works that have been written especially for her. (WFMT)