Lovely blog post here from Ilona Oltuski about my work with pianist Yoonie Han.
Read more →Lovely pianist Yoonie Han premiered my Fumee d’Amber Gris on November 12 at Symphony Space in New York, on the Steinway Salon series. What a sensitive performance. She’s quite a champion of my music, playing this and El Jaleo many times, and her piano trio playing my Vinea Gloriosa at every chance! Fumee d’amber Gris by John Singer Sargent (1880)
Read more →End-of-summertime, and the composing has been good – and on deadline. My new piano trio Vinea Gloriosa premieres in three private concerts Sept 23, 24, and 25, with the Gloriosa Trio. And my next piece for the amazing Yoonie Han – like last year’s El Jaleo based on a painting of John Singer Sargent – is called Fumee d’Amber Gris. She’ll premiere it September 27, and then hopefully more Sargent-based pieces in her November recital at Symphony Space in New York. There’s nothing quite like writing for immediate premiere! Fumee d’amber Gris…
Read more →Summertime, and the composing gets serious. I’m just back from two weeks in Asia for the New York Philharmonic, where I sketched plenty of idea to get me started on new pieces for the amazing Yoonie Han – more works based on John Singer Sargent’s evocative paintings of women in iconic poses. These will join my El Jaleo to make a suite called Sargent’s Women. Yoonie will premiere them in November at Symphony Space in New York. Later, I’ll tackle a new piece for Jenny Q Chai on a favorite subject: bodies of water, and what they contain, combining music with video for the first time. (See the fishing shots on my Facebook page…) I’m so happy to work with both of these super talented players!
Read more →How wonderful to have Gamin back in New York. She and ETHEL gave a sizzling NY premiere of my Mudang on May 2 at Spectrum, and as I write this I look forward to another performance on May 7 at the Korea Society. The earthy mysticism of Mudang astonishes even me. And when she precedes it with a traditional sanjo – the musical form I emulated in Mudang – it’s even more powerful!
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