“… thus far and no further …” – Live, Intimate Concert Series Curated by Composer Michael Hersch – Continues on May 16
American composer Michael Hersch – “one of the most fertile musical minds to emerge in the U.S. over the past generation” (Financial Times) – recently reunited with renowned sculptor Christopher Cairns to launch the intimate concert series “… thus far and no further… .” Curated by Hersch and performed by some of his most trusted musical collaborators for a socially distanced audience of just 15, each live concert is bookended by sound installations and takes place among the sculptures in Cairns’s Pennsylvania studio, as previously featured in the set design for Hersch’s monodrama On the Threshold of Winter. After kicking off in October, the series continues on Sunday, May 16, with a program comprising Hersch’s Second Sonata for solo cello with Coleman Itzkoff, a cellist known for his “flawless technique and keen musicality” (New Yorker); the world premiere of ...un jour by Alican Çamci, performed by “wonderful flutist” Emi Ferguson (New York Times); Georg Friedrich Haas’s de terrae fine for solo violin, played by longtime Hersch collaborator Miranda Cuckson, whose “tonal luster and variety of touch enliven everything she plays” (New York Times); and Hersch’s original trio arrangement of a Fantasia by Orlando Gibbons, one of the last great figures of the English Renaissance. Click here to see the video trailer for “… thus far and no further … .”
Together with soprano Ah Young Hong, violinist Conrad Harris and cellist Daniel Gaisford, Ferguson returns for the series’ final program on June 12, when highlights will include the world premiere of Sea Poppies for soprano and flute by Christopher Fox and music by modern masters Shostakovich, Xenakis, Birtwistle and Matthias Pintscher.
Click here to see the first concert in the series, which presented Cuckson, Ferguson and the FLUX Quartet in a program juxtaposing Hersch and Morton Feldman with early French composers Guillaume de Machaut and Josquin des Prez.
High-resolution photos can be downloaded here.
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Michael Hersch & Christopher Cairns present “… thus far and no further …”
Live concert series at the studio of sculptor Christopher Cairns in Haverford, PA
Curator: Michael Hersch
Audience limited to 15 members per concert.
Tickets are free of charge but due to extremely limited availability, reservations must be made. Please request seats here.
Strict COVID-19 protocols will be employed for all performers and audience members.
May 16 at 7:30pm
Emi Ferguson, flute
Miranda Cuckson, violin
Coleman Itzkoff, cello
Alican Çamci: ...un jour for solo flute (world premiere)
Georg Friedrich Haas: de terrae fine for solo violin
Gibbons, arr. Michael Hersch: Fantasia for flute, violin and cello
Michael Hersch: Sonata No. 2 for solo cello
June 12 at 7:30pm
Ah Young Hong, soprano
Emi Ferguson, flute
Conrad Harris, violin
Daniel Gaisford, cello
Shostakovich: We Were Together for soprano and violin
Xenakis: Mikka “s” for solo violin
Birtwistle: Three Settings from Nine Settings of Lorine Niedecker for soprano and cello
Liza Lim: Bioluminescence for solo flute
Gibbons, arr. Michael Hersch: O Lord, I lift my heart to thee for soprano, flute, violin and cello
Matthias Pintscher: Figura V for solo cello
Christopher Fox: Sea Poppies for soprano and flute (world premiere)
Isabel Mundry: Balancen for solo violin
Shostakovich: We Were Together for soprano and violin
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© 21C Media Group, May 2020