Between May 9 and May 26, Southwest presents a dazzling series of commissions celebrating the ensemble's international reputation and 25th Anniversary season. Southwest will commissioned works by Unsuk Chin, Anne Le Baron, Hyo-shin Na, Kurt Rohde, Tôn Thât Tiêt, and Vu Nhat Tan.
Highlights include Unsuk Chin's new work, Tombeau pour György Ligeti which captures her reflections on her imposing mentor and his lasting musical influence. It is a co-commission with the Nieuw Ensemble of Amsterdam and the Witten Festival in Germany.
Vu Nhat Tan will return to Los Angeles, supported by the Asian Cultural Council in New York City, following his successful appearances during Southwest's Ascending Dragon Music Festival of 2010. Working with American poet Bruce Weigl, Tan's The Song of Napalm is a break-out piece for the up and coming Vietnamese composer. San Francisco-via-Seoul composer Hyo-shin Na offers her ravishing Morning Study, inspired by the time of day many creators find most conducive to thoughts and ideas.
Gabriela Ortiz will join us from Mexico City for her Rio de las Mariposas and Rio Bravo while internationally recognized CalArts composer Anne Le Baron gives us Solar Music. Paris-based Vietnamese master Tôn Thât Tiêt has composed Miroir, memoire, a string quartet written for Southwest receiving its world premiere at the festival. Kurt Rohde has received a Meet the Composer grant for Concertino for Solo Violin & Ensemble, its first performance in Los Angeles.
We pay homage to composers who have left us in the last few years and leave gaping holes in our musical culture: Milton Babbitt, LA opera composer Daniel Catan, and Peter Lieberson. But on the other side of the spectrum, Elliott Carter at 103 has given us the west coast premiere of his new work, Three Explorations.
