Commission to Chaya Czernowin

Composer Chaya Czernowin has been commissioned to write a new work for the Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles, made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. Poetica features percussion soloist Steven Schick, accompanied by four percussionists and live electronics. The composition is the first part of Czernowin’s Vena triptych. It is a joint commission by MEC, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, IRCAM and the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden. The world premiere took place in April 2024 at the Festspielhaus Hellerau, the French premiere will follow in June 2024 at the ManiFeste Festival. The US premiere will be presented next October as part of the 2024/25 season of Monday Evening Concerts.

Poetica is the first part of the cycle Vena, the second and third parts of which are planned under the titles Unhistoric Acts (for string quartet and a 24-member mixed choir) and Immaterial (for voice). In this full-length work, Chaya Czernowin builds an acoustic palace with three levels in which we explore the power of our perception through memory. The basis of this memory palace is the inner relationship between the soloist, the four percussionists and the string trio, which is activated by the soloist through the electronics.

The live performance consists of two elements: Live musicians and live electronics distributed around the room. The performance will feature the renowned percussion virtuoso Steven Schick, whom the New York Times has called the “philosopher king of percussion”. Schick will be accompanied by four percussionists from the ECHOI Ensemble. In response to the sounds of the live percussionists, San Diego-based Shahrokh Yadegari will trigger an electronic spatial diffusion with sounds created by IRCAM computer music designer Carlo Laurenzi. These electronic sounds will be joined by pre-recorded sounds from the German string trio Catinblack (viola, cello, double bass).

Further information:
mondayeveningconcerts.org

Date

2025
Zipper Hall, Los Angeles