MEMETERIA by Thomas May

If you’re in New York City this week, here’s a can’t-miss event: One of the major shapers of the contemporary music scene as we know it in America is the still-too-little known Chinese American composer, teacher and scholar CHOU Wen-chong. Miller Theatre will present a special concert on 21 March by Continuum Ensemble to honor his centennial. He was actually born in 1923, but events have been scheduled throughout the 2023-24 season to celebrate his legacy.

Chou moved to the US in his 20s to study and became an important figure in the American avant-garde musical scene. He spent much of his career pioneering a new synthesis of classical Chinese aesthetics with a Western contemporary sensibility. As a charismatic teacher based at Columbia, he was responsible for bringing the big players of the next generation over from China at the end of Mao’s Cultural Revolution to the US — composers including Tan Dun, Chen Yi, Bright Sheng and Zhou Long — and has been dubbed (by Tan Dun) “the godfather of  Chinese contemporary music.”

The Miller Theatre concert will be led by Joel Sachs, a longstanding figure at Juilliard who retired from his post there last year. This event will consider Chou’s legacy in cultural interchange and blending Eastern and Western styles — how he helped pave the way toward a more-inclusive aesthetic in today’s classical sphere.

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Seattle Chamber Orchestra, led by Lorenzo Marasso, presents the remarkable organist Wayne Marshall in recital on Saturday evening, 2 March, at 8pm at Plymouth Church in Seattle.

Among the organ works that Marshall will perform is Passion Symphony by Marcel Dupré, which began as an improvised performance in 1921 that was later notated and published. Marshall will play the Plymouth Church’s Fisk organ.

Admission includes a pre-concert talk and the performance, accompanied by drinks and appetizers.

From Seattle Chamber Orchestra’s commentary on the program:

“During his 1921 Christmas tour in the United States, Marcel Dupré engaged the audience at the renowned Grand Court Organ within Philadelphia’s John Wanamaker Department Store by improvising on four suggested melodies. These included two Christmas tunes (“Jesu redemptor omnium” and the well-known hymn “Adeste fideles” or “O Come All Ye Faithful”) as well as two Easter chants (“Stabat mater dolorosa” and “Adoro te devote”). Three years later, Dupré transcribed and published these improvisations as Symphonie-Passion, Op. 23. The symphony’s four movements serve as a musical narrative of Christ’s life, with the following titles: 1) “Le Monde Dans L’Attente Du Saveur” (The World Awaiting the Savior); 2) “Nativité” (Nativity); 3) “Crucifixion”; and 4) “Résurrection” (Resurrection). Dupré’s improvisational style showcases hypnotic effects through the use of ostinatos. The first movement features repetitive chord patterns alternating between groups of five and seven. In contrast, the second movement explores melodic contours, gradually revealing a familiar melody in a solemn manner towards the end. The third movement incorporates a prominent and weighty pedal part, culminating in the emergence of the sorrowful “Stabat mater dolorosa.” The final movement bursts into a joyous and cacophonous resurrection, employing a traditional French organ toccata of that era, characterized by rapid intricate hand movements over a resounding slow melody played with the pedals.

British conductor, organist and pianist Wayne MARSHALL is world-renowned for his musicianship and versatility on the podium and at the keyboard. He served as Chief Conductor of WDR Funkhaus Orchestra Cologne 2014-2020, became Principal Guest Conductor of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi in 2007 and is a celebrated interpreter of Gershwin, Bernstein and other 20th century composers. Recent conducting highlights include his critically-acclaimed debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, a widely-praised new production Porgy and Bess at Theater an der Wien, a concert version of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with the Prague Radio Philharmonic and UK touring with Chineke! and BBC Singers. As organ recitalist, he has an exceptionally varied repertoire and performs worldwide to an audience of millions. He gave a spectacular online recital at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg in the 19/20 season and future plans include returns to Philharmonie de Paris and Royal Albert Hall. Throughout 2018 he played a key role in leading the Leonard Bernstein centenary celebrations including Bernstein’s Mass with Orchestre de Paris at the Philharmonie de Paris. He also made his debut with Zurich Philharmonie in an all-Bernstein program and conducted the rarely-performed White House Cantata in Utrecht with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. He conducted the first performance of the highly-acclaimed Orchestra Chineke! at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Recent notable organ recitals in the 19/20 season included Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles; Kimmel Centre in Philadelphia and Symphony Hall in Birmingham. He is a regular performer at the BBC Proms and appeared in the 2012 season as organist and was co-presenter of the Barenboim Prom in 2014. Wayne was honored with an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2021. In 2004 he received an Honorary Doctorate from Bournemouth University and became Fellow of the Royal College of Music in 2010. Since its inception Mr. Marshall has also joined the Board of Directors of the Seattle Chamber Orchestra.”

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