Choreographer Natalie Desch says the experience of setting movement for a duet of dancers to Gity Razaz’s Chance Has Spoken emulates perfectly the mysterious yet clear-directed nature of the young Iranian-American composer’s music for string quartet and vibraphone. “It is a very haunting piece with beautiful lyricism and movement sensibility,” Desch says. Composed in 2011, … Read more
More apparent every year, the Utah Enlightenment is audacious, experimental and unflinching in its artistic entrepreneurship. In 2018, the pool for considering the most definitive moments of the Utah Enlightenment was as expansive and diverse as ever. The Utah Review presents the top ten moments for 2018, precisely because of promise and strength among its … Read more
One of the most popular programming approaches to highlight the string quartet’s extraordinary versatility as a chamber music ensemble is to organize cycles of a particular composer’s output in the genre or to juxtapose a series that emphasize parallels between how two composers developed their musical language for string players. The case is strong for … Read more
Compared to its European neighbors, especially in the latter half of the 18th century and through most of the 19th century, Britain did not produce the same depth and breadth of composers whose works have endured. While Henry Purcell (1659-1695) is considered that nation’s preeminent Baroque composer, it was Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), one of the … Read more
NOVA Chamber Music Series will launch its 41st season this month with its Road to Night concert, a selection of works spanning the period of 1778-1899 that arise from intimate literary inspirations along with deeply heartfelt musical responses by composers to personal events in their lives. The concert also is a sincere reflection of NOVA’s … Read more
Two recent Salt Lake City performances once again highlight the creative entrepreneurial impact of the Utah Enlightenment. DAN HIGGINS: IN. MEMORY. OF., AN EVENING OF STORYTELLING AND DANCE Talkbacks after a performance or a screening of a new film can be risky, frustrating and deflating. There are plenty of justifications why many creative professionals hesitate … Read more
NOVA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES: ON THE THRESHOLD OF WINTER, CHAMBER OPERA, MICHAEL HERSCH Michael Hersch is an extraordinary composer. His chamber opera titled On the Threshold of Winter, which recently was presented in an astonishing production by the NOVA Chamber Music Series, makes as huge demands on audience members as it does on the soprano … Read more
I hereby recall the water from your cells, The sea sends me word Via an emissary. “I have a need for fuel (On the threshold of winter). Now I understand why for some time Dark clouds have hovered above me: Within them there’s a large part of myself Waving good-bye. The Emissary of the Blue … Read more
NOVA Chamber Music Series’ 40th anniversary is filled with every distinctive element that has made its programming brand unique in the Intermountain West region. There will be numerous soloists from Utah’s deep bench of outstanding musicians, six commissions of new music and performances of music that should be heard more frequently than is the usual … Read more
There was a lot to celebrate in 2015 with the Utah Enlightenment, a creative movement where courage defines some of the state’s most interesting and independent artists. Indeed, the Enlightenment disturbs and disrupts the peculiar Utah penchant to be civil and docile or to be content with platitudes and pleasantries. Artists are reclaiming Utah’s unique … Read more