engulf-enkindle: music of György Kurtág, Michael Hersch, & Enno Poppe
$15 ($10 student/senior)
- Ah Young Hong, soprano
- Ben Roidl-Ward, bassoon
- William Overcash, violin
Michael Hersch — across, in grief and detail
Michael Hersch — Misere mei Domine
Enno Poppe — Holz
György Kurtág — Kafka Fragments
Soprano Ah Young Hong, bassoonist Ben Roidl-Ward, and violinist Will Overcash present a program of chamber music that delves into emotional experiences to find meaning both in intensity and in stillness. The program centers around three new works by American composer Michael Hersch. His trio, sapped from me broken – three songs after texts of Anja Utler sets texts from the German poet's volume münden–entzüngeln (engulf–enkindle), exploring close harmonies and rapid shifts of color and texture.
Hersch wrote two companion pieces for the program: across … in grief and detail – eleven figures for bassoon and violin, which spans a range of expression from crystalline to guttural and requires the violinist to sing throughout, and the trio Misere mei Domine – Fantasia on Music of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and Robert Schumann, which weaves together haunting materials from the Dutch and German composers.
The program is completed by Holz, a solo bassoon work by German composer Enno Poppe, and selections from György Kurtag’s Kafka Fragments, miniatures that set German-language snippets from the Bohemian author’s diaries, personal correspondences, and other unpublished writings for soprano and violin.
About Michael Hersch
A composer of "uncompromising brilliance" (The Washington Post) whose work has been described by The New York Times as "viscerally gripping and emotionally transformative music ... claustrophobic and exhilarating at once, with moments of sublime beauty nestled inside thickets of dark virtuosity," Michael Hersch is widely considered among the most gifted composers of his generation.
Recent events and premieres include productions of his opera "Poppaea" at the Wien Modern and ZeitRäume Basel Festivals; and his Violin Concerto, commissioned by Patricia Kopatchinskaja and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, at the Lucerne and the Avanti Festivals. His acclaimed two-act monodrama, "On the Threshold of Winter," has had performances in New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Salt Lake City, and Washington D.C.
Recent commissions include his elegy "I hope we get a chance to visit soon" at the Ojai and Aldeburgh Festivals, and his work Agatha, which had premiere performances in Bern and Geneva as part of Hersch's residency with the Camerata Bern. Major projects in 22/23 include those for Ensemble Phoenix Basel, and a new opera for Sarah Maria Sun, Schola Heidelberg, and Ensemble Musikfabrik.
https://michaelhersch.com/About Ah Young Hong, soprano
A soprano of “fearlessness and consummate artistry” (Opera News), Ah Young Hong has interpreted a vast array of repertoire, ranging from the music of Monteverdi to Georg Friedrich Haas. Widely recognized for her work in Michael Hersch’s monodrama "On the Threshold of Winter," The New York Times praised Ms. Hong’s performance in the world premiere as “the opera’s blazing, lone star.” Recent performances include solo appearances with violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Bern, and at the Aldeburgh and Ojai Music Festivals. Highlight concerts of 2021 and 2022 include the premiere performances in the title role of Hersch’s "POPPAEA" at the Wien Modern and ZeitRäume Basel Festivals, and title role of Fang Man’s "Golden Lily" (excerpts) with Alarm Will Sound. Fall 2022 saw the album release of Hersch’s "the script of storms" with BBC Symphony Orchestra under the New Focus label. Ms. Hong is an associate professor in the Vocal Studies Department of The Peabody Conservatory of Music, Johns Hopkins University.
https://www.ahyounghong.com/About Ben Roidl-Ward, bassoon
Recently named one of 23 artists who are “changing the sound of classical music” by the Washington Post, Ben Roidl-Ward is the Assistant Professor of Bassoon at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He also serves as Principal Bassoonist of the Chicago Sinfonietta, Solo Bassoonist of Ensemble Dal Niente, and Contemporary Leader of the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland.
Ben’s dedication to working with and advocating for composers of his generation has led him to commission numerous works featuring the bassoon, and he has participated in the premieres of over 125 compositions to date. He has performed with leading ensembles around the country, including the Chicago Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the International Contemporary Ensemble, and has presented masterclasses at Northwestern University and the Oberlin and Peabody Conservatories, among others.
Ben earned his DMA from Northwestern University, where he studied with David McGill and researched methods of notating multiphonics. Previously, he studied with Ben Kamins at Rice University, George Sakakeeny at the Oberlin Conservatory, and Francine Peterson in the Seattle area.
https://www.benroidlward.com/About William Overcash, violin
William Overcash is a violinist and performing artist living in Frankfurt, Germany. Overcash places great emphasis on the development of the new music genre and has made it his mission to work closely with composers locally and internationally.
In recent years, William has commissioned composers such as Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson, Raphaël Languillat, Andrew Stock, Sky Macklay, Jonah Haven, and Christine Burke, among others. As a performer, William plays regularly as a member with Broken Frames Syndicate (Offenbach, Germany), WolfTone (Chicago, USA), Basel Sinfonietta (Basel, Switzerland), Rothko String Quartet (Berlin, Germany), and ensemble reflektor (Lüneburg, Germany). He also often plays as a guest in the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt, Germany), and other important European orchestras and ensembles for contemporary and traditional Classical music. His recent projects have allowed him to perform in such fantastic venues as the Elbphilharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie, Cologne Philharmonie, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Philharmonie Essen, and the KKL Luzern.
https://overcashviolin.wordpress.com/