Works & Process at the Guggenheim
presents
Nico Muhly and the Countertenor
Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 7:30 pm
Composer Nico Muhly discusses his music for countertenor with author and illustrator Maira Kalman and Guggenheim curator for performance and media Nat Trotman. A selection of these works including Principles of Uncertainty (2007) inspired by Maira Kalman’s book and blog of the same name and Four Traditional Songs (2011) will be performed alongside a preview of a new Works & Process commission. Inspired by the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World’s interpretation of the oldest song in the world, the new commission is an extension of Lenka Clayton and Jon Rubin’s project . . . circle through New York, part of the Guggenheim Social Practice initiative. Produced in association with Beth Morrison Projects.
PANEL
Maira Kalman, author and illustrator
Nico Muhly, composer
Nat Trotman, Guggenheim curator for performance and media
CAST
Nicolee Kuester, horn
Nico Muhly, piano
Dave Nelson, trombone
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stephanie Richards, trumpet
Paul Wiancko, cello
PROGRAM
Four Traditional Songs
Nico Muhly and Maira Kalman discuss Principles of Uncertainty.
Principles of Uncertainty
Nico Muhly and Nat Trotman discuss the new commission and Lenka Clayton and Jon Rubin’s Guggenheim Social Practice project …circle through New York.
Listening session: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World’s (ISAW) commissioned interpretation of the “oldest song in the world,” a 3,400 year old Hurrian Hymn, sung to the goddess Nikkal in the ancient Hurrian language interpreted by scholar Joan Borrell. One recording is sung acapella and the other with musical accompaniment.
Preview: New Commission
TICKETS & VENUE
$40, $35 Guggenheim Members and Friends of Works & Process
Box Office (212) 423-3575 or worksandprocess.org
Peter B. Lewis Theater
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue, New York
RELATED EVENT
On September 18, 2017 at 7:30 pm, Works & Process at the Guggenheim presents a preview of choreographer John Heginbotham and author illustrator Maira Kalman newest collaboration, The Principles of Uncertainty. Heginbotham and Kalman will discuss their newest collaboration featuring imaginative production design and whimsical dance theater inspired by Kalman’s written work and visual art. Following the world premiere at Jacob’s Pillow Dance and before the New York premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Dance Heginbotham and members of The Knights orchestra will perform highlights set to a score by the orchestra’s artistic director Colin Jacobsen.
Nico Muhly (b.1981) is an American composer and sought-after collaborator whose influences range from American minimalism to the Anglican choral tradition. The recipient of commissions from The Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and others, he has written more than 80 works for the concert stage, including the forthcoming opera Marnie. Muhly is a frequent collaborator with choreographer Benjamin Millepied and, as an arranger, has paired with Sufjan Stevens, Antony and the Johnsons and others. His work for stage and screen include music for the Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie and scores for films including the Academy Award-winning The Reader. Born in Vermont, Muhly studied composition at the Juilliard School before working as an editor and conductor for Philip Glass. He is part of the artist-run record label Bedroom Community, which released his first two albums, Speaks Volumes (2006) and Mothertongue (2008). He lives in New York City.
Guggenheim Social Practice
A new initiative committed to exploring the ways in which artists can initiate projects that engage community participants, together with the museum, to foster new forms of public engagement. As part of the initiative, the museum has commissioned two separate artist projects, one by Marc Bamuthi Joseph and one by Jon Rubin and Lenka Clayton, which were developed and presented in New York City in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Works & Process at the Guggenheim
Described byThe New York Times as “an exceptional opportunity to understand something of the creative process,” for over 33 years and in over 500 productions, New Yorkers have been able to see, hear, and meet the most acclaimed artists in the world, in an intimate setting unlike any other. Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to generations of leading creators and performers. Most performances take place in the Guggenheim’s intimate Frank Lloyd Wright-designed 285-seat Peter B. Lewis Theater. In 2017, Works & Process established a new residency and commissioning program, inviting artists to create new works, made in and for the iconic Guggenheim rotunda. worksandprocess.org.
