Seattle’s contemporary music orchestra performs György Ligeti's piano concerto, featuring faculty pianist and SMO member Cristina Valdés, alongside new works for sinfonietta by graduate student composers and faculty members, including Seattle newcomer and recently appointed UW composition professor William Dougherty. SMO is joined onstage by select graduate-student members of the UW Modern Music Ensemble in this large-ensemble format.
Program Background
György Ligeti describes his piano concerto as encompassing music that embodies “…frozen time, as an object in imaginary space that exists simultaneously in all its moments.” This dazzling, multi-layered work features SMO’s tour-de-force pianist Cristina Valdés. SMO presents the concerto alongside new works for sinfonietta by graduate student composers and faculty members, including music by Seattle newcomer and recently appointed UW composition professor William Dougherty. His 2016 work the new normal juxtaposes a wide range of musical quotations and styles, directly engaging with social issues of xenophobia and racism in our current political climate.
Program
GYÖRGY LIGETI: Piano Concerto (1985-1988)
WILLIAM DOUGHERTY: the new normal (2016)
New student works (TBD)
Biography
Seattle Modern Orchestra
Founded in 2010, Seattle Modern Orchestra (SMO) is the only large ensemble in the Pacific Northwest solely dedicated to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Led by co-artistic directors Julia Tai and Bonnie Whiting, SMO commissions and premieres new works from an international lineup of composers, in addition to presenting important pieces from the contemporary repertoire that are rarely if ever heard by Seattle audiences. The ensemble “operates at that exciting cusp between old and new, between tradition and innovation” (Vanguard Seattle) curating new sounds and experiences for concert goers in the region.
SMO provides audiences with performances of the best in contemporary chamber and orchestral music, and develops podcasts, lectures, educational residencies, and other forms of community engagement in an accessible and inviting format all designed to expand the listener’s appreciation and awareness of the music of today.