The Women of the Pulitzer: The Music of Julia Wolfe, Caroline Shaw, and Jennifer Higdon
2019–2020 Cliburn Concerts
Date: November 16, 2019 2:00 pm CST
Venue: Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
FEATURING:
PIANIST BUDDY BRAY
VIOLINIST AMY FAIRES
VIOLINIST SWANG LIN
VIOLIST SARAH KIENLE
CELLIST LEDA LARSON
Eight women have won the Pulitzer Prize in Music. We’ll spend an afternoon basking in the work of three of these accomplished, visionary composers featuring performances by local musicians and video interviews with the composers, curated by Buddy Bray.
Composer Julia Wolfe draws inspiration from folk, classical, and rock genres, bringing a modern sensibility to each while simultaneously tearing down the walls between them. She’s written a major body of work for strings, from quartets to full orchestra, for organizations such as the New York Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Munich Chamber Orchestra. And she won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2015 for Anthracite Fields, a concert-length oratorio for chorus and instruments about the Pennsylvania Anthracite coal region. The Los Angeles Times called it “a major, profound work” that “compels without overstatement.”
Caroline Shaw is a New York-based musician—vocalist, violinist, composer, and producer. She’s recently written for Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s with John Lithgow, and had works premiered by Jonathan Biss with the Seattle Symphony, Anne Sofie von Otter with Philharmonia Baroque, and the LA Philharmonic. She’s written three film scores, produced for both Kanye West and Nas, sang three-part harmony with Sara Bareilles and Ben Folds, and was featured on “Mozart in the Jungle.” And she won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for Partita for 8 Voices, written for the Grammy®-winning Roomful of Teeth, of which she is a member.
Jennifer Higdon is one of America’s most acclaimed and frequently performed living composers. Her works are heard live more than 200 times per year and have been recorded on more than 60 CDs. Her extensive commissioners list includes the orchestras of Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Minnesota, as well as the Tokyo String Quartet, Lark Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, and the President’s Own Marine Band. She has five Grammy nominations and two wins, and received the prestigious International Opera Award for Best World Premiere for her first opera, Cold Mountain. And she won the Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for her Violin Concerto, with the committee citing the work as “a deeply engaging piece that combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity.”
PROGRAM
HIGDON Color Through (2016)
WOLFE Compassion (2001)
SHAW Punctum for string quartet (2009)
HIGDON Piano Trio (2003)
GENERAL CONCERT INFORMATION
Patrons must be 8 years of age or older to attend Cliburn Concerts.
For questions about ticketing please contact the Bass Hall Box Office at 817.212.4280.
The on-site will call and box office will open in the Modern Art Museum lobby one hour prior to concert time.
For information on parking please visit https://www.themodern.org/visit/map-and-directions
Photography and recording are strictly prohibited.