After some remarks by CW on his work
for clarinet and harp
(2018)
- Duration 6'04
- Premiere February 15-23, 2018: Ensemble Dal Niente premieres After some remarks by CW for clarinet and harp, on its east coast tour. Concerts at Lilypad (Cambridge, MA, Feb. 15), Brandeis University (Slosberg Music Center, Feb. 17), Spectrum (New York, Feb. 21), and Brown University (Granoff Center, Feb. 23).
- Recording Ben Melsky: Ben Melsky / Ensemble Dal Niente, New Focus Recordings (fcr236)
Program Notes
I recently attended a talk by Christian Wolff, the eminent elder statesman of American experimentalism and the last living link to the New York School. At 83, his unassuming wisdom and humor shine through, and the talk was a retrospective of a life marked by stylistic changes, priorities, and commitments, and a shifting relationship between art and politics, while still pointing to an unknown future. While I’m touched by the singularity of approach to sound, I’m mostly liberated by his belief in shared decision-making and breaking down the hierarchies of the creative act. This short piece, which lives moment-to-moment in a series of delicate sound objects and intimate dialogues between the clarinet and harp, was completed in the aftermath of this encounter. It is dedicated to Ben Melsky and Katie Schoepflin, whose music-making and collaborative spirit encouraged and inspired me during the writing process.
– Wang Lu
