“This weekend, the Philadelphia Orchestra premieres three newly commissioned works, each composed specifically for one of its principal players,” writes Tom Di Nardo in Wednesday’s (10/30) Philadelphia Daily News (subscription required). “Behzad Ranjbaran wrote the Concerto For Flute and Orchestra for Philadelphia Orchestra flutist Jeffrey Khaner.… ‘Since my childhood in Iran, I have always loved the plaintive, embellished sound of the Persian flute called the ney, which embodies a thousand-year-old tradition, as well as the modern instrument,’ [Ranjbaran said].…Tan Dun composed ‘Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women, Symphony for Micro Films, Harp and Orchestra’ for harpist Elizabeth Hainen. He explained that ‘Nu Shu was the only calligraphy and language invented by and for women [in China], and I wanted to create a soundscape monument to them.… Hainen noted that the piece ‘will go with us on tour to China this spring, and there are many Chinese who don’t know about this language.’ … David Ludwig wrote ‘Pictures From The Floating World’ for bassoonist Daniel Matsukawa. ‘I was thrilled to write for Danny and the orchestra,…’ Ludwig said. ‘Danny’s Japanese ancestry, and [Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s] background from a French-speaking region, made me recall the floating impressionism and imagery of Japanese woodblock artists and Debussy, and it evolved into a one-movement piece.”
Posted October 30, 2013
Pictured left to right: Jeffrey Khaner, Elizabeth Hainen, Daniel Matsukawa
