MoreConcerts
n conjunction with the second annual mise-en music festival, New York-based contemporary music collective ensemble mise-en presents a concert highlighting the work of idiomatic Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen, including Winternacht (1978);
Kharon (2009); Traumlieder(2009); In Memoriam Luigi Nono (2012); and the New York-premiere of Flowersongs (2012).
About Hans Abrahamsen
Hans Abrahamsen (b. 1952, Denmark) studied French horn in 1969 at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, but began his composition studies in 1970-71 with Niels Viggo Bentzon. In 1971 he studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music in Århus where he studied under Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen; he also studied under Per Nørgård and György Ligeti. From 1975-81 he returned to Copenhagen to study music history and theory.
In his early career Abrahamsen was a key figure in the Danish New Simplicity/ny enkelhed movement – a reaction to 1960s Modernism. Despite the small scale and brevity of many of his compositions, his music often possesses an epic quality, creating the impression that behind the scarcity of material lie expansive concepts and dense thought.
Career highlights include the commissioning and premiere of Nacht und Trompeten (1981) by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Hans Werner Henze; the U.K. premiere of Four Pieces for Orchestra at the BBC Proms in 2005 by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ilan Volkov; and in 2008 the world premiere of Schnee (complete version) in Witten, Germany by Ensemble Recherche. He has received among other honors the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsens Hæderspris in 1989 and the Wilhelm Hansen Composer Prize in 1998. In 2012 he was also a featured composer at the Witten Days for New Chamber Music in Germany.
In 1995 Abrahamsen was appointed Assistant Professor in Composition and Orchestration at The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen. He has additionally found an outlet as an arranger, including the work of Per Nørgård (1992), Carl Nielsen (2010), and Claude Debussy (2011).
About ensemble mise-en
Led by composer and founder Moon Young Ha, ensemble mise-en draws its roster from New York’s most talented young new music performers. Its multi-national personnel strive to bring a repertoire of challenging, new sounds to diverse audiences.
The ensemble wishes to impart an experience that is simultaneously multi-cultural, intellectually stimulating, and aesthetically pleasing (“mee” means “beauty” in Korean and “zahn” means “to decorate”), promoting large-scale composition projects and intense performances of contemporary music with programs featuring the works of many established and budding composers alike.
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Photo Courtesy of ensemble mise-en
THU – 6-11-2015 – 8:00 PM
$20 ($10 ASF Members)