Karl Jenkins: The United Kingdom's Most Popular Living Composer to Have Three Premieres at Avery Fisher Hall on Monday, January 19, 2009, 8 PM
December 14, 2008
Press contact:
Mindi Rayner Public Relations (718) 377-4720
Concert to be Presented by Distinguished Concerts International New
York (DCINY) Will Feature World Premiere Performance of Jenkins' Violin
Concerto, Sarikiz; US Premieres of His Te Deum and Stabat Mater;
Jonathan Griffith and Karl Jenkins, Conductors
Karl Jenkins was voted the United Kingdom's most popular living
composer for the past five years by listeners on BBC Classical Radio
One, and entered Classic FM's "Hall of Fame" at number eight, the
highest position ever for a living composer. Distinguished Concerts
International New York (DCINY) is proud to present two US premiere
performances of new works by Mr. Jenkins, as well as the world premiere
performance of his violin concerto, Sarikiz. This evening of choral and
orchestral works will take place on January 19, 2009, 8 PM, at Lincoln
Center's Avery Fisher Hall, and will feature the Distinguished Concerts
Orchestra International and the Distinguished Concerts Singers
International.
Sarikiz will showcase the talent of the Kazakh violinist for whom
the piece was written, Marat Bisengaliev. Mr. Bisengaliev has performed
in over thirty-five countries, and was the winner of the Royal
Philharmonic Society's "Instrumentalist of the Year" award in 2007.
Featured in the US premiere performance of Stabat Mater will be
mezzo-soprano Charlotte Daw Paulsen, whose recent appearance in
Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle was called "dramatic in the best sense
and utterly gripping" by the New York Times. Ms. Paulsen's Western
classical singing will be juxtaposed with the Middle Eastern-based
vocals of Belinda Sykes, who will also demonstrate her virtuosity on
the "mey", an indigenous Middle Eastern reed instrument. Mr. Jenkins
himself will be conducting, marking his Lincoln Center debut.
The opening piece of the evening, and the first of the US debuts,
will be Te Deum, commissioned by Liverpool's Welsh Choral. The text is
based on an early Christian hymn of praise and thanksgiving. Jenkins'
setting of Te Deum was reviewed as "a joyous, theatrical piece of
music...which alternates between dynamic, brassy flourishes and the
lush rise and fall of massed voices" by the Liverpool Echo in 2008. At
the baton will be DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
Jonathan Griffith.
Sarikiz was commissioned by Kazakh philanthropist Sapar Iskakov. It
is dedicated to his ancestor, Tlep Aspantaiuly, composer and master of
the kobyz, a Middle Eastern relative of the violin. Throughout, Jenkins
makes references to native folk themes, and employs two traditional
percussion instruments, the dabel [hand drum] and the kepshek
[tambourine].
The second half of the evening will consist of Stabat Mater. The
13th-century poem, a meditation on the sorrows of Jesus' mother Mary
during his crucifixion, has been used as a theme by composers from
Vivaldi to Verdi. Mr. Jenkins' 21st-century interpretation of the verse
includes six texts not from the original poem, including a section of
the Epic of Gilgamesh as well as a poem by 13th-century mystic poet
Jalal al-Din Rumi.
In Jenkins' words, "The Epic of Gilgamesh...is the world's oldest
written story. It is from the ancient Babylonian civilization, which
means, of course, that it comes from what is now Iraq, so it has real
resonance for our current time. Rumi...had an intense relationship with
a spiritual mentor called Shams al-Din Tabrizi, whose apparent murder
turned [him] into a poet and mystic who sought consolation in the
Divine."
Karl Jenkins has received numerous critical accolades and extensive
academic honors, and has achieved wide-scale popular appeal as well. He
is a recipient of the Order of the British Empire for his "services to
music", and his innovative work with the jazz ensemble Nucleus won
first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970. The album on which
he initially appeared as part of the seminal progressive rock group
Soft Machine, entitled Six, won the Melody Maker "British Jazz Album of
the Year" award. He has twice won industry prizes in the advertising
field, and his work Palladio has become iconic for the De Beers diamond
company. He is both a Fellow and an Associate of the Royal Academy of
Music, where a room has been named in his honor. Additionally, he has
been bestowed with an Honorary Doctorate in music from the University
of Leicester, and a Chancellor's Medal from the University of
Glamorgan.
For complete details about this event, and the rest of DCINY's
exciting 2009/2010 Season, or to set up an interview, please call Mindi
Rayner at (718) 377-4720. Further information is also available on the
DCINY web site, http://www.dciny.org. Press tickets available.
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Karl Jenkins at Avery Fisher Hall
Monday, January 19, 2009, 8:00 PM
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center
Te Deum (US premiere performance)
Sarikiz, violin concerto (world premiere performance)
Stabat Mater (US premiere performance)
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