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Composer-in-Residence at de Doelen in Rotterdam

David Lang is the composer-in-residence at Rotterdam’s de Doelen center, with 11 concerts featuring Lang’s music throughout the 2014/15 season:

Percussion HeavenResidentie Orchestra & So Percussion Sunday, November 30, 2014 at 20.15 VocaalLabthe little match girl passion Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at 20:30 Ensemble KlangKlang, Dance, Bang, Can Monday January 12, 2015 at 20.15 the whisper operaInternational Contemporary Ensemble, New York Monday, February 9, 2015 at 19:00 the whisper operaInternational Contemporary Ensemble, New York Monday, February 9, 2015 at 22:00 the whisper OperaInternational Contemporary Ensemble, New York Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 19:00 the whisper OperaInternational Contemporary Ensemble, New York Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 22:00 Ralph van RaatZappa’s Black Page Sunday, May 3, 2015 at 20:15 Anonymous4David Lang – love fail Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 20:30 Anonymous4David Lang – love fail Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at 20:30 DoelenEnsembleDavid Lang – death speaks Friday, May 29, 2015 at 22:00

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    ‘the loser’ premieres at Brooklyn Academy of Music

    the loser September 7-11, 2016. Brooklyn Academy of Music. Gilman Opera House.

    He appears to float in the nothingness. Confined to a tall tower 20 feet above the seats, he is alone, broken, and has a story to tell.

    In this daringly staged one-act opera from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang—featuring mezzanine-only seating and based on the novel by Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard—a failed piano student (baritone Rod Gilfry, Anna Nicole, 2013 Next Wave) recounts a life lived in the shadows of his famous friend Glenn Gould…

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    ‘anatomy theater’ New York premiere

    From January 7-14, the Prototype Festival presents the New York premiere of David Lang’s anatomy theater, co-produced by Beth Morrison Projects, with set design by Mark Dion, direction by Bob McGrath, conductor Christopher Rountree and the International Contemporary Ensemble, plus Bill Morrison (video), Laurie Olinder (projection), Christopher Kuhl (lighting), and Alixandra Gage Englund (costumes).

    Based on actual 18th-century texts, anatomy theater follows the astonishing progression of an English murderess: from confession to execution and, ultimately, public dissection before a paying audience of fascinated onlookers…

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    WaPo Best of 2019: Classical Music

    Revisiting Beethoven

    [article link]

    By Anne Midgette
    Classical music critic
    Dec. 10, 2019

    People often ask: Why can’t we update old operas for our time? With “Prisoner of the State,” David Lang has done just that. He remakes Beethoven’s only opera, “Fidelio,” a problem child of the repertory, into a new work that hews to the original in form while underscoring its relevance to today’s society…

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    before and after nature
    words and music by David Lang
    video and projections by Tal Rosner
    performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars with SATB chorus
    duration: 60 minutes

    Lead Commissioner: Stanford Live and LA Master Chorale
    premiere TBD fall 2025
    We are currently seeking additional commissioning support for interested presenters and/or ensembles

    contact: email hidden; JavaScript is required and email hidden; JavaScript is required

    Based very loosely on things I have thought about after reading the books ‘The End of Nature’ by Bill McKibben, ‘After Nature’ by Jedidiah Purdy, and ‘The Revolt Against Humanity’ by Adam Kirsch, my piece will look at different ways to define and understand nature, now that it has been forever changed by human behavior…

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    David Lang & Bill Morrison present  The Village Detective: a song cycle

    Recorded by Frode Andersen (accordion)
    featuring Shara Nova (guest vocals on “I cross the field”)

    The film premieres April 27 at the Moscow International Film Festival.

    Soundtrack now streaming on all digital services

    Conceived as a suite for a single accordion, David Lang’s soundtrack for the forthcoming Bill Morrison film (slated for theatrical release later this year via Kino Lorber) evokes a remarkable turn into folk traditions inspired by Russian storytelling…

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    ‘the writings’ EU premiere

    On October 13 the Nederlands Kamerkoor premieres the writings at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. They perform the work in 5 additional Dutch cities through October 24 — click here for more details.

    the writings — co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall for Paul Hillier and Theatre of Voices — combines some old and some new works into an hour-long piece:

    ·· again (after ecclesiastes)
    ·· if I am silent
    ·· for love is strong
    ·· where you go
    ·· solitary

    You can click here to see the full score…

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    Eighth Blackbird premieres ‘composition as explanation’

    February 25-26, Eighth Blackbird premieres David Lang’s composition as explanation at Duke Performances.  The new work is a nod to Gertrude Stein’s candid and circular 1926 lecture. Lang integrates composition and innovative aspects of theater, performance, and choreography. To create actors out of Eighth Blackbird, Lang sought out director Anne Bogart, co-artistic director of SITI Company. With Bogart at the helm, Lang envisions a new kind of musical artist, one with the formal training of actors on stage…

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    Tallis Scholars premiere ‘sun-centered’

    Tallis Scholars

    In April and May, The Tallis Scholars premiered sun-centered, a work commissioned to share a program with Antoine Brumel’s monumental Missa “Et ecce terræ motus” — a Renaissance mass for 12 voices that gets its name from a scrap of chant whose text means ‘and the earth moved.’

    Lang describes the connection:

    This scrap of text immediately reminded me of Galileo’s trial for the blasphemy of proving the Earth revolves around the Sun, which seemed to contradict the Bible…

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