St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Pulitzer Arts Foundation announce programming for 2018/2019 Live at the Pulitzer series
The popular four-concert contemporary classical series features works by Katherine Balch, Susanna Hancock, Maria Kaoutzani, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Finola Marivale, Missy Mazzoli, Jessica Meyer, Mayke Nas, Emma O’Halloran, Gemma Peacocke, Juri Seo, Caroline Shaw, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and Shelley Washington
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(September 10, 2018, St. Louis, MO) – The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, is pleased to announce the 2018/2019 Live at the Pulitzer concert series. Recognized for its exceptional, adventurous programming, the contemporary classical series was curated in collaboration with Tim Munro, the triple-Grammy-winning flutist, speaker, writer, teacher, and SLSO’s new creative partner. Each year since the Pulitzer Concert Series launch in 2004, the SLSO has programmed a series of concerts that complement current exhibitions on view at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. The 18/19 season was planned in conjunction with a remarkable lineup of exhibitions: Ruth Asawa: Life’s Work and Lola Álvarez Bravo: Picturing Mexico, both on view from September 14, 2018 – February 16, 2019, and Striking Power: Iconoclasm in Ancient Egypt, on view from March 22 – August 24, 2019. The Pulitzer Concert Series has become a highlight of the St. Louis concert scene, and enjoys deeply engaged, capacity audiences.
Tickets for the series go on sale today: Student tickets are $10 each. Subscription tickets to the four-concert series are $17 each. Individual tickets are $23.
SLSO President and CEO Marie-Hélène Bernard said, “The SLSO and Pulitzer Arts Foundation continue to break the musical boundaries with a concert series that connects art to social issues while exploring a new realm of audience engagement. Creative Partner Tim Munro, who recently joined our SLSO family, centered this year’s Pulitzer series on trailblazing women, the porous wall between art and documentary, the willful destruction of cultures, and intricacy built from simplicity. The concerts feature non-traditional audio, visual, and interactive elements that will engage audiences in new ways while elevating St. Louis as a true platform for experimentation.”
At the Live at the Pulitzer series concerts, the Tadao Ando-designed building – one of the finest examples of contemporary architecture in the United States – provides an intimate setting for the innovative works, all played by small ensembles of SLSO musicians within the museum galleries.
The first program, titled “Bombs of Beirut,“ incorporates audio interviews with survivors of the Lebanese Civil War of the 1970s collected by composer Mary Kouyoumdjian in a sweeping multimedia composition set to a string quartet of SLSO musicians. Kouyoumdjian’s part-composition, part-documentary will be preceded by a trio of short musical prayers at the October 10 concert.
The second program, set for December 11-12, will transport the audience to Iceland, home of composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir, during her In the Light of Air. The epic composition takes concertgoers on an aural and visual journey of Iceland’s natural beauty and changing seasons.
On March 26-27, 2019, percussionists will make music from flower pots, perform “surgery“ on a piano, and create melodies from metal discs in “Taxidermy,“ a program built almost entirely around the percussion section. Pianist Peter Henderson brings the dreams of Swiss explorer and pioneer Isabelle Eberhardt to life in the closing piece of the program, Missy Mazzoli’s Isabelle Eberhardt Dreams of Pianos.
The 18/19 Pulitzer series culminates with a group of works, titled “Kinds of Kings.“ The April 30, 2019, concert features works from a collective of young composers, who met as college students, and ends with a performance of Shelley Washington’s SAY, a piece for string quartet and voices that asks listeners to confront their own stereotypes.
Concerts take place at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 3716 Washington Blvd. For additional information, visit slso.org/pulitzer.
2018/2019 LIVE AT THE PULITZER CONCERTS
BOMBS OF BEIRUT
Wednesday, October 10, 2018, 7:30pm
Angie Smart, violin
Andrea Jarrett, violin
Chris Tantillo, viola
Elizabeth Chung, cello
Josh Riggs, sound engineer
JESSICA MEYER Only a Beginning
KATHERINE BALCH Responding to the waves
CAROLINE SHAW In manus tuus
MARY KOUYOUMDJIAN Bombs of Beirut
IN THE LIGHT OF AIR
Tuesday, December 11, 2018, 7:30pm
Wednesday, December 12, 2018, 7:30pm
Morris Jacob, viola
Yin Xiong, cello
Allegra Lilly, harp
Alan Stewart, percussion
Peter Henderson, keyboard
ANNA THORVALDSDOTTIR In the Light of Air
TAXIDERMY
Tuesday, March 26, 2019, 7:30pm
Wednesday, March 27, 2019, 7:30pm
William James, percussion
Alan Stewart, percussion
Shannon Wood, percussion
Thomas Stubbs, percussion
Peter Henderson, piano
Ron Bolte, Jr., sound engineer
Peter Henderson, percussion
Tim Munro, percussion
JURI SEO Wah
JURI SEO Shui
CAROLINE SHAW Taxidermy
MAYKE NAS Twelve Hands
MISSY MAZZOLI Isabelle Eberhardt Dreams of Pianos
KINDS OF KINGS
Tuesday, April 30, 2019, 7:30pm
Erin Schreiber, violin
Celeste Golden Boyer, violin
Shannon Williams, viola
Bjorn Ranheim, cello
GEMMA PEACOCKE In A Snowstorm of Moths
FINOLA MARIVALE The language of mountain is rain
MARIA KAOUTZANI Conversation
EMMA O'HALLORAN Points of infinity
SUSANNA HANCOCK Platforms
SHELLEY WASHINGTON SAY
Exhibition Descriptions
Ruth Asawa: Life’s Work isthe first major museum exhibition of the work of Ruth Asawa (1926–2013) since 2006, and the first ever outside the West Coast, where the artist lived and worked for six decades. This landmark career-spanning show brings together some eighty works, comprising nearly sixty sculptures from the full trajectory of her career—including looped wire, tied wire, electroplated, and cast works—as well as twenty drawings and collages, some of which date back to her years at Black Mountain College, where she studied with Josef Albers, who inspired her interest in materials as generators of form. Together, the works in the exhibition will provide new insight into Asawa’s innovative contributions to the field of modern and contemporary sculpture. This exhibition is on view September 14, 2018 – February 16, 2019.
Lola Álvarez Bravo: Picturing Mexico presents nearly fifty photographs by Lola Álvarez Bravo (1903–1993), who played a critical role in Mexico’s modernist wave through her work as a photographer, educator, and curator. Picturing Mexico focuses on her personal artistic practice from the 1930s to the 1970s, when Álvarez Bravo traveled across the country producing iconic portraits of her fellow artists, as well as lesser-known compositions that emphasize abstract form, pattern, and the play of light and shadow. Her pictures of people at work and at leisure, of buildings new and old, and of a diverse array of landscapes bring to life an era of profound transformation from the perspective of one of Mexico’s pioneering female photographers. This exhibition is on view September 14, 2018 – February 16, 2019.
Striking Power: Iconoclasm in Ancient Egypt is the first exhibition to explore the history of iconoclasm in relation to ancient Egyptian art. With nearly forty masterpieces from the renowned collection of the Brooklyn Museum, Striking Power will examine widespread campaigns of targeted destruction driven by political and religious motivations. Focusing on the legacies of pharaohs Hatshepsut (ca. 1478–1458 BCE) and Akhenaten (ca. 1353 –1336 BCE), as well as of the destruction of objects undertaken by early Christians, the exhibition will pair damaged works—from fragmented heads to altered inscriptions—alongside undamaged examples. It will thus show how the deliberate destruction of objects derives from the perception of images not only as means of representation, but also as containers of powerful and dangerous spiritual energy. In so doing, it will raise timely questions about ownership, memory, and visual culture. This exhibition is on view from March 22 – August 24, 2019.
About the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Celebrated as one of today’s most exciting and enduring orchestras, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest orchestra in the country, marking its 139th year with the 2018/2019 season. Widely considered one of the world’s finest, the SLSO maintains its commitment to artistic excellence, educational impact, and community connections – all in service to its mission of enriching lives through the power of music.
In addition to its regular concert performances at Powell Hall, which has been the permanent home of the SLSO for 50 years, the orchestra is an integral part of the diverse and vibrant St. Louis community, presenting free education programs and performances throughout the region each year. It presents St. Louis Symphony Live at the Pulitzer, a four-program series at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. The SLSO also serves as the resident orchestra for Opera Theatre Saint Louis, with this season marking the 42nd year of their partnership.
The Grammy Award–winning SLSO’s impact beyond the St. Louis region is realized through weekly Saturday night concert broadcasts on St. Louis Public Radio, acclaimed recordings, and regular touring activity. A sought-after artistic partner by preeminent musicians and composers from across the globe, as well as by local and national organizations, the SLSO enjoys a long history of robust and enduring artistic collaborations that have developed and deepened over the years.
Today, the SLSO builds on the institution’s current momentum on all fronts, including artistic, financial, audience growth, and community impact, and looks toward the future with Stéphane Denève. Denève, who has been a frequent guest conductor with the orchestra since 2003, begins his tenure as Music Director with the 19/20 season, following this season as Music Director Designate. For more information, visit slso.org.
About the Pulitzer Arts Foundation
The Pulitzer Arts Foundation presents historic and contemporary art in dynamic interplay with its celebrated Tadao Ando building, offering unexpected experiences and inspiring new perspectives. Since it was established in 2001, the Pulitzer has presented a wide range of exhibitions featuring art from around the world—from Old Masters to important modern and contemporary artists—and exploring a diverse array of themes and ideas. Highlights have included the exhibitions Blue Black, curated by artist Glenn Ligon (2017); Medardo Rosso: Experiments in Light and Form (2016-2017); raumlaborberlin: 4562 Enright Avenue (2016); Reflections of the Buddha (2011-2012); Urban Alchemy / Gordon Matta-Clark (2009-2010); and Brancusi and Serra in Dialogue (2005). In addition, these exhibitions are complemented by programs that bring together leading figures from fields ranging from art, architecture, design, urban planning, and the humanities to social work.
Located in the Grand Center Arts District of St. Louis, Missouri, the Pulitzer is free and open to the public between 10am–5pm on Wednesday through Saturday, with evening hours until 8pm on Friday. For more information, visit pulitzerarts.org
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