A new symphonic work celebrating Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a multimedia harp concerto on a disappearing women’s language in China and a tribute to Wynton Marsalis are among the highlights of this year’s Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.
Under music director and conductor Cristian Măcelaru, the Santa Cruz-based new music festival runs July 28 to Aug. 11, with premieres and commissioned works on the schedule.
Women composers are prominent this season — the festival’s 57th — which includes four mainstage concerts. The first program, “Notorious” (Aug. 2), brings the world premiere of “When There Are Nine,” a new symphonic work by Kristin Kuster. Based on Ginsburg’s life and accomplishments, it features mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth. The program also includes the West Coast premieres of Nina C. Young’s “Agnosco Veteris” and Melody Eötvös’ “The Saqqara Bird.”
“Contrasts” (Aug. 3), features the U.S. premiere of Dan Dediu’s “Levante” and the West Coast premieres of Du Yun’s “Kraken”; Anna Clyne’s “DANCE” for cello and orchestra, with cellist Inbal Segev; and Jake Heggie’s “The Work at Hand,” featuring Barton and Segev.
Tan Dun’s “Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women,” makes its West Coast premiere on a program titled “Secret Songs” (Aug. 10), with harpist Sarah Fuller as soloist in the composer’s concerto about a language created by and for women in 13th-century Hunan. Also on the program: the world premiere of Preben Antonsen’s “Psalm without Words”; the U.S. premiere of Vivian Fung’s “Earworms” and the West Coast premiere of Hannah Lash’s “God Music Bug Music.”
The final program, “Wynton” (Aug. 11), is devoted to Marsalis, featuring the trumpeter-composer’s “Blues Symphony” and Violin Concerto, with Nicola Benedetti as soloist.
Additional events include Clarice Assad in a free afternoon Family Concert (Aug. 4), Roomful of Teeth in Concert (Aug. 4) and a “pay-what-you-can” Community Night Concert (Aug. 8.)
Details: Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, July 28-Aug. 11, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz; individual tickets $30-$65, full subscriptions $375, available online May 1 and May 29 by phone, walk-up or online; 831-426-6966 or cabrillomusic.org.
STANFORD LIVE GETS POLITICAL: Appearances by violinists Joshua Bell and Sarah Chang, pianist Lang Lang, composer-performer Laurie Anderson, bluegrass virtuoso Rhiannon Giddens,and jazz master Chucho Valdés highlight Stanford Live’s 2019-20 season, running Sept. 29, 2019, to May 17, 2020.
According to executive director Chris Lorway, the season reflects the ways that music and performance can address a range of political issues, from a program of film music by Hanns Eisler, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era, to a Kronos Quartet concert titled “The ’60s: The Years That Changed America” and a celebration of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. featuring Damien Sneed.
“A key role of the artist is to reflect a society back upon itself,” says Lorway, “and that political context and content is a crucial part of this storytelling process.”
Stories will be told in more than 50 events: Included are “The Folly of Desire,” with tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Brad Mehldau; Michael Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble, Dorrance Dance and Scott Joplin’s opera, “Treemonisha.” The “Sundays with the St. Lawrence Quartet” series returns, and events in contemporary music, orchestral, theater, talks and commissioned works round out the schedule.
Details: Tickets onsale now for Stanford Live members; general tickets go on sale May 23; 650-724-2464; live.stanford.edu.
STEINWAY’S KEYBOARD GREATS: Pianists Jon Nakamatsu, Anna Dmytrenko, Juho Pohjonen and a duo recital by Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung are on the schedule for the Steinway Society’s 25th season.
The organization devoted to classical piano performances launches its 2019-20 concerts on Sept. 21 with Nakamatsu, a San Jose native and gold medalist of the 1997 Van Cliburn competition, in a program to be announced.
Dmytrenko performs Oct. 19, and other season appearances include Heejae Kim (Nov. 17) and Albert Cano Smit, first prize-winner at the 2017 Naumburg Piano Competition (Dec. 8.)
The series continues in 2020 with Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung (Jan. 11), Daria Rabotkina (Feb. 8) and Alexander Sinchuk (March 21.) Finland’s Pohjonen, who has performed with the San Francisco Symphony and Music@Menlo, appears April 18, 2020, and the season closes on May 16, 2020, with Italian pianist Federico Colli.
Nakamatsu’s performance is at the McAfee Center in Saratoga; Smit’s is at West Valley College in Saratoga. All additional performances are at the Trianon Theatre in San Jose.
Details: Sept. 21, 2019-May 16, 2020; full subscription tickets, priced at $240-$390, and 4-concert mini-subscriptions, at $145-$200, are on sale now; single tickets, $40-$60 with senior discounts available, go on sale July 8; 408-990-0872; steinwaysociety.com.
Contact Georgia Rowe at growe@pacbell.net.