衛武營國家藝術文化中心 National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

Literature has the ability to seek out depth in the world. An early 19th century collection of poems, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, inspired Gustav MAHLER in his composition of several songs by the same name, including one based on a sentinel's nighttime song and another about children who die of hunger. The piece repeatedly reflects on the meaning of life. A century after MAHLER's endeavor, Swedish composer Anders HILLBORG was similarly inspired by American writer Ray BRADBURY's short-story collection Dark Carnival, creating a song that begins with the happiness and joy one would expect at an amusement park but becomes nightmarish and, in the end, "vaporizes" within the melody carried by a lone double bass.

LIGETI 100 is, as the name suggests, a celebration of this Hungarian composer, one of the greatest of the 20th century, on his 100th birthday. His exploration in the area of micropolyphony and transformation of music styles from various ethnicities greatly expanded the horizons of the music world. His Chamber Concerto, completed in 1970, was dedicated to Austrian composer Friedrich CERHA and first performed by the latter's ensemble Die Reihe. LIGETI said of the piece, "One clearly discernible interval combination is gradually blurred, and from this cloudiness it is possible to discern a new interval combination taking shape." It is the most iconic piece from the third ("synthetic") phase of his career.

  Post-talk  

2023/4/19(Wed)、4/20(Thu) After performance at Recital

  Program  

4/19(Wed)19:30

Anders HILLBORG: Vaporised Tivoli (Taiwan Premiere)

KAO Kai-yi: Virtual...But Real

Donghoon SHIN: The Hunter's Funeral (Taiwan Premiere)

G. MAHLER: Excerpts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Arrangement for High Voice and Ensemble by Klaus SIMON)

4/20(Thu)19:30

György LIGETI: Chamber Concerto

PoChien LIU: Vormärz, Violin solo mit große Ensemble und Live-Elektronik 2022

Vito ŽURAJ: Ubiquity for Soprano and Ensemble (Asia Premiere)

  Creative and Production Team  

Conductor｜Clement POWER

Soprano｜Nika GORIČ

Weiwuying Contemporary Music Ensemble

  Artists Introduction  

Conductor｜Clement POWER

Clement POWER (b. 1980) studied at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music (London), then held assistant conductorships with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Ensemble Intercontemporain, where he worked closely with Pierre BOULEZ. Strongly committed to music as a living tradition, he regularly collaborates with leading new music ensembles worldwide. Recent conducting engagements include Klangforum Wien, Ensemble MusikFabrik (Cologne), the Philharmonia (London), London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), RSO Stuttgart, hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt), Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain (Paris), Ensemble Contrechamps (Geneva), Avanti! Chamber Orchestra (Helsinki), Ictus Ensemble (Brussels), Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt), Munich Chamber Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia (London) and Ensemble TIMF (South Korea). He has been the guest of festivals including Lucerne Festival, Salzburg Biennale, Darmstadt, Wien Modern, Acht Brücken (Cologne), Eclat Festival (Stuttgart), Warsaw Autumn, Venice Biennale, Aldeburgh, and IRCAM Agora. Opera premieres include Hèctor Parra Hypermusic Prologue (Ensemble intercontemporain / Gran Teatre del Liceu), Wolfgang MITTERER Marta (Ensemble Ictus / Opéra de Lille), and Liza LIM Tree of Codes (Ensemble Musikfabrik / Oper Köln). Keen to transmit his passion for new music to the next generation of musicians, POWER is frequently a guest artist in conservatoires including the RCM, RAM and Guildhall (London), the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, and the Haute école de musique de Genève. His CD recordings are released on Kairos, col legno, Wergo, and Orchid Classics.

Soprano｜Nika GORIČ

Slovenian soprano Nika GORIČ studied in Maribor, Graz and in 2017 graduated from the Royal Academy of Music London, receiving the Queen's Commendation for Excellence as the best all-round student. In 2019 she was made an Associate of the Royal Academy for outstanding achievements in music, and most recently she became the Prize Winner of the Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern (2021).

Her most recent roles include Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Gilda (Rigoletto), Norina (Don Pasquale), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Italienische Sängerin (Capriccio), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Eurydice (Orphée aux enfers), Christel (Der Vogelhändler), Aricie (Hippolyte et Aricie), as well as Abra (Juditha Triumphans), Dido (Dido and Aeneas) and Ginevra (Ariodanate) in concert versions.

In concert her highlights include Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie, Royal Festival Hall London, Birmingham Symphony Hall, and the Sydney Opera House. She has performed with NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra Hamburg (Carlos Miguel PRIETO),

Karajan-Akademie of the Berliner Philharmoniker (Pablo HERAS-CASADO), Philharmonia Orchestra (Joana MALLWITZ), Australian Chamber Orchestra (Richard TOGNETTI). She has also performed with CBSO, the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, Garsington Opera Orchestra, Kraków Festival Orchestra, and others.

For 2022/2023 Nika performs in roles including Adina, Gilda, Eurydice and as Anna in a world premiere of V. ŽURAJ's Opera Blühen at the Frankfurt Opera alongside the Ensemble Modern conducted by Michael WENDEBERG. She gives recitals at the Konzerthaus Berlin, Festival Maribor with Simon TRPČESKI, at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, as well as singing with orchestras such as Camerata Salzburg, Ensemble Modern and Il pomo d'oro.

Nika was a young artist at the Salzburg Festival, Verbier Festival, Solti Accademia and was awarded a scholarship by Independent Opera.

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