Spark 10 | Music by Cathy Milliken, Berio, Saint-Saëns, Ravel | Discussion: “The future of education”

SPARK: Creative processes in the arts and sciences

18 - 19h        Concert

SooJin Anjou, piano
Miguel Pérez-Iñesta, clarinet

Cathy Milliken                               
SPOKEN MUSIC (2024)*
 ...Die Kirche
 …Jemand
              
 ...Der Amphibienbad 

Luciano Berio                                  
Lied (1983)

C. Saint-Saëns                                 
Sonata for clarinet and piano (1921)

M. Ravel                                            
La Valse (1920)

*world premiere, commissioned for Spark

19.15 - 20h          Discussion : “The future of education” 
                                 with the musicians and MDC scientists (TBA)

Pianist SooJin Anjou enjoys an astonishingly varied international career as soloist, chamber musician and partner in diverse interdisciplinary projects. Born in South Korea, she was educated in the United States, Hungary and Germany.  She graduated from the Juilliard School as the only person in its history to win both of Juilliard’s undergraduate commencement prizes, for achievement and leadership in music and the liberal arts. While still a student, she was prominently featured in Asahi-TV’s documentary “New York, New Yorkers”, which was televised in many parts of Asia and released on DVD.  

            SooJin Anjou is an avid performer of contemporary music, and composers have been entrusting their work to her since she was 15. She has premiered works by, among others, Valentin Silvestrov, Elena Kats-Chernin and David Del Tredici.  Her world-premiere recording of the complete piano works of electronic music legend Morton Subotnick was released to great acclaim, eliciting such praise as “magical and beguiling” (Wire Magazine, London).

As soloist, she made her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut at  age 16 with Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto. She is a laureate of the Robert Schumann International Piano Competition (Zwickau, Germany) and the Orléans International Piano Competition (France).   Her broad repertoire includes more than 40 concertos, ranging from Bach to Berio, as well as the complete works of Ravel.

© Pablo Castagnola

Born in Valladolid (Spain) in 1980, Miguel Pérez Iñesta studied clarinet, piano and ballet in Asturias before moving to Berlin. There, he completed his studies at the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule and the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Founding member and former artistic director of the Berlin-based Zafraan Ensemble, Miguel has worked with some of the most influential composers of our time, such as Helmut Lachenmann, Gyorgy Kurtág, Matthias Pintscher, Tristan Murail, Chaya Czernowin, Johannes Schöllhorn, Elena Mendoza, Sarah Nemtsov, Samir Odeh-Tamimi and Pierre Boulez.

As a sought-after conductor, Miguel has been held in particularly high regard for his work in contemporary opera and staged symphonic concerts. He has worked with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne and the orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon, among others. In 2021, he led the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic at the Neue Nationalgalerie’s reopening ceremony.

In 2023, Miguel delivered captivating performances at the Staatstheater Bolzano, BeethovenFest Bonn, Ultraschall Festival, Konzerthaus Dortmund and l’Opera de Lyon. He was also invited by Ensemble L‘Itineraire to celebrate their 50th anniversary with a concert at IRCAM in Paris.

In the current season, Miguel returns to the Opéra de Lyon as musical director for the production of Giorgio Battistelli’s opera “7 minuti”.

© Neda Navaee

Composer Cathy Milliken moves between manifold musical worlds, taking great joy in facilitating creativity and participation. Through the diversity and relevance of her output, and especially her multi-national collective creative projects, she has won international recognition as a leading composer, creative director, performer and educational program consultant. One thing is common to all her work: the delight in the moment, whether it be in the humour, the sound, the gesture or the structure of that particular experienced moment.

Cathy has devised and composed prize-winning works for theatre, opera, choir, orchestra, chamber ensembles radio and film, and created installations. She has been commissioned by the Berliner Staatsoper, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Zafraan Ensemble Berlin, Lux:NM, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, South Bank Centre London, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Musica Viva (AUS), ZKM (Centre for New Media) Karlsruhe, The Experimental Electronic Studio of Freiburg, as well as the CCMIX(enakis) Centre in Paris, the German Public Radio Stations of Saarland, Hessen and the Deutschlandfunk and Concerto Köln. Her CD “Two Step” was released to critical acclaim in early 2020 on the Tall Poppies label.

In 2019, her work Bright Ring, commissioned by Ensemble Modern for large ensemble, was performed under the baton of Sir George Benjamin in Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and the Alte Oper Frankfurt, receiving enthusiastic reviews. Earth Plays was premiered by the Bavarian Radio Orchestra and mezzo-soprano Fiona Campbell in December 2015, a commission by Musica Viva in Munich. A later performance in Adelaide won the Australian Art Music Award in 2016. Further prizes have included the Prix Marulić, the Prix Italia, a second Australian Art Music Award in 2021, as well as the 2019 YAMAward for best opera for young people for Romeo’s Passion.

From 2005 – 2012, Cathy Milliken was Director of the Education Program of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. She was Composer in Association with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra from 2018-2020, a position comprising the creation of a new orchestral work each year.  Participatory compositional projects have - on top of her many collaborations in Europe - taken her to South Africa (Umculo Festival), Sydney (Artology), Japan (Future Labo Tohoku) and Oman.

 

© Jacintha Nolte

Organizers