composition as explanation
David Lang: composition as explanation
Composed by Pulitzer Prize and GRAMMY winner David Lang, composition as explanation, commissioned by Duke Performances, is a scored nod to Gertrude Stein’s candid and circular 1926 lecture. True to form, Lang integrates classical composition and innovative aspects of theater, performance, and choreography. To create actors out of Eighth Blackbird, Lang sought out Anne Bogart, the acclaimed theater director and the 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. At the world premiere of composition as explanation, watch Lang’s experiment in empowering musicians to become more than the conduits that deliver music to the listener.
Dalia Chin, flutes
Zach Good, clarinets
Maiani da Silva, violin
Ashley Bathgate, cello
Matthew Duvall, percussion
Lisa Kaplan, piano
Anne Bogart, director
Matt McCabe, audio engineer
Brian Scott, lighting designer