“Suite of Preludes” (World Premiere)
Composed by William Bolcom
Jenny Lin, piano
“Jenny Lin is a pianist of the first rank” – The Washington Post
“Music flows out of [William Bolcom] the way it flowed from Mozart…” – John Corigliano
“From opera to ragtime to rock, [William Bolcom’s] imaginative arrangements have moved countless individuals and left a lasting imprint on the world of music” – National Medal of Arts, 2003.
Pianist Jenny Lin brings the world premiere of National Medal of Arts, Pulitzer Prize, and GRAMMY Award-winning composer William Bolcom’s “Suite of Preludes” to Hudson Hall. Composed during lockdown, this new nine-movement suite shares the bill with music by Philip Glass, Bolcom’s friend and contemporary. The two met in the 1960s in Paris while Glass studied with teaching great Nadia Boulanger, and Bolcom with composer Darius Milhaud. Lin, who will perform one of Glass’ most recent pieces, Passacaglia, and selections from his soundtrack to the 2002 film The Hours, chose the repertory as a nod to her own fruitful collaboration with both composers.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Jenny Lin, a Steinway artist, has made a name for herself on the world stage thanks to her “remarkable technical command” and “gift for melodic flow” (New York Times). The Washington Post has extolled her “confident fingers” and “spectacular technique,” while Gramophone has hailed her as “an exceptionally sensitive pianist”. Lin was born in Taiwan, raised in Austria, and moved to New York, where she resides. At the age of four, with no piano at home, she began playing the instrument at her grandmother’s house. Educated in Europe and the US, she has built an international reputation distinguished by inventive collaborations with a breadth of artists. She has a close affinity with Philip Glass, whose Etudes she performs globally, and which inspired her to embark on a commissioning initiative, The Etudes Project. Lin’s discography numbers more than 30 recordings, ranging from the classic piano canon to modern milestones to Broadway songs. She performed at Hudson Hall in 2011 and 2013.
American composer William Bolcom’s body of work—symphonic, ragtime, choral, and more—has garnered him laurels including a Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, and a GRAMMY Award. He is a recent awardee of the prestigious $100,000 Nemmers Prize given to outstanding composers by Northwestern University. He taught on the faculty of the University of Michigan’s School of Music from 1973 to 2008, where he was named the Ross Lee Finney Distinguished University Professor of Composition in 1994. He has frequently performed and recorded with his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris; together they have released 25 recordings. In 2018, nine world premieres commemorated his 80th birthday.
Philip Glass, the iconic composer and pianist, has made an indelible imprint on contemporary music, with remarkable achievements in opera, symphony, film, dance and more. He studied at the University of Chicago, The Juilliard School, and with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, eventually landing in New York, where he founded the Philip Glass Ensemble. He has described his work as “music with repetitive structures,” which has garnered acclaim in both classical and pop culture realms and influenced generations of musicians.
TICKETS:
$25 General Admission
$40 Premium Admission
Free Live from Hudson Hall livestream (reservations required)
SPONSOR TABLES (tables of 2 or 4 only):
Enjoy pre-set nibbles and beverages at your own cabaret-style table for 2 or 4
Table for 2: $150; Table for 4: $300
Piano by Steinway & Sons
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