Aux Étoiles is the first concert of our newest initiative, Talea Ambassadors: a season-long hybrid residency spotlighting composers and artists from a different country or region each season through performance, podcast interviews, and discussion. This year our focus is on France. Talea commissioned French composer Sanae Ishida as a cornerstone project. Ishida’s new work is inspired by the intimate, dreamlike, and spiritual world of the short story Night of the Milky Way Railway, written by Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933). Also on the program is Samir Amarouch’s Electronica-1, which utilizes acoustic instruments to mimic the sounds and synchronicities of electronic music and explores what happens when those synchronicities unravel. We pay tribute to the late Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, who lived and worked in France, performing her textural and dreamlike Cloud Trio. We will also perform the US premiere of Georges Aperghis Carsten Trio, commissioned by our dear friend and board member Katharina Pistor. Please stay tuned for additional Ambassadors events throughout the season, including podcast interviews, panel discussions, and other content highlighting the work and creative processes of our partner composers.
Sanae Ishida: In Pursuit of True Happiness (2024) *World Premiere
Samir Amarouch, Electronica-1 (2019)
Georges Aperghis: Carsten Trio (2023) *US Premiere
Kaija Saariaho: Cloud Trio (2009)
Gérard Grisey: Talea (1986)
