Paul Moravec Premiere – New Work for the New Year!

A Sense of Fluid Motion and Complexity

Courtesy: SOLI Chamber Ensemble

Paul Moravec kicks off the New Year with a new work! Grosse Fuge Fantasy premieres on January 23rd performed by the SOLI Chamber Ensemble of San Antonio, TX. The four-and-a-half-minute work is the composer’s personal tribute to Beethoven’s enduring legacy and source of inspiration.

“We are thrilled to be working with Paul,” comments Stephanie Key, SOLI’s clarinetist and founding artistic director. “Several years ago, SOLI performed his Tempest Fantasy and fell in love with his music! So fun to play, so thrilling, and so effective.”  Etan Torgal — SOLI’s violinist and new artistic director adds, “Since we loved working on Tempest Fantasy, when we started thinking about this commissioning project we thought of Paul FIRST.”

Torgal continues, “We regard Paul as one of the top American composers writing today. We, of course, weren’t sure if he would have time or even be interested in the project, since it is meant to be a short piece and time seems to be always in short supply. It goes without saying that we were ecstatic when he agreed to participate. From studying Grosse Fuge Fantasy’s score, it’s clear that Paul has incorporated his sense of fluid motion and complexity of interchanging lines — something he does so well. We’re looking forward to the premiere and can’t wait!” A second performance follows on the 24th

Other Moravec news includes: Naxos of America’s recent CD release of Useful Knowledge; and, stay tuned for more details about the March world premiere of his new Wind Symphony to be performed by the University of Florida (Gainesville) Concert Band led by David Waybright.

 

Composer Note: Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge is one of the most daring, forwarding-looking string quartets in history, inspiring every subsequent generation of composers with its adventurous spirit and magisterial sweep. My Grosse Fuge Fantasy, commissioned by the incomparable SOLI Ensemble of San Antonio, is a personal riff on the principle themes in the work and a tribute to Beethoven’s continuing legacy. — Paul Moravec

 

Find out more about Moravec’s Grosse Fuge Fantasy’s premiere

Find out more about Paul Moravec

Purchase Moravec’s new CD Useful Knowledge

Purchase Paul Moravec’s music

One more thing! Check out violinist Hilary Hahn’s official YouTube channel for her Moravec interview.  The 23-minute chat covers Hahn’s commission of the composer’s new work Blue Fiddle (which is part of her Encores Commissioning Project), along with Moravec’s thoughts on composing and his sources of musical inspiration. View the complete interview here.