In the 1980s under Ernest Fleischmann, Executive Vice President & General Manager at the LA Philharmonic and William Kraft, Composer – the most daring leading edge of music was started. They called it The Green Umbrella. It still is stretching our minds. The Green Umbrella New Music Series takes us on a trip to the edge of avant-garde. It expands our minds – to look at things in a different dimension.
Curated by John Adams, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2023 Green Umbrella series at Walt Disney Concert Hall presents five concerts of groundbreaking new music by noted composers in the first half of 2023, performed by members of the LA Phil New Music Group, as well as guest soloists and ensembles.
The series begins with Ensemble intercontemporain, led by conductor Matthias Pintscher, who is in his final season with the ensemble after a celebrated near decade-long tenure. Under his baton, the oldest ensemble purpose-built for new music will perform Olga Neuwirth’s new score for the 1924 silent film Die Stadt ohne Juden (The City Without Jews).
As part of his 75th birthday celebrations, LA Phil John and Samantha Williams Creative Chair John Adams leads a Green Umbrella concert—from the series he watches over so carefully—that features the world premiere of an LA Phil commission from Anthony Cheung, whose music has been described as “gritty, inventive and wonderfully assured” (San Francisco Chronicle) and praised for its “instrumental sensuality” (Chicago Tribune). The concert is Tuesday, March 14, 2023.
On Saturday, April 1, 2023, LA Phil New Music Group with Brad Lubman will present an evening devoted to Steve Reich, including a multimedia LA Phil commission. This all-Reich concert culminates with a remarkable collaboration between composer Steve Reich and artist Gerhard Richter. Richter will provide a computer-generated film of his painting 946-3. The result: a stream of images interpreted by music and a musical composition visualized by film images.
The LA Phil New Music Group will also focus on the world premieres of music of Courtney Bryan and women composers, the world premiere of a new work by Anthony Cheung and a salute to Steve Reich.
The series concludes with the world premiere of a new operatic work commissioned by the LA Phil, Stranger Love, from Dylan Mattingly and Thomas Bartscherer. The six-hour performance features a new production conceived by Lincoln Center Theater Resident Director Lileana Blain-Cruz, performed by Contemporaneous with David Bloom conducting.
Mark your calendar now so you don’t miss a single concert. The Los Angeles Philharmonic 2023 Green Umbrella New Music Series Begins January 30 at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Here’s a complete list of concerts through spring:
Monday, Jan. 30, at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, March 14, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 1, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 20, at 4 p.m.
Visit laphil.org for more information.
Backstage with the Buzz is written by Sheila Tepper, Producer Cultural Programming. Sheila has lived in the Larchmont area for fifty years, among her passions have been passing legislation for children with disabilities and interviewing outstanding artists appearing in the Los Angeles area.
The Green Umbrella series sounds wonderful! Must check it out.