First Light: Nico Muhly & Philip Glass Pekka Kuusisto & Norwegian Chamber Orchestra

• Nico Muhly (b. 1981): Shrink:
• 1 Muhly: Shrink: I. Ninths 08:07
• 2 Muhly: Shrink: II. Sixths 08:12
• 3 Muhly: Shrink: III. Turns 06:05
• Philip Glass (b. 1937): The Orchard (From "The Screens") (Version For Violin & Piano):
• 4 Glass: The Orchard (From "The Screens") (Version For Violin & Piano) 07:27
• String Quartet No. 3 "Mishima" (Arr. P. Kuusisto for String Orchestra):
• 5 Glass: String Quartet No. 3 "Mishima" (Arr. P. Kuusisto for String Orchestra): I. 1957. Award Montage 04:37
• 6 Glass: String Quartet No. 3 "Mishima" (Arr. P. Kuusisto for String Orchestra): II. November 25. Ichigaya 01:10
• 7 Glass: String Quartet No. 3 "Mishima" (Arr. P. Kuusisto for String Orchestra): III. Grandmother and Kimitake 04:06
• 8 Glass: String Quartet No. 3 "Mishima" (Arr. P. Kuusisto for String Orchestra): IV. 1962. Body Building 01:46
• 9 Glass: String Quartet No. 3 "Mishima" (Arr. P. Kuusisto for String Orchestra): V. Blood Oath 03:06
• 10 Glass: String Quartet No. 3 "Mishima" (Arr. P. Kuusisto for String Orchestra): VI. Mishima/Closing 03:07
• Total Runtime 47:43

Info for First Light: Nico Muhly & Philip Glass

Zwei New Yorker in einem nordischen Licht: Der Geiger Pekka Kuusisto und das Norwegische Kammerorchester präsentieren First Light, das erste Ergebnis von Kuusistos Amtszeit als künstlerischer Leiter des Ensembles, auf dem zwei bedeutende New Yorker Komponisten in ein nordisches Licht gerückt werden. Das Album bietet die Weltersteinspielung von Nico Muhlys Shrink (Konzert für Violine und Streicher), eine einzigartige, aus der Ferne aufgenommene Interpretation von Philip Glass’ The Orchard durch Kuusisto und Muhly sowie Kuusistos neues Streichorchester-Arrangement von Glass’ »Mishima« Streichquartett Nr. 3.

Der Geiger, Dirigent und Komponist Pekka Kuusisto ist bekannt für seine künstlerische Freiheit und sein Gespür in der Leitung von Ensembles. Seit seiner Gründung im Jahr 1977 hat sich das Norwegische Kammerorchester als eines der führenden Kammerorchester der internationalen Klassikszene etabliert. Nico Muhly ist einer der meistgespielten Komponisten seiner Generation und tritt auf diesem Album als Pianist auf. Kuusisto, das NCO und Muhly geben alle ihr PENTATONE-Debüt.

Pekka Kuusisto, Violine, Leitung
Nico Muhly, Klavier
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra

Pekka Kuusisto
Violinist, conductor and composer Pekka Kuusisto is renowned for his artistic freedom and fresh approach to repertoire. Widely recognised for his flair in directing ensembles, Kuusisto is Artistic Director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra (from season 21/22), and Artistic Partner with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He is also a Collaborative Partner of the San Francisco Symphony, and Artistic Best Friend of Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. In season 20/21 Pekka Kuusisto is Artist in Residence with the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt with whom he will appear as soloist, conductor and chamber musician. He is also In-Residence at Milton Court at the Barbican, which culminates in a concert with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

Kuusisto is an enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music and a gifted improviser and regularly engages with people across the artistic spectrum. Uninhibited by conventional genre boundaries and noted for his innovative programming, recent projects have included collaborations with Hauschka and Kosminen, Dutch neurologist Erik Scherder, pioneer of electronic music Brian Crabtree, eminent jazz-trumpeter Arve Henriksen, juggler Jay Gilligan, accordionist Dermot Dunne and folk artist Sam Amidon. In the coming season he will premiere new concerti by Bryce Dessner, Djuro Zivkovic and Enrico Chapela and chamber works by Sauli Zinovjev and Calliope Tsoupaki. He also performs other concertos written for him including Daníel Bjarnason’s Violin Concerto, Anders Hillborg’s Bach Materia and Nico Muhly’s violin concerto, Shrink. In recent seasons Kuusisto has premiered new works by Sauli Zinovjev, Anders Hillborg, Philip Venables and Andrea Tarrodi. He also tours around the world with orchestras such as Chicago and Los Angeles symphony orchestras, Concertgebouworkest, Orchestre de Paris, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia, as well as Tapiola Sinfonietta, and the Australian, Scottish and Swedish chamber orchestras.

Kuusisto has released several recordings, notably for Ondine and BIS. He has recently recorded Ades’ Violin Concerto with Aurora and Nicolas Collon for Deutsche Grammophon, Hillborg’s Bach Materia and Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos.3 and 4 with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Thomas Dausgaard for BIS and Daníel Bjarnason’s Violin Concerto with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra with the composer conducting for Sono Luminus. Past releases include Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Noesis concerto for violin and orchestra for Ondine and Sebastian Fagerlund’s violin concerto Darkness in Light for BIS, both recorded with Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu.

Booklet for First Light: Nico Muhly & Philip Glass