by Kile Smith | Mar 11, 2022 | Art songs, new music, Vocal music
Sometimes It Happens So. 2022. Five-song cycle for baritone, piano, 18′. Poems by Jane Flanders. Commissioned by the Estate of Jane Flanders for Benjamin Flanders, baritone and Nell Flanders, piano. “Blue Lobster” premiered 9 January 2021 at Cincinnati SongSlam....
by Kile Smith | Jan 14, 2022 | New Compositions, new music, Piano music, Solo
Beginning at 7:24, the premiere of Thirty Variations on a Theme of Bartók by Kile Smith, Milena Urban, piano, Community Music School of Collegeville, 23 Apr 2022. Thirty Variations on a Theme of Bartók. For piano. 35′. Commissioned by the Community Music...
by Kile Smith | Dec 31, 2021 | American music, Fleisher Collection, Fleisher Discoveries, Orchestral Music, Podcast
It’s debatable how much power 12-tone music held over classical music in the 20th century, but power it certainly had. Then an inside man dropped a bombshell. A look at George Rochberg. George Rochberg (1918–2005). Symphony No. 1 (1949–57) Listen on SoundCloud Listen...
by Kile Smith | Dec 1, 2021 | Fleisher Collection, Fleisher Discoveries, Orchestral Music
On the run for most of his young life, a composer finds a home in America, creates exquisite works of ineffable beauty, and becomes a lasting influence as “the godfather of Chinese contemporary music.” Chou Wen-chung (1923–2019). And the Fallen Petals (1955) Listen on...
by Kile Smith | Nov 15, 2021 | Brass Music, Chamber Music, New Compositions, new music
Intrada, for Six Horns. 2’45”. For the Curtis Institute of Music Horn Studio. Premiered 1 Dec 2021, the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia. Composed spring 2021 at the request of Jeffrey Lang and Jennifer Montone, who teach horn at Curtis and who...
by Kile Smith | Sep 3, 2021 | Chamber Music, Choral music, hymn, liturgical music, new music, Vocal music
“Held the audience spellbound,” “leaping to their feet in a standing ovation,” “raucous,” “beautifully crafted, “especially moving and inventive,” “a worthy addition to that sacred canon” — Gail...