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Stories   >   Daniel Hope, Alexey Botvinov - Music for a New Century is the WFMT: Featured New Release

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Daniel Hope, Alexey Botvinov - Music for a New Century is the WFMT: Featured New Release

Posted: June 8, 2023

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this season, New Century Chamber Orchestra has been resident in San Francisco’s Bay Area since its founding in 1992. One of just a handful of conductorless chamber orchestras in the world, the ensemble makes collaborative musical decisions, leading to an enhanced level of engagement from all involved. As well as giving masterful performances of the core chamber repertoire, New Century is known for reviving long-lost gems, experimenting with works from genres such as rock or jazz, and championing new music by commissioning, programming and premiering works by living composers. 

Its commitment to contemporary music has grown even stronger under the leadership of Daniel Hope. The multifaceted artist and musical activist worked with New Century as Artistic Partner in the 2017-18 season, before being appointed Music Director, a role he took up at the start of the 2018-19 season. A shared passion for excellence, innovation and exploration has subsequently informed the performances and other projects both he and New Century have undertaken. 

The latest of these is Music for a New Century, a stunning new recording for Deutsche Grammophon made as part of the ensemble’s 30th-anniversary celebrations. Recorded at Stanford University’s Bing Concert Hall, the album features four recent compositions, all commissioned or co commissioned by New Century. 

Philip Glass’s Third Piano Concerto was given its US West Coast premiere by the ensemble in 2018, and is here performed by Ukrainian pianist Alexey Botvinov. The other three works are receiving their world premiere recordings: Mark Anthony Turnage’s Lament for solo violin and strings; Tan Dun’s Double Concerto for violin, piano, percussion and strings, for which Botvinov again joins Hope and New Century; and a brand-new composition by Jake Heggie, written especially to mark the ensemble’s anniversary year. Between them, these emotionally eloquent works span a striking breadth of musical ideas and styles; together, they encapsulate New Century’s advocacy of contemporary classical music.

Conductorless orchestras are rare creatures. The trend was set in Soviet Russia a century ago by Persimfans, the world’s first self-directed orchestra, and subsequently taken up by, among others, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Amsterdam Sinfonietta. New Century itself has now been in existence for three decades. What drew you to working with the ensemble and what makes performing with its musicians so special?
From my very first encounter with the players, I was struck by their passion and joy for music, as well as their unrelenting wish to “dig deeper” inside the score. The energy that flies around the podium makes it a particularly inspiring and rewarding experience.


For June 8, 2023, Daniel Hope, Alexey Botvinov - Music for a New Century featuring the New Century Chamber Orchestra is the WFMT: Chicago 'Featured New Release.' WFMT writes….Celebrating its 30th anniversary this season, New Century Chamber Orchestra has been resident in San Francisco’s Bay Area since its founding in 1992. As well as giving masterful performances of the core chamber repertoire, New Century is known for reviving long-lost gems, experimenting with works from genres such as rock or jazz, and championing new music by commissioning, programming, and premiering works by living composers. Their new album features recent compositions by Tan Dun, Philip Glass, Jake Heggie, Mark-Anthony Turnage, all commissioned or co-commissioned by New Century.

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