Coming Events
Premiere Commission, Rooftop Films, and The Museum of Modern Art Present
Surreal Sounds and Shorts
Friday, June 27, 2008 on the roof of Open Road - 350 Grand Street (at Essex)
Premiere Commission, Rooftop Films, and The Museum of Modern Art present an extraordinary night of short films and live music inspired by the life and art of Salvador Dali. The evening begins with a live performance by pianist Bruce Levingston, who will be playing works by Erik Satie and Philip Glass and conclude his set with the world premiere of a new film score by 2008 Rome Prize-winner Keeril Makan for "Dali: Home Movie, 1954," and "Menant Garotes," two short films from MoMA's "Dali: Painting and Film"" that will be shown with the live performance of the music.
Following Mr. Levingston's performance, Rooftop Films will present a program of new surreal short films. These shorts show how Dali's pioneering juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated images and concepts continues to resonate in the playful and profound works of today's short filmmakers. For more information please call (718) 417-7362 or go to rooftopfilms.com
News
Currier: Library of Congress
Premiere Commission and The Library of Congress have co-commissioned a new work for violin and piano by Grawemeyer Award-winning composer Sebastian Currier. The work will receive its world premiere in the 2009-2010 season by violinist Colin Jacobsen and pianist Bruce Levingston at Coolidge Auditorium in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Sebastian Currier is one of the most acclaimed composers of his generation and his works have been performed by major artists and ensembles around the world.
Read more about Sebastian Currier >
Carnegie Hall April 14, 2008
On April 14, 2008, accalaimed pianist and Premiere Commission Artistic Director Bruce Levingston appeared in a special solo concert at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, premiering works by 2007 Grawemeyer Award-winner Sebastian Currier, Germany's celebrated Wolfgang Rihm and Pulitzer Prize-winner Charles Wuorinen. The concert won critical acclaim from The New York Times and The New York Observer.
Premiere Commission at American Ballet Theatre:
Jorma Elo's "C. to C. (Close to Chuck)"
October 27 - November 4, 2007
On October 27, 2007, American Ballet Theatre presented the world premiere of a new ballet choreographed by Jorma Elo based on Philip Glass's A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close titled "C. to C. (Close to Chuck)", the work originally commissioned and premiered by Premiere Commission, Inc. The New York Times called the performance "a memorable image of pathos" while the New York Post called the performers "gravely sexy". The New York Sun reported: "The work ended on a highly balletic note with all three women supported in arabesques promenades by their partners. Tessellated backdrops designed by Mr. Close rooted the ballet in the appropriate homage." Following the West Coast premiere on November 9th at Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "Possibly the best thing ABT has done is snap up a new work by the hot Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo, whose "C. to C. (Close to Chuck)" on Friday at Zellerbach Hall formed the heart of ABT's Program...The "Chuck" of the title is the painter Chuck Close, and the music is Philip Glass' haunting, then floating and affectionate, solo piano tribute to his good friend (performed onstage by Bruce Levingston). The ballet's backdrops are by Close himself, a portrait in gray giving way to a vibrant one in pinks and reds. Misty Copeland looked especially fabulous with her articulate shoulders and roiling spine, and Herman Cornejo stole the scene every time he ripped through a series of outrageously sculpted, buoyant jumps."
