WNYC
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Concert
Live Broadcast

Saturday, December 8th 2007 at 8PM


WNYC presents a live broadcast of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, joined by pianist Christian Zacharias for Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto. Also on the program, the world premiere performance of Christopher Theofanidis' "Muse," part of the orchestra's ongoing New Brandenberg Project, for which six composers are creating modern companion pieces to Johann Sebastian Bach's "Brandenburg" concertos. "Muse" is a companion piece to Bach's third concerto, which is also included on the program.

 

NPR Morning Edition

(Real Audio) July 8, 2003

NPR's Jeffrey Freymann-Weyr reports on a new Atlanta Symphony recording that features the works of two young American composers, Jennifer Higdon and Christopher Theofanidis. ASO Music Director Robert Spano compares Higdon's "Blue Cathedral" and Theofanidis' "Rainbow Body" favorably to the other two compositions on the CD, Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" and Samuel Barber's 1st Symphony. (Rainbow Body is on the Telarc label.)

 

WYNC interview (entire interview)

- parts: one, two, three (mp3)

During this interview with New York's WYNC, Christopher Theofanidis answers questions about the 2003 Masterprize competition and his then-nominated later-winning work "Rainbow Body". The interview is available as either one large file (16.6 MB) or as three smaller files.

 

Back to Top

PRESS

"What impresses me about Theofanidis... is his ability to blend several musical languages once thought to be mutually exclusive... there are elements of Asian music, minimalism, high chromaticism, and a sort of brightly colored impressionism... the results are enormously attractive."
-The Washington Post


"Theofanidis is an unusually skilled, communicative composer." -The Baltimore Sun



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Not too often does the premiere of a work for a symphony orchestra elicit a standing ovation that is genuinely heartfelt, not obligatory. The rapturous sounding Rainbow Body (2000) by Christopher Theofanidis recieved that accolade Saturday... an authentic hit." -The Houston Cronicle

"... accomplished and appealing. The musical effects are shimmery.. the orchestral writing is piquant and colorful."
-The San Francisco Chronicle

 

"The piece is a pageant of orchestral color, some of it deliciously subtle, much of it unabashedly joyful, all of it economical in its use of modal, rhythmic, and timbral resources." -The Boston Globe

"... lyrical, exotic soul-searching. The acoustical echo created solely by means of instruments is fascinating." -The New York Times

"... ambitious, funny, and remarkably engaging." -Andante.com

In the Press

 

A Journey Through Aesthetic Realms - Episode 522,
Acclaimed Composer Christopher Theofanidis - Part 1
Air date: February 18, 2008 (AJAR - 20080218)


A Journey Through Aesthetic Realms - Episode 523,
Acclaimed Composer Christopher Theofanidis - Part 2
Air date: February 19, 2008 (AJAR - 20080219)

 

The Refuge is an exciting new work which tells the stories of people from Houston's African, Central American, Indian/Pakistani, Russian Jewish, Mexican, and Vietnamese immigrant communities.
Houston Grand Opera music director, Patrick Summers conducts. Commissioned by HGO and composed by Christopher Theofanidis and with a libretto by Leah Lax.

Back to Top