Michael Norris: Latest News

A review of Exitus from the Nelson Mail reads:“…the NZSQ took the stage with a composition by Wellingtonian Michael Norris… entitled Exitus… four contrasting images of an afterworld… full of shivering echoes and fearful imagination… atmospheric pianissimos and whistling glissandos… This was a truly imaginative and meaningful composition that demanded incredible technical skill from the NZSQ…”

My string quartet Exitus will be premiered by the New Zealand String Quartet at the Gala Opening of the 10th Adam Chamber Music Festival in Nelson, 7:30pm on Friday 23 January.More info: http://www.music.org.nz/programme.php?id=1

The Duo Stump-Linshalm have premiered the bass clarinet duo Ars Moriendi in the Alte Schmiede, Vienna, 13 June 2008, as part of their “Short Cuts” concert. 

I visited Jenny McLeod the other day to discuss some of her Tone Clock Pieces as I’m writing an analysis of them for the next issue of Canzona. She graciously allowed me to take a photo of her in the late autumn afternoon sun.   

The premiere of Amato has been postponed until September to ensure a higher standard of piano for the premiere! In other news, I have completed my new work Ars Moriendi for bass clarinet duo, and it is currently in the hot hands of the Duo Stump-Linshalm awaiting their first rehearsal! This work will be performed in Vienna later this year. 

Wellington pianist Buz Bryant-Greene will premiere a new work for solo piano of mine entitled “Amato”, at the following venues:

• 17 May: Saturday Raroa Music Centre 10 a.m.
• 17 May: Saturday Ngaio Union Church 7.30 p.m.
• 18 May: Sunday Pataka (Porirua) ‘the Spine’
• 20 May: Tuesday The New Dowse (Lower Hutt)

I have just received word that I have been commissioned by the Donaueschinger Musiktage — the world’s longest running contemporary music festival — for a new work for chamber orchestra, for performance in 2010. The work will be performed by the Radio Chamber Orchestra Hilversum, conducted by that indefatigable stalwart of the new music scene, Peter Eötvös.

Things have been pretty quiet on the performances front. However, I’m currently in the midst of writing a veritable suite of new works, mainly for performers over here in Europe, but also for one or two people back home in NZ. I’m also taking the unprecedented step of working on about four of these pieces at once, something which, while requiring a certain amount of gymnastics, also has the added benefit that when one tires of writing one piece, one can always switch to writing one of the other pieces, thus, in theory, maximising one’s compositional efficiency. I say in theory, because there often comes a point where one tires of writing all four pieces at the same time. Having said that, I do have a potential eight or nine pieces I could be working on:

1.  A new work for solo clarinet, exploring Vesalius’s idea of the body. Working title: “De Corporis Fabrica”. Hopefully to be premiered by Richard Haynes
2. A new work for solo percussion, exploring an alchemical text.
3. A new work for string quartet, to be premiered by the New Zealand String Quartet in 2009
4. A new work for bass clarinet duo
5. A new work for the Pierrot Ensemble of Vienna, for performance in 2009
6. A new work for Ensemble Pyramide of Basel, Switzerland. No fixed performance yet.
7. Plus a number of other works in the pipeline… watch this space

The mildly-revised Landscape Prelude “Machine Noises” was given a second performance by Donald Nicolson in Wellington last night, in the Stroma concert “Mechanica”. It will also appear alongside all the other Landscape Preludes to be performed by Stephen de Pledge in the International Festival of the Arts 2008. More info here: http://www.nzfestival.nzpost.co.nz/music/landscapes