ThoughtGallery.org > Innuan, A Classical Concert Inspired by Photographer Helene Schmitz’s “Thinking Like A Mountain”

Innuan, A Classical Concert Inspired by Photographer Helene Schmitz’s “Thinking Like A Mountain”

The program opens with the duo for violin and cello by Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály. His pioneering work in the study and collection of ethnic music – no one had cataloged and collected them so methodically before – this involved visiting remote villages in the mountains, often with close friend Bela Bartok, and recording folk songs by convincing the locals to allow them in.

The success of using folk tones to connect musicality and compositional language with the villages and the countryside has preserved the precious “nature of sound”.  With the expansion of cities and progression of capitalism villages are facing complex issues everyday.  

Following a brief intermission – Ravel’s sonata will resonate with Helene’s works: Turnings of fire, Transitions, Winter Forest, Abstractions, Untitled, The Plantation.

The use of the pizzicato technique for strings in this piece is a sonic representation of the visual dimension of the photographs.

The historical background of the studies of Kodaly echoes strongly to Helene Schmitz’s exhibition “Thinking of mountains.” She says, “I wanted to portray the violent transformation of landscapes in the northern regions of Sweden and Iceland in our time. In my life, I have experienced that the concept of wilderness, and virgin land untouched by humans, has disintegrated.”

ABOUT INNUAN:  Founded by composer and curator Shiuan Chang, Innuan is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live music performance in the new directions for the twenty-first century. The mission is to present creative projects of live performance in interdisciplinary settings featuring new commissions, international acclaimed and emerging musicians and artists, at venues outside of the concert halls across New York.  For the past three years, they have presented numerous collaborations with different art institutions and galleries including Cornell University Johnson Museum of Art, Columbia University Zukerman Institute, Pratt Institute Gallery House, Center for Italian Modern Arts, and more.

BIOS: The winner of the inaugural Harbin International Violin Competition and the Shanghai Isaac Stern Violin Competition in 2018, Chinese-American violinist Nancy Zhou has saw a tremendous 18/19 season performing with the Shanghai Symphony with Jaap van Zweden, the Sichuan Symphony with Darrell Ang, Kalisz Philharmonic with Adam Klocek, and her Carnegie Hall debut with the New York String Orchestra and Jaime Laredo. Highlights from this season include Nancy’s debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Festival, Osaka Philharmonic with David Stern, China Philharmonic with Long Yu, IRIS Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, and Italy-based Padua Chamber Orchestra. Currently, Nancy plays on a Joseph Guarneri violin from 1730-33 known as the “Le Sphynx”, which has been generously loaned to her from a private sponsor.

Possessing “admirable tone and accuracy” (New York Times), James Kim has performed concerti with orchestras such as the Boston Symphony and Royal Philharmonic in major venues in the United States and in Korea, working with conductors such as David Zinman, Michael Sanderling, Alexander Shelley, Matthias Bamert, Julian Kovatchev, and others. A recipient of Salon de Virtuosi’s Sony Career Grant and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship, James Kim made his first international appearance at the 2006 David Popper International Cello Competition in Hungary, where he received First Prize. He was a top prizewinner and special prize recipient in the 2015 Isang Yun International Cello Competition. He performs on a Matteo Goffriller cello from Venice ca. 1715, generously loaned by The Samsung Foundation of Culture of Korea and The Stradivari Society® of Chicago, Illinois.











When: Fri., Mar. 6, 2020 at 7:00 pm
Where: Fotografiska
281 Park Ave. S.

Price: Members: $25 ticket Non-members: $35 ticket
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The program opens with the duo for violin and cello by Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály. His pioneering work in the study and collection of ethnic music – no one had cataloged and collected them so methodically before – this involved visiting remote villages in the mountains, often with close friend Bela Bartok, and recording folk songs by convincing the locals to allow them in.

The success of using folk tones to connect musicality and compositional language with the villages and the countryside has preserved the precious “nature of sound”.  With the expansion of cities and progression of capitalism villages are facing complex issues everyday.  

Following a brief intermission – Ravel’s sonata will resonate with Helene’s works: Turnings of fire, Transitions, Winter Forest, Abstractions, Untitled, The Plantation.

The use of the pizzicato technique for strings in this piece is a sonic representation of the visual dimension of the photographs.

The historical background of the studies of Kodaly echoes strongly to Helene Schmitz’s exhibition “Thinking of mountains.” She says, “I wanted to portray the violent transformation of landscapes in the northern regions of Sweden and Iceland in our time. In my life, I have experienced that the concept of wilderness, and virgin land untouched by humans, has disintegrated.”

ABOUT INNUAN:  Founded by composer and curator Shiuan Chang, Innuan is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live music performance in the new directions for the twenty-first century. The mission is to present creative projects of live performance in interdisciplinary settings featuring new commissions, international acclaimed and emerging musicians and artists, at venues outside of the concert halls across New York.  For the past three years, they have presented numerous collaborations with different art institutions and galleries including Cornell University Johnson Museum of Art, Columbia University Zukerman Institute, Pratt Institute Gallery House, Center for Italian Modern Arts, and more.

BIOS: The winner of the inaugural Harbin International Violin Competition and the Shanghai Isaac Stern Violin Competition in 2018, Chinese-American violinist Nancy Zhou has saw a tremendous 18/19 season performing with the Shanghai Symphony with Jaap van Zweden, the Sichuan Symphony with Darrell Ang, Kalisz Philharmonic with Adam Klocek, and her Carnegie Hall debut with the New York String Orchestra and Jaime Laredo. Highlights from this season include Nancy’s debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Festival, Osaka Philharmonic with David Stern, China Philharmonic with Long Yu, IRIS Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, and Italy-based Padua Chamber Orchestra. Currently, Nancy plays on a Joseph Guarneri violin from 1730-33 known as the “Le Sphynx”, which has been generously loaned to her from a private sponsor.

Possessing “admirable tone and accuracy” (New York Times), James Kim has performed concerti with orchestras such as the Boston Symphony and Royal Philharmonic in major venues in the United States and in Korea, working with conductors such as David Zinman, Michael Sanderling, Alexander Shelley, Matthias Bamert, Julian Kovatchev, and others. A recipient of Salon de Virtuosi’s Sony Career Grant and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship, James Kim made his first international appearance at the 2006 David Popper International Cello Competition in Hungary, where he received First Prize. He was a top prizewinner and special prize recipient in the 2015 Isang Yun International Cello Competition. He performs on a Matteo Goffriller cello from Venice ca. 1715, generously loaned by The Samsung Foundation of Culture of Korea and The Stradivari Society® of Chicago, Illinois.

Buy tickets/get more info now