The collaboration between Sónar and Barcelona’s Auditori Sample Series adds another new chapter with the Spanish premiere of “Death Speaks”, the work by prestigious American composer David Lang. The album, unanimously praised by specialist press and chosen as one of 2013’s best records, revolves around and lends a voice to death (as the title suggests) in five long compositions that dilute the boundary between pop and contemporary music. The album, based on lieders by Franz Schubert, included the participation of musicians Nico Muhly (who will be playing the piano on stage), Owen Pallett and Bryce Dessner (of The National). Berlin's superlative Stargaze will perform the piece in Barcelona, led by orchestra conductor André de Ridder. Lang's work does not escape the darkness of death, yet somehow manages to endow it with a strange intimacy and extraordinary beauty.


David Lang, the composer

Born in Los Angeles and based in New York, Lang is considered to be one of today’s preeminent contemporary composers and a key figure in post-minimalism. Passionate and prolific, Lang understands perfectly the standards of classical music while at the same time constantly inventing new possibilities for contemporary music with his works, which have progressed over the years from the explosive compositions of his early years to become more contained and mature with the passage of time. The American composer has won several of the most prestigious awards available in his discipline, including the Pulitzer (in 2008 for “The Little Match Girl Passion”), a Grammy, and more recently an Oscar nomination for the song “Simple Song #3” from the film “Youth” by Paolo Sorrentino.


"Death Speaks" performed by;

Stargaze

On this occasion “Death Speaks” will be performed by Stargaze, an Berlin-based collective of musicians who switch freely between contemporary, classical, electronic and pop music. Their list of collaborations is long and varied and includes artists like Julia Holter, Koreless, Nils Frahm and Lee Ranaldo, as well as bands like Matmos, These New Puritans and The Dodos, among many others.
 

Nico Muhly will be at Sónar to perform live at the festival for the first time as part of the Icelandic label Bedroom Community showcase. The American composer and multi-instrumentalist is principally ascribed to classical and contemporary music, but has transcended typical circles by moving in multiple fields, having collaborated with a variety of artists including: Grizzly Bear, Björk, Philip Glass, Joanna Newsom and Antony And The Johnsons, as well as with fellow artists from the label founded by Valgeir Sigurdsson (on which he has released four albums to date). A musician of extraordinary talent with an incredibly impressive resume for someone who has not yet reached 40, Muhly has composed two operas, "Two Boys" (2010) and "Dark Sisters" (2011) and is presently working on a third inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock film "Marnie" and curated by New York's Metropolitan Opera House. He has also worked for theatre and ballet companies, composed chamber music, symphonies and soundtracks, and has written arrangements for Sufjan Stevens, Rufus Wainwright and The National, among others.

The SonarPass & the Delegate Pass don't grant access to this concert.
50% discount for the Sónar public

davidlangmusic.com
we-are-stargaze.com
nicomulhy.com
www.auditori.cat/ca/david-lang--stargaze