Coming Events
World Premiere of New Composition by Philippe Manoury
at French Institute/Alliance Française
March 10, 2010
On March 10, 2010, Premiere Commision will present in conjunction with the French Institute/Alliance Française of New York the world premiere of a new work by the esteemed French composer Philippe Manoury. The all-French program, performed by Bruce Levingston, will include music inspired by nature, human and animal life. In addition to the new Manoury composition, the program will include works of Rameau, Debussy, Satie, Ravel and Messiaen.
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."
