I have spent my composerly life fascinated by my cultural heritage and its reception in the wider world. I tell my younger siblings coming up in the music industry that as the landscape shifts around them, politically and demographically, and regards them variously more or less acceptable through the ages, their own journey must continue unmolested by, at worst, the violence of fears, and at best, the oddness of trendiness.
- Gabriela Lena Frank
With summer underway, composer Gabriela Lena Frank continues to share her inspired music and galvanizing ideas with the world. On July 21, the Colorado Music Festival unveils Frank’s latest orchestral work, Kachkaniraqmi, a concerto grosso composed for the legendary Takács Quartet. This world premiere is conducted by Peter Oundjian, and features the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra supporting the members of the Takács Quartet. Also on the program is Adoration by Florence Price and the Joan Tower Concerto for Orchestra. Kachkaniraqmi is commissioned by the Colorado Music Festival with support from Chris and Barbara Christofferson, John Kongsgaard, and Richard Replin and Elissa Stein.
“Kachkaniraqmi, or ‘I still exist’ in the indigenous Quechua language of my Peruvian forebearers, speaks to the resilience, even insistence, of a racial soul through the generations,” writes the composer.
“In this four movement work, a brief pastoral Andean prelude, a moody mountain soliloquy, a romp of thieving winds, and a lyrical child’s wake utilize the sonorous possibilities of a concerto gross for string quartet and string orchestra, variously celebrating the quartet as their own ensemble, as soloists, and as section leaders within the orchestra. Throughout, re-imaginings of age-old indigenous motifs and rhythms proliferate.”
For more information on Kachkaniraqmi, visit the Colorado Music Festival website for an interview with Takács’ Harumi Rhodes.
Frank was the Keynote Speaker at the recent 2024 League of American Orchestra Conference in Houston, TX. In her powerful address, she proposed radical change to the ways we create space and place for contemporary music in the classical world. It is essential viewing for anyone interested in making change with the music of our time.
For more information, please contact your local Wise Music Promotion Team; Contact Us.
