Nov
10
8:00 PM20:00

20/21 Ensemble Presents: A Mad King

20/21 Ensemble
Lenfest Hall, Curtis Institute of Music
David Serkin Ludwig, director

The Curtis 20/21 Ensemble presents Peter Maxwell Davies’s melodrama Eight Songs for a Mad King, long recognized as a major work of experimental theater. Composed in the late 1960s, it captures King George III’s descent into madness through inventive music and a wide array of non-traditional performance techniques, creating an unforgettable experience for the listener. It's preceded by Joy Boy, a bright and minimal woodwind quartet by Curtis alumnus Julius Eastman, a gifted and idiosyncratic composer, pianist, and one of the first vocalists to take on the Eight Songs in performance. The program will include a conversation with David Ludwig about the composers on the program.

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