As spring ushers in, three exciting world premieres of composers Sarah Nemtsov, Dai Fujikura and Enno Poppe are on the horizon: Sarah Nemtsov’s from shore to shore will be presented by ensemble PHACE at the Easter Festival in Tyrol on 16 April, Dai Fujikura’s Sho Concerto will receive it’s world premiere with soloist Yuki Deai and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group under the baton of Kazuki Yamada in Birmingham on 13 April, and Enno Poppe’s Boulez homage Hundert for large orchestra will be premiered at Baden-Baden Festspielhaus with the SWR Symphonieorchester under chief conductor François-Xavier Roth on 31 May.

Sarah Nemtsov: from shore to shore

Winds, strings, percussion, prepared piano, and an assistant. This piece explores those shades of gray, intermediate tones, and shadows that begin in the twilight. Inspired by Virgina Woolf’s experimental novel The Waves, the musical material moves through changes in several parts. Microtonal beats, subtle noises, and complementary, orbiting harmonies. The ensemble is arranged throughout the room so that layers of colour are perceived spatially. The composition was written for and dedicated to the PHACE ensemble, and dedicated to Reinhard Fuchs.

"The sun had not yet risen. The sea was indistinguishable from the sky, except that the sea was slightly creased as if a cloth had wrinkles in it. Gradually as the sky whitened a dark line lay on the horizon dividing the sea from the sky and the grey cloth became barred with thick strokes moving, one after another, beneath the surface, following each other, pursuing each other, perpetually. As they neared the shore each bar rose, heaped itself, broke and swept a thin veil of white water across the sand. The wave paused, and then drew out again, sighing like a sleeper whose breath comes and goes unconsciously." (from: Virginia Woolf, The Waves)

Concert stream

The world premiere will be streamed on Ö1 on 12 May.
Go to stream

Dai Fujikura: Sho Concerto

Dai Fujikura’s Sho Concerto expands the musical aura of his work Ai for Sho solo into the orchestral sphere. The sho, a mouth organ of Japanese origin consisting of seventeen bamboo-pipes, already inspired many composers like John Cage, Helmut Lachenmann and Gerhard Stäbler. It makes regular appearances in Fujikura’s works next to other traditional Japanese instruments like the shakuhachi, shamisen or koto.

Find out more at bcmg.org.uk

Enno Poppe: Hundert

Enno Poppe’s Hundert for large orchestra pays tribute to the legendary French composer Pierre Boulez with an homage to his Notation No. VI. François-Xavier Roth and the SWR Symphonieorchester present the world premiere at the opening concert of the Baden-Baden Pfingstfestspiele. The festival's 2025 edition is dedicated to the centenary of Boulez's birth.

Find out more at festspielhaus.de