Still Life (2018)
for Clarinet and String Quartet
Commissioned by the Enso Quartet and Benjamin Mitchell made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program

Still Life (for clarinet and string quartet)

Pieces of Light (2020)
Gabriel Cabezas, cello

Premiered on Princeton Sound Kitchen 2/4/2020

Program Note: 
Pieces of Light is inspired by the work of James Turrell, specifically the experience of wandering through his retrospective installation at Mass MoCA, “Into the Light.” The movements in this piece are not meant to draw specific correlations between each individual work of Turrell, but rather serve as a collection of brief meditations on different facets of the experience of moving through that exhibit.

Pieces of Light (for solo cello)

This is the color of my dreams (2020) 
Rob Moose, violin
Nadia Sirota, viola
Gabriel Cabezas, cello

This Is The Color Of My Dreams

13. in orange light

12. blue gradations

10. these glacial expectations

9. who's to say, time

2. one sense of sleep

1. rose light at the edges

Premiered in December 2013, Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music 

Ensemble39
Alexandra von der Embse, oboe; Stanislav Chernyshev, clarinet; Eunice Kim, violin; Born Lau, viola; Nate West, bass

zoomOrphia

Performed by Timotheos Petrin, cello

Commissioned by One Book One Philadelphia in honor of "The Yellow Birds" by Kevin Powers

Prayer

in somnis - for violin and orchestra (2014)
Anastasia Agapova, violin; Kensho Watanabe, conductor; Curtis Symphony Orchestra

in somnis - for violin and orchestra

Barbora Kolářová, violin
Jordan Bak, viola
Mia Barcia-Colombo, cello
Charles Paul, bass

Commissioned by the Lake George Music Festival
made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts


Program Note:

The initial impetus for …enfumée was Georgia O’Keeffe’s Blue II, an early work from a series of abstract and monochromatic explorations in 1916. When setting out to write this piece I initially chose to engage with O’Keeffe’s work because of her close connection with Lake George. While browsing a featured exhibit of her work at MoMA, I was immediately struck by the deep saturation and subtle shading of the color in this particular painting, the powerful movement portrayed in the crumpled yet expansive swirl of blue –  like someone making a fist of smoke. This image resonated particularly strongly at the time, as we were in the midst of New York’s first encounter with the hazardous smoke from the Canadian wildfires which was engulfing the city and surrounding regions of the country. In that moment I decided not to write a work that was necessarily in direct response to O’Keeffe’s painting, but rather to allow my connection and inspiration in that moment to refocus the piece as an outlet for my experience with that recent and present change in our environment. I began to see vivid imagery of the swirls of smoke, the flow of the air patterns, the gradually shifting colors of haze. I was mesmerized by air flow maps I found on various air quality tracking apps, the constantly shifting color patterns, all the while living through my own waves of paralyzing anxiety, an almost PTSD-like response to being told to be afraid of the air we breathe, yet again. It was ironic that after such a long period of time with Covid, growing accustomed to masking indoors but finding relief and safety in the free-flowing air outside, we were now being told to stay locked indoors and mask up if we ventured out. 

I composed …enfumée while in residence at Copland House, an idyllic retreat in Cortlandt, NY. Aaron Copland’s house is situated in a wonderfully isolated natural setting, a perfect space to engage with this subject matter, to escape from the city and breathe the fresh air. In the middle of my residency another wave of smoke set in, creating an opportunity for me to re-engage directly with the experience in the middle of the composition itself. I remember the first afternoon of the smoke’s return, driving on a bridge across the Croton Reservoir and almost stopping my car in the middle of the road as a I was struck by the imagery looking out into the hills beyond the water: it looked exactly like O’Keeffe’s paintings of Lake George, the haze from the smoke recreating her shading, her brushstrokes. The title …enfumée is also a reference to the work …à la Fumée, an homage to the composer Kaija Saariaho who passed away in June and whose music I have held in my mind and heart as I worked on this piece.

...enfumée (2023)

Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano
"Hommage a Ligeti"

Dana Cullen, horn
Abi Fayette, violin
George Fu, piano


Horn Trio - I

Performed by the Aizuri Quartet

Commissioned by the Barnes Foundation

Parallels

flutter/drive/wander (2015)
Scott St John, violin; Will Chow, cello

2016/03/14 Curtis on Tour Preview

flutter/drive/wander

"Refracted" was premiered by Eighth Blackbird on Feb 26, 2018 at Princeton University

Refracted

Still Life Mvt 2

Still Life Mvt 1

Caligo (2019)
for cello and chamber orchestra
Commissioned and performed by Nicholas Finch and the NouLou Chamber Players

Caligo (for cello and chamber orchestra)

Tereza Slumbers - excerpt (2015)
Performed by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra

Tereza Slumbers_Excerpt

"Shimmer" from "Pieces of Light"
Gabriel Cabezas, cello

Shimmer

"Deep Indigo" from "Pieces of Light" 
Gabriel Cabezas, cello

Deep Indigo

"Phosphenes" from "Pieces of Light"
Gabriel Cabezas, cello

Phosphenes

"Strobe, Squall" from "Pieces of Light"
Gabriel Cabezas, cello

Strobe, Squall

"Pink Mist" from "Pieces of Light"
Gabriel Cabezas, cello

Pink Mist

Composer Alyssa Weinberg uses color, texture and gesture to channel big emotions, creating music that is “quite literally stunning” (Chicago Tribune). She is fascinated with perception and loves to play with form, subverting expectations to create surreal scenarios, often in dreamy, multidisciplinary productions.

Alyssa’s music has been performed by celebrated artists and ensembles around the world, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, as well as Eighth Blackbird, So Percussion, yMusic, and the Aizuri Quartet. She has received commissions and awards from organizations including Chamber Music America, FringeArts and the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Barnes Foundation, and the Curtis Institute of Music.

A dedicated educator, Alyssa currently teaches composition at Peabody Conservatory and Mannes School of Music. She is the Founding Director of the Composers Institute at the Lake George Music Festival, a summer program that centers mentorship and community alongside the craft of composition.

Alyssa holds a PhD in composition from Princeton University, as well as degrees from Vanderbilt University, Manhattan School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music.

Alyssa Weinberg

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