Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Bryce Dessner
Wires (2016)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Commissioned by Ensemble InterContemporain and NTR ZaterdagMatinee, and premiered on September 24, 2016 at Philharmonie de Paris, France, conducted by Matthias Pintscher.
- 2(II/pic).1.2(II/bcl).2/1111/2perc/hp.pf/egtr/str(min. 30221 or multiple)
- 14 min
Programme Note
Bryce Dessner considers Wires to be his most avant-garde work to date. The commission by the Ensemble Intercontemporain and ZaterdagMatinee provided an opportunity for Dessner to move out of his comfort zone and to write some thing using a totally new musical language. Dessner combines his influences from New York with the European Avant-Garde to create a wonderful fusion of rhythm and sound
The focus of the piece is quite literally wires: wires that connect us, wires that make sound and wires that separate us from one another. Three wired instruments stand in the foreground of this triple chamber concerto: the electric guitar, the harp and the piano.
The focus of the piece is quite literally wires: wires that connect us, wires that make sound and wires that separate us from one another. Three wired instruments stand in the foreground of this triple chamber concerto: the electric guitar, the harp and the piano.
Scores
Reviews
...a sirocco of colorful fragments and sharp edges, from 2016.
October 2021
Though not a concerto, the 14-minute, single-movement “Wires” featured Mr. Dessner playing an electric guitar part that was sometimes integrated into the orchestra textures; other times staking out on its own; and now and then nudging the other instruments into unexpected directions. You hear echoes of diverse styles — hazy spectral music, Steve Reich-like rhythmic repetitions, bursts of grungy rock, pointillist atonal riffs — in Mr. Dessner’s musical language.
15th November 2019
The German premiere of Bryce Dessner's "Wires" for electric guitar and chamber orchestra presented a sharp-edged modern as plastically catchy composition. The wiring, which the title addresses, succeeded as well between the instrumental groups as within them, while the guitar, played by the composer, provided subtle colors.
28th April 2018
Indie rocker Bryce Dessner, member of the band The National, then emancipates the electric guitar from the noise generator. He shows, playing along himself, even more the acoustically, but also solistic modulation ability of the guitar. He cleverly combines styles, alienates them, creates new ones. A strong composition with a very strong fortissimo ending. Almost a sin that Gernon does not let the violently battered gong end in silence.
28th April 2018
More Info
- Bryce Dessner’s Cincinnati Homecoming
- 2nd May 2024
- On May 3-4 2024, Bryce Dessner returns to his hometown of Cincinnati, OH for three performances of recent works by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.