Mercury Soul at Gray Area

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An extraordinary show combing dance, DJing, and classical music unfolds on Saturday Jan 25 courtesy of Mercury Soul.  Please join us for this one-night-only event! San Francisco’s legendary dance company ODC will be appearing between DJ sets mixed by me and DJ Justin Reed of Chicago, interspersed by short performances of Chopin, Adams, Mozart, Piazzolla, Mendelssohn, and Bach – plus some brand-new interludes I’ve composed to tie it all together. You’ll be transported from the dance floor to soulful performances merging dance and classical music —and back again!

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

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Read more at the Associated Press
This weekend, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay premiered at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music! Adapting Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel into an opera has been an incredible journey – conducted by Michael Christie. With Gene Scheer’s insightful libretto, we’ve distilled this sweeping story into three distinct musical worlds: the dark percussion of war, the vibrant swing of 1940s New York, and the electro-acoustic space of comic book creation. As these soundscapes collide, they reflect Joe’s journey through trauma, creativity, and resilience.

Production photos courtesy of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music 

I’m deeply grateful to Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music for hosting this premiere. As Catherine Compton noted, “It’s been heartening to see how our students have reacted and been elevated by the Met’s creative team… And also how the creative team has been able to adapt their process to our students.”
 
Thank you to everyone who has brought this project to life. Seeing this story leap from page to stage has been an unforgettable experience.

Pictured with Gene Scheer (librettist) and Michael Christie (conductor) 

Birthing a new opera is such an extraordinary experience – this weekend’s premiere was so magical. Absolutely loved bringing Michael Chabon’s masterpiece to life on the stage, and the wonderful work of the students from  Indiana University’s Jacobs school of music so vividly animated the different worlds of this piece. Big band New York, war torn Europe, technic colors superheroes all swirl together in this opera!

Read more at the Associated Press

Past news items

Philadelphia orchestra in China — Spring River Flowers By Moonlight

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I am so thrilled to be touring with The Philadelphia Orchestra in China, which is premiering Spring River Flowers by Moonlight, for mezzo, baritone, and orchestra.  This is a setting of one of the most famous Tang Dynasty poems by Zhang Ruoxu.  The poem begins with beautiful pastoral imagery of moonlight glistening off the river, and then gradually reveals that the poet is a soldier on the front lines, pining for his maiden back home.  There is a kind of cosmic element in the poem’s meditations on time, passing generations, and aging.
 
My musical response begins with the female and male singers distant at first, with each singing two stanzas independently.  As the piece unfolds, their alternations become closer and closer – and in the last stanza, they finally sing together.
 

It is an honor to visit Beijing with Marin Alsop and Philadelphia Orchestra, which has visited the country for over fifty years.  I look forward to connecting with the commissioners from the Ministry of Culture and, of course, anyone at the concert who wants to find me on Weibo.

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我很高兴将和费城交响乐团一起在中国巡演，本次巡演将首演我为女中音、男中音和管弦乐而作的《春江花月夜》。乐曲文本《春江花月夜》是唐代最有名的诗歌之一，由唐代诗人张若虚所作。这首诗始于月照江面的自然情景，逐渐揭示了游子思妇的离愁别绪，将宇宙元素融入对时间流逝，年华逝去和世事更替的沉思中。

在这首乐曲中，男女歌手一开始相距甚远，各自唱两小节后，他们的交替随着乐曲的展开越来越近，最终在最后一小节一起演唱。

我很荣幸能与Marin Alsop（马林·阿尔索普）和费城交响乐团一起来到北京。在此前的五十多年间，费城交响乐团已经多次访华。希望文化部的官员及音乐会上任何想联系我的人可以在微博联系我: weibo.com/u/7959275518

Daniil Trifonov Releases Bates Piano Concerto on Album, My American Story – North (October 4)

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So honored that my piano Concerto is included on the stunning survey of American music by Danielle Trifonov, our greatest living pianist. He brings such depth and elegance, matched with a mercurial sensibility, to everything he does.

Audiences around the world for this piece, from Philadelphia to San Francisco to Rome to Berlin to Madrid and many other cities, and this is the first time listeners gonna enjoy it in their homes. A huge thank you to Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Philadelphia Orchestra for bringing this piece to life so beautifully!

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Mercury Soul at the Hibernia – September 13, 2024

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The Hibernia’s gorgeous grand hall, adorned with all its Gilded-Age details, will be transformed for this one-night-only experience. The walls come alive with vivid hues and wall-mapped visuals that dance in synchronicity to the pulsating electronic beats spun by the DJ as you join the flourishing dance party. Seamlessly, the music transforms again into a breathtaking classical opera performance that suspends time, as you glance upwards at the massive and intricate stained-glass skylights. You’ll be transported from the dancefloor to exquisite classical masterpieces and back again. On Sept 13th, experience the exquisite mix of DJs, classical music and immersive production that you have come to expect from Mercury Soul.

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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Releases recording of Resurrexit

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Hot off the presses is Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s beautiful recording of Resurrexit, which conjures the biblical narrative with magic and propulsion.  Maestro Manfred Honneck inspired me to create a piece that offers a different approach to the biblical narrative, one powered by quicksilver textures suggestive of the reanimation of life.
 
Honneck is a devout Catholic who’s created a unique “spirituality in music” focus for some of his concerts, with imaginative stagings of masterworks like the Mozart Requiem.  I didn’t know I could contribute.
 
But I soon found myself wondering if the Resurrection could be set in a vivid and magical way – a kind of antidote to the heavier settings of it by Mahler et al.  The work ended up becoming my most propulsive piece, moving from biblical mystery to fire-like magic.  Special percussion instruments from the church make cameos, such as the Byzantine Semantron to altar bells.  I’ll always be thankful to Manfred for inspiring me to write this work.

Daniil Trifonov Plays Mason’s Piano Concerto in Rome

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Returning to Rome 20 years after my year-long residency at the  American Academy was a magical experience, not to mention getting to spin a set in their gorgeous gardens. Then, hearing Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia perform my music brought back memories of many concerts I heard this superb orchestra perform during my time there. 
 
It was amazing to hear what Daniil Trifonov  has done with the Piano Concerto after living with it for two years. He is so mercurial, playing with every little corner of the piece and he rings such authenticity to every note – and his Prokofiev encores were a masterpiece in reinterpretation.
 
And Jakub Hrůša, such a stunning maestro! e can do anything from technical fireworks to hushed textures to long-lined lyricism. Not to mention, Orchestra Santa Cecilia sounded like a million bucks!.
 
My family loved the many hidden corners of Rome, including some tiny alleys I always love exploring. There’s one called Vicolo di San Trifone that’s as wide as your outstretched arms! The layering of so many eras and histories is one of Rome’s special treats, and I am so thankful that my own life has layered into the city in its own way. 

Mercury Soul at Grace Cathedral

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On April 19, Mercury Soul transforms San Francisco’s iconic Grace Cathedral in a magical evening of luxe DJ beats, lush classical music, and immersive visuals.
 
Bay Area audiences have flocked to shows produced by Mason’s classical/club nonprofit, which animates spectacular spaces with DJing, classical sets, and imaginative stagecraft.  Recent shows have been at the historic San Francisco US Mint, The Battery, and The Midway club.
 
For this event, interspersed between sets by DJ Masonic, DJ Justin Reed, and special guest DJ Rob Garza, the sacred music of Arvo Pärt, Francis Poulenc, and William Byrd will be performed by a lush brass chorale and organ.

Entrancing early minimalism of John Adams will be choreographed by Smuin Ballet; Jules Massenet’s exquisitely beautiful Taïs Meditation brought to life by violinist Ava Pakiam; and scintillating organ toccatas performed by Grace Cathedral’s Christopher Keady.

SF Opera Adler Fellow Arianna Rodriguez sings an aria from Bellini’s La Sonnambula, and SF Gay Mens Chorus fills the cathedral with choral music of the Renaissance.

Dress to impress and be ready to dance later in the evening during this extraordinary evening at an iconic San Francisco space.

Nomad Concerto World Premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra

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On January 26, Mason’s Nomad Concerto received its World Premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Yannick Nezét-Séguin and performed by Gil Shaham.

“A violin concerto by Mason Bates receiving its world premiere, follows a wanderer through different worlds, reflected in a succession of musical styles through which Bates moves beautifully. The Nomad Concerto broods, floats and glimmers … ultimately alighting on something poignant for both orchestra and violin, here played by the warmly expressive Gil Shaham … Bates in this new piece once again proves a composer unusually commanding of atmosphere and emotion.” Philadelphia Inquirer