Child’s Play

The Consort works long and hard to shape frequently Hirshhorn exhibition-related programs of music of our time, but sometimes curation comes down to Child’s Play! At least that’s what we’re calling our season-closing concert on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at the Museum. Though emphatically not just for children, “Child’s Play” consists of a veritable sandbox of works that represent the timeless effort of artists and composers to recapture a child-like view of the world.

Perhaps no piece in the last century says “playful” like Luciano Berlo’s “Sequenza III” for solo voice, written for his wife, mezzo-soprano Cathy Berberian, and performed for us by the singer who has arguably succeeded her as the leading exponent of new vocal music in our time, our incredible collaborator for almost 50 years, Lucy Shelton. She is with us between global appearances in Kaija Saariaho’s opera “Innocence” in which role Lucy will make her Metropolitan Opera Debut in 2026…at the young age of 82!

In a tribute to the late composer Sofia Gubaidulina, who left us on March 13tth, the Consort’s redoubtable pianist Lisa Emenheiser performs “Musical Toys,” composed as through a child’s eyes but demanding decidedly mature digits to execute. Composer Juri’s Seo’s exuberant, over-the-top “Toy Store,” for virtuoso violin and electronics will be performed by the superb violinist Irina Muresanu, The piece conjures an astonishing sound-world that brings a series of iconic children’s toys to vivid, auditory life. We include “Jack-in-the-Boox, Roller Skates and Bubbles” on our program.

We’ll close the concert, and the season, with the world premiere of Part II of Jon Deak’s tripartite eco-saga, “Greta, the Fearless,” conceived by the composer from a deep sense of alarm for the fate of the planet. The piece is full of the inimitable composer’s signature moves from sprechspiel to thunder storms to traffic accidents, but with a touching regard for the flaaura and fauna of the wilderness and the ultimate capacity for human nobility. The premiere, with a large ensemble conducted by Christopher Kendall, features the marvelous guest vocalists soprano Katherine Lerner Lee and baritone Aaron Engebreth.

• Child’s Play

  at 5pm on Saturday April 122025
  with pre-performance discussion at 4pm

  Hirshhorn Museum’s Ring Auditorium – a program about music and art intent on recapturing childhood’s vision of the world, including a world premiere by composer Jon Deak
  
  Read the printed program now for this concert.

  Luciano Berio

  Sequenza III

  Sofia Gubaidulina

  Musical Toys

  Juri Seo

  Toy Store

  Jon Deak

  Greta, the Fearless (world premiere)