As part of the established cooperation with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the current Capell composer Unsuk Chin will be presented in the portrait concert. The composer, born in Seoul (Korea) in 1961, remembers her first visit to Dresden: "It was 1985, and I had only just arrived in Europe from Korea. Korea was then, as it still is today, a divided country - Germany was also divided at the time." In her current collaboration with the Staatskapelle, she wants to give back some of the inspiration she drew from this first encounter.

For the concert at HELLERAU, Unsuk Chin has selected works by Arnold Schönberg, George Benjamin, Yiqing Zhu, Hans Abrahamsen and "Dr Futurity" by Bernd Richard Deutsch in addition to her own compositions. The musical director and presenter of this special concert will be L.A.-born conductor Jonathan Stockhammer, who, as a crossover artist, is equally passionate about the classical and contemporary repertoire and has been honoured with the Echo Klassik award for his recording of works by Frank Zappa and the Ensemble Modern, among others.

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Works played

Bernd Richard Deutsch

"Dr Futurity"

Arnold Schönberg

Intermezzo from the String Quartet in D major

George Benjamin

"Three Inventions"

Yiqing Zhu

A piece for 8 string instruments (German premiere)

Hans Abrahamsen

"Fairy tale pictures"

Unsuk Chin

"Graffiti"

Biography

Biography Image

Photo: Marco Borggreve

Jonathan Stockhammer, born in Los Angeles, is a musical border crosser who conducts both classical and contemporary repertoire with equal passion. He has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera, the Opéra de Lyon and the Komische Oper Berlin, among others. He has long-standing partnerships with the Ensemble Modern, the Staatsballett Berlin and the SWR Symphonie-orchester. He is known for innovative concert formats and involving the audience in a dialogue. Awards such as the Echo Klassik (for works by Frank Zappa) and the Grammy (with Chick Corea and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra) testify to his artistic range.