New Ways with Ellen Reid and Nico Muhly

The two most important younger American composers, Nico Muhly and Ellen Reid, are given a place among the American and European tradition represented by Samuel Barber and Jean Sibelius.

Respect for tradition
The new trumpet concerto written by American Nico Muhly for Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth is framed by predecessors and kindred spirits. Samuel Barber is one of the composers who helped define early twentieth-century American music, and Ellen Reid is one of the most important contemporary American composers today. Like Muhly, she treads new paths with respect for tradition.

Overwhelming sound
Today and today and... by Reid, for example, not only grew out of her experiences during the corona pandemic, but also loosely based on the music of Sibelius. Reid, last season composer in residence at The Concertgebouw and 2019 Pulitzer Prize winner, as always combines many influences into an overwhelming sound of her own.