Seattle Symphony’s newest benefactor is a nightmare dressed like a daydream. Today the Symphony announced that pop superstar Taylor Swift recently made a donation of $50,000 to the Seattle institution. Apparently Swift heard the Symphony’s commissioned recording of John Luther Adams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning [1]Become Ocean[2], and decided to show her appreciation with her bank account. The donated funds will support two Symphony programs: Link Up: Seattle Symphony (which brings music to local third through fifth graders) and the musicians’ pension fund.
In other news, last week the Symphony released its recording composer Giya Kancheli’s new piece Nu.Mu.Zu for free. The 23-minute composition serves as Kancheli’s reflection on the horrors of violence and fanaticism which seems to increasingly be the norm around the world. Co-commissioned with the Belgian National Orchestra, it’s a beautiful piece that spends much of it’s time creating a sense of calm, which makes each tense outburst that much more emotionally impactful. The Seattle premiere performances of Nu.Mu.Zu took place in early November, but the Symphony decided to release it in short order in response to the terrorist attacks in France. Stream or download Nu.Mu.Zu below.
References
- ^ John Luther Adams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning (feedproxy.google.com)
- ^ Become Ocean (feedproxy.google.com)
