enSRQ honors late German composer with Sarasota Opera House concert

ensembleNEWSRQ closes its ninth season with one of its biggest concerts, an evening-length performance of German composer Wolfgang Rihm’s “Jagden und Formen” (“Hunts and Forms”) at the Sarasota Opera House.

Percussionist George Nickson, who co-founded the group known as enSRQ with his wife, violinist Samantha Bennett, said the piece is one of the composer’s most ambitious works.

“The piece unfolds as a continuous surge of musical gestures, at once volatile and meticulously sculpted, echoing the energy of pursuit and the complexity of form,” Nickson said in a statement. 

He said Rihm offers a musical ecosystem where motifs are “hunted, transformed and released. It’s a visceral musical listening experience – dense, dramatic and full of surprises – that underscores why Rihm remains a towering figure in contemporary music.”

Rihm worked on the piece from 1995 until its premiere in 2001 by the Ensemble Modern in Basel, Switzerland, though he made extensive revisions before it was published in 2008. 

Nickson will lead an orchestra of 25 musicians on the Opera House stage. Two years ago, the ensemble performed at the Opera House for the first time with 40 musicians for its “1976” concert.

The performers include enSRQ favorite pianist Conor Hanick. “His remarkable artistry and passion for Rihm’s work will bring a unique depth to this monumental piece, and a monumental piano part, coming in at a whopping 84 pages,” Bennett said.

Hanick, who has premiered more than 200 pieces and worked with a range of composers from Pierre Boulez to Nico Muhly and Caroline Shaw, serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School and is director of Solo Piano at the Music Academy of the West.

In addition to Bennett, the musicians include Jennifer Best Takeda, assistant concertmaster for the Sarasota Orchestra, and Marcelina Suchock, principal percussionist for the orchestra.

‘Jagden und Formen’ (‘Hunts and Forms’)

By Wolfgang Rihm. Performed by ensembleNEWSRQ. 7:30 p.m. May 12, Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. Tickets are $30. A reception follows in the Opera House courtyard. ensrq.org

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