River Rouge Transfiguration by Missy Mazzoli receives its German premiere on May 9 with Essen Philharmonic conducted by Anu Tali. Another performance follows the next day.
The work is inspired by the industrial architecture of Detroit and the almost sacred transfiguration of the city’s landscape around the River Rouge Plant, once the largest automobile factory.
This image, of the River Rouge Plant as a massive pipe organ, was the initial inspiration for River Rouge Transfiguration. This is music about the transformation of grit and noise … into something massive, resonant and unexpected.
Missy Mazzoli
Like the transformation of Detroit, the music constantly restructures itself, driven by an underlying, ever-present rhythm.
River Rouge Transfiguration was commissioned by the Detroit Symphony in honour of Elaine Lebenbom and premiered on May 31, 2013.
Essen Philharmonic and Anu Tali will also perform Symphony No. 3 in C minor by Florence Price.
For more information, please see the website of Theater Essen.