Nico Muhly

On his second album for King’s College Recordings, harpist and alumnus Parker Ramsay performs The Street, a dramatic new work by Nico Muhly and librettist Alice Goodman for harp solo, narration and plainchant, based on the Fourteen Stations of the Cross.

Peter Pears: Balinese Ceremonial Music is nine songs written by Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman) and Nico Muhly plus three gamelan transcriptions by ethnomusicologist Colin McPhee, which inspired the new songs. Bartlett and Muhly play pianos and keyboards on the album, and Bartlett sings, joined by other musicians on strings and metallic pitched percussion. McPhee recorded a suite of Balinese ceremonial music with Benjamin Britten in 1941. Muhly says: "The project is named after Peter Pears, who was Britten's partner and also an observer and collaborator of a larger community of musicians, writers, and thinkers."

Twice Grammy-nominated tenor Nicholas Phan is “one of the world’s most remarkable singers” (Boston Globe). Nico Muhly is one of today’s most sought-after composers. Nick and Nico’s collaboration began with a commission when Nick curated a series for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society in 2020.

Nicholas Phan and Nico Muhly's collaboration began with a commission when Nick curated a series for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society in 2020. The resulting song cycle, Stranger, finds common ground in the musicians’ reflections on identity and immigration, themes that resonate as much today as they have through the centuries. This world-premiere recording of Stranger compliments Nico’s Lorne Ys My Likinge, a setting of the 19th Chester Mystery Play, and Impossible Things, a triptych of poems by the Greek poet C.P. Cavafy.Nick has recorded with a roll call of collaborators: the adventurous string quartet Brooklyn Rider, shimmering countertenor Reginald Mobley, bold pianist Lisa Kaplan, and transformative Brooklyn-based collective The Knights led by brothers Colin and Eric Jacobsen.

Nico Muhly has recently recorded his score for the upcoming BBC and Starz limited series Howards End. The show is developed by Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By the Sea, You Can Count On Me) based on the classic E.M. Forster novel and stars Hayley Atwell, Matthew Macfadyen, Julia Ormond, Philippa Coulthard, Joseph Quinn, Rosalind Eleazar, Tracey Ullman and Alex Lawther. The 4-parter explores the changing landscape of social and class divisions in turn of the century England through the prism of three families. Hettie Macdonald (Beautiful Thing) is directing all episodes. Colin Callender (Wolf Hall), Joshua D. Maurer (The Hoax), Alixandre Witlin & David A. Stern (The Last Tycoon), Sophie Gardiner, Scott Huff (The Missing) and Lucy Richer are executive producing the project.

On his second album for King’s College Recordings, harpist and alumnus Parker Ramsay performs The Street, a dramatic new work by Nico Muhly and librettist Alice Goodman for harp solo, narration and plainchant, based on the Fourteen Stations of the Cross. In its complete form, The Street weaves together the three sonic elements of Parker’s harp, Rosie Hilal’s narration, and plainchant from the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, for a powerful presentation of the story of Jesus’ final days in a uniquely beautiful way. An alternative version of the work for harp solo is also included.Following the success of Parker Ramsay’s first album, J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations performed on the harp, the album also contains a performance of the Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826.

German Cellist Jan Vogler's new album features two modern cello concertos. The first is the world premiere recording of the cello concerto "Three Continents" by Nico Muhly (*1981), Sven Helbig (*1968) and Zhou Long (*1953). Three Continents Cello Concerto is a unique collaborative work celebrating the sheer diversity of three composers from three different continents (USA, Germany, China) and almost three different generations.

The adventurous Pekka Kuusisto, who successfully premiered Daníel Bjarnason’s Violin Concerto at the Hollywood Bowl 2019, returns as the protagonist for the recent piece dedicated to him by the prolific Nico Muhly. Kuusisto also collaborates on this program with composer and sound artist Ellen Reid (p r i s m), who will share some of her own extraordinary music.