Departure & Discovery

2016-17 Season

Over the past five centuries, composers as early as in their 30s or as late as in their 80s have found new forms of expression in the final stages of life. Still more interesting, the changes are not consistent from composer to composer: some became more concise, others more expansive. Some composers became fixated on death, others revealed a child-like innocence. Some wrote their most adventurous music, while others turned back in pursuit of greater clarity and economy.

It is this sense of change—of new directions at the peak of creative and life maturity—that was the genesis for a special collaboration between noted pianist Jonathan Biss and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society during the 2016-17 Season. A generous grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage provided the support for this unique cross-medium project that featured three Perelman Theater concerts (with guest artists), a public panel discussion, a new Amazon Kindle Single, podcast, blog series, and master classes for students.

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Kindle Single

Coda

Building upon his previous essays (In Beethoven’s Shadow, A Pianist Under the Influence), Jonathan Biss, in his latest e-book Coda, blends broad insights into the territory that composers have explored through their music in their final stage of life with the impact these late-style works have had on him as a pianist. Anyone who loves hearing this wonderful pianist on stage will be equally captivated by his thoughts on late style and what it means to be human.

Blog

New Directions at the Apex of Creativity

Read our project overview and Profiles of Late Style on Medium.com.

Panel Discussion

Gregg Whiteside (morning host on WRTI) leads an interdisciplinary panel discussion featuring musicologist Christoph Wolff, music critic Allan Kozinn, writer and thought leader Lewis Lapham, and behavioral scientist Dr. Daniel Gottlieb. Their discussion explores the effect that accumulated knowledge and experience has on artistic creation, highlighting the dramatic new directions taken and fresh discoveries made by these great composers while at the height of their creative powers.

Review

Composers Confront Death

Read Peter Dobrin’s Philadelphia Inquirer review of the project

Podcast

Late Style Overview

The first of a six-part podcast series, produced by WWFM’s David Osenberg, explores the subject of “late style” with pianist Jonathan Biss, violinist Mark Steinberg, tenor Mark Padmore, writer and thought-leader Lewis H. Lapham, and behavioral scientist Daniel Gottlieb.

Podcast

Exploring the Late Styles of Bach & Beethoven

The second of a six-part podcast series, produced by WWFM’s David Osenberg, explores the “late style” of Bach and Beethoven in contrast with how we perceive this phenomenon in 20th-century composers.  This podcast features interviews with pianist Jonathan Biss, violinist Mark Steinberg, tenor Mark Padmore, writer and thought-leader Lewis H. Lapham, and behavioral scientist Daniel Gottlieb.

Podcast

Exploring The Late Styles Of Schumann, Gesualdo, Brahms & Mozart

This third of a six-part podcast series, produced by WWFM’s David Osenberg, explores the “late style” of Schumann, Gesualdo, Brahms and Mozart.  This podcast features interviews with pianist Jonathan Biss, violinist Mark Steinberg, tenor Mark Padmore, writer and thought-leader Lewis H. Lapham, and behavioral scientist Daniel Gottlieb.

Podcast

Exploring the Late Style of Schubert

The fourth of a six-part podcast series, produced by WWFM’s David Osenberg, explores the “late style” of Schubert.  This podcast features interviews with pianist Jonathan Biss, tenor Mark Padmore, writer and thought-leader Lewis H. Lapham, and behavioral scientist Daniel Gottlieb.

Podcast

Thoughts on Late Style

The fifth of a six-part podcast series, produced by WWFM’s David Osenberg, explores various themes of “late style” through interviews with composer Tim Brady, composer Shulamit Ran, accordionist and composer William Schimmel, conductor José Serebrier, baritone and choral conductor Gabriel Crouch, and composer Bruce Adolphe.

Podcast

Final Survey of Late Style

The final podcast in a six-part series, produced by WWFM’s David Osenberg, explores various themes and examples of “late style” through interviews with composer Shulamit Ran, composer Samuel Adler, violinist Rolf Schulte, baritone Elem Eley, pianist Barbara Nissman, conductor Mark Laycock, and cultural historian and author Joseph Horowitz.



Departure and Discovery has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.