“Infinite Staircase” brings together 18 contemporary composers from diverse backgrounds who lend their compelling musical voices to new piano works for Chen, all inspired by the canonic piano etudes of the György Ligeti.
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This fall pianist Han Chen world-premieres his latest commissioning project, “Infinite Staircase” at National Sawdust. Inspired by György Ligeti's 18 Piano Etudes, “Infinite Staircase” brings together 18 contemporary composers, hand-picked by Chen to represent a more diverse and creative future of classical music. Each composer is paired with one of the Ligeti etudes as a starting point for a new work. Chen, who has just released a new recording of the complete Ligeti Piano Etudes on Naxos, will perform all thirty-six works in one evening as a celebratory tribute to the iconic avant-garde composer’s centenary this year.
About Infinite Staircase
“Infinite Staircase” is a commissioning project in which 18 new works for piano solo will be composed to celebrate Ligeti's centenary birthday in 2023. The 18 composers are hand-picked by Han Chen to meet his vision for the future of classical music, which is diverse and creative. This project is co-commissioned by the Metropolis Ensemble.
Each composer is to be paired up with one of the 18 Ligeti Etudes. The pairing is meant for a specific inspiration for the composers to initiate their compositions. Composers can choose to study the Etude, go against the Etude, or just sit with the Etude when they compose. They can also compose an Etude, or even come up with something totally different. Nevertheless, the pairing is both conscious and subconscious, a basis for the composers to fly with their imagination. After the composers finish their new works, Chen will work closely with the composers to prepare for the world premieres of the works.
Participating composers:
Nick Bentz - Etude No. 16 “Pour Irina”
Shiuan Cang - Etude No. 10 “Der Zauberlehring”
Victoria Cheah - Etude No. 11 “En suspens”
Jessie Cox - Etude No. 18 “Canon”
Fjóla Evans - Etude No. 9 “Vertige”
David Fulmer - Etude No. 12 “Entrelacs”
Vivian Fung - Etude No. 15 “White on White”
Chiayu Hsu - Etude No. 1 “Désordre”
Molly Joyce - Etude No. 8 “Fém”
Jihyun Kim - Etude No. 2 “Cordes à vide”
Jared Miller - Etude No. 3 “Touches bloquées”
Tom Morrison - Etude No. 4 “Fanfares”
Gity Razaz - Etude No. 5 “Arc-en-ciel”
Tengku Irfan - Etude No. 14 “Columna infinita”
Sugar Vendil - Etude No. 7 “Galamb borong”
Meng Wang - Etude No. 17 “À bout de souffle”
Xinyang Wang - Etude No. 13 “L’escalier du diable”
Nina Young - Etude No. 6 “Automne à Varsovie”
About Han Chen
Han Chen has emerged among the new generation of concert pianists as a uniquely fearless performer in a wide variety of musical settings. Gold Medalist at the 2013 China International Piano Competition and a prizewinner at the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition, he has been praised by Gramophone as “impressively commanding and authoritative” and further cited by The New York Times for his “graceful touch,” “rhythmic precision,” and “hypnotic charm,” Chen’s virtuosity is enriched by a probing commitment to new and lesser-known works, as well as the great cornerstones of the piano repertory. This vision is clearly evident in his four solo Naxos CDs focusing on Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Thomas Adès, and more recently, György Ligeti’s Complete Piano Études. As soloist with orchestra, Chen’s appearances include the Calgary Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Taiwan Symphony, China Symphony and Xiamen Philharmonic. He made his Lincoln Center debut with Riverside Symphony at Alice Tully Hall in December 2022 performing Mozart’s early masterwork, the Piano Concerto No. 9 le Jeunehomme. In addition, he has performed as recitalist throughout Europe, North America, China, and Taiwan.