Jorge Grossmann, a composer and professor of composition at the School of Music recently attended the premiere of his work El Plenilunio reina en un temblar de bruma [The Full Moon reigns in a shiver of haze] performed by the Indiana University New Music Ensemble conducted by David Dzubay.
The work, written for a 16-player chamber orchestra, is something between a sinfonietta and a concerto grosso, with an elegiac second movement. Composed following a fast-slow fast-movement layout, the piece begins with a first movement made of short contrasting sections alternating two different tempi. The shimmering chords of the beginning delve into darker sounds as the piece transitions, without pause, into the second movement. The second movement draws from Jose Maria Eguren’s poem Nocturno and it is an homage to a childhood friend who was murdered in the coastal desert outside of Lima, Peru in 2015. A contemplative and perhaps barren soundscape dominates this second movement. In the third movement, each instrument of the ensemble in turn acts as a soloist beginning with the brass, then the woodwinds, followed by strings, percussion and, finally, piano. A recording of the work will soon be available on Prof. Grossmann’s SoundCloud page.
During the week of September 20, Professor Grossmann served as guest composer at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where, in addition to attending the above-mentioned premiere, he gave a presentation on his creative work and taught composition lessons to undergraduate and graduate students.
Prof. Grossmann's website: https://www.shadowofthevoices.com/
Read Eguren's Nocturno (translated by Prof. Grossmann):
Listen to Prof. Grossmann's music: