World Premiere, New Recording, and a New Work for Solo Violin

The past few months have taken my music to some wonderful places.

A Time to Mourn and a Time to Dance came back to life in March with Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony and the Rochester Philharmonic under Andreas Delfs. I have to say — the orchestra just gave it everything. For a piece to be played at that level, with that kind of commitment and connection to the music, is something I'll carry with me for a long time. And they recorded it, which I'm very excited about.

In February, Jerusalem Mix had a lovely run through central Pennsylvania with Market Square Concerts — Harrisburg, Millersburg, and a homecoming performance right here in Gettysburg with Stuart Malina and a superb ensemble. There's something special about hearing your music in your own community.

Lament and Variations continues its remarkable journey with Mackenzie Melemed — from Waco to Salt Lake City to Patagonia, AZ to Mount Vernon, IL this quarter alone. Watching a piece travel this way, finding new audiences in such varied places, is one of the deep joys of writing for a dedicated artist.

Other highlights: Avi Avital performed the Mandolin Concerto in Bucharest with the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra; Cynthia Yeh and the New Bedford Symphony gave a beautiful performance of Eternal Rhythm; and Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! arrives at the Wiener Konzerthaus this April in its new two-pianos and percussion arrangement with the AlFa Duo.

New Recording

I'm so happy to share that The Fifth Element has just been released on Albany Records, performed by the Bowling Green Philharmonia conducted by Emily Freeman Brown — part of The Composer's Voice: New Music from Bowling Green, Vol. 10.

Emily and I go back a long way. She conducted and recorded my Variations Without a Theme back in 2006 — one of my first significant large orchestral performances in the US — and I was at the festival that year. She's married to the wonderful Sam Adler, with whom I studied, and they are both just extraordinary people. Having this new recording in her hands feels like a full-circle moment. You can listen here.

New Commission: Schwung

I'm honored to share that I've been selected as the commissioned composer for the Stuttgart International Violin Competition (Guadagnini Foundation), for which I'm composing a new solo violin work titled Schwung. The piece will serve as a required work for the 2026 competition. There's something uniquely fascinating about writing a compulsory piece — knowing that many different violinists will bring their own personalities and interpretations to the same notes. I'm deep in the process and genuinely excited by where it's going.

Looking Ahead

Mackenzie Melemed continues the Lament and Variations tour through April and into summer, with stops in Lawrence, KS, Cleveland, and eventually Finland in July. In late April, Tanyaderas travels to Brazil with the Orquestra Goiânia, and in May, Min Kwon performs A Variation on America the Beautiful at Meany Center in Seattle.

The centerpiece of the coming months is the world premiere of Inner Fire (Cello Concerto No. 2) on June 21 at Jordan Hall in Boston, with the incomparable Kristina Reiko Cooper and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project under Gil Rose. The concerto explores the ancient connection between breath and soul — Neshima and Neshama in Hebrew, two words that share the same root. In a time of so much uncertainty, this five-movement work feels more urgent to me than ever: it is, at heart, a meditation on the inner resilience that human beings have always carried within them.

Also this summer: Duo Gambelin gives the world premiere of Rhapsody on Diwan Songs at the York Early Music Festival (July 8), followed by a German premiere days later.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope to see you at a concert soon.

Warmly,
Avner

www.avnerdormanmusic.com