Photo: Karen Chester.
Density 2036
Density 2036 is a 24-year project launched by Claire Chase in 2013 to create a new body of flute repertory leading up to the 100th anniversary of Edgard Varese’s seminal 1936 flute solo, Density 21.5. Now entering its 13th, Density reimagines the solo flute literature over a quarter-century through commissions, performances, recordings, education, and an accessible archive at densityarts.org.
“A quarter-century journey that has little precedent”
– Alex Ross, The New Yorker
NYC-ARTS Profile: Claire Chase on Density 2036
"A retrospective, almost valedictory thread runs through "The Holy Liftoff,"
suggesting that it carries within it echoes of ideas that have lived long with Riley
since the beginning of his musical journey: playful seriousness, honesty, humility,
adventurousness, unpretentiousness and, above all perhaps, an expression of of a spiritual sublime."
—Pwyll Ap Siôn, Gramophone
Recent Performances
“One of the great musical undertakings of our time, a singular project by a singular artist on the messily ambitious scale of Wagner’s “Ring” and Stockhausen’s “Licht.””
– Joshua Barone, The New York Times
Claire Chase and JACK Quartet performing “The Holy Liftoff” by Terry Riley and realized by Samuel Clay Birmaher (Density 2036: part xi)
PRAISE FOR DENSITY!
"At the opening concert, it becomes clear why Chase is a flute superstar. With many gestures, she creates a shared space with the audience." --LongPlay
"Taken together, both "Sunbird" and the "Elwha!" excerpt reinvent the age-old imitative role of the flute in more elaborate contexts, examining natural sonorities in musical terms quite brilliantly – to spellbinding effect." --Adventures in Music
"Given in a dazzling rendition by Chase and the TMF Quartet, "The Holy Liftoff" marked a veritable apex of collaborative music-making, as the five musicians transformed the score realization into a lifetime journey of living sounds, beautifully interlocked with the soundtrack." --Adventures in Music
"It's great to watch contemporary music superstar Claire Chase fling herself around the church and master seven different flutes, and to watch world-renowned 86-year-old composer Annea Lockwood close her eyes and listen." --Helsingin Sanomat
Photo: Walter Wlodorczyk.
Photo: Jennifer Taylor.
Photo: Richard Termine.
Photo: Karen Chester.
Photo: Karen Chester.
Photo: Karen Chester.
Photo: Walter Wlodarczyk.
Photo: Karen Chester.
Photo: Karen Chester.
Photo: Karen Chester.
Photo: Karen Chester.
Photo: Karen Chester.
RELATED ARTICLES
New York Times: Two Premieres
New York Times: Claire Chase is Changing How People Think of the Flute
The New Yorker: Claire Chase Taps the Primal Power of the Flute
New York Times: Review: ‘Density’ Keeps Expanding the Flute’s Universe
ICIYL: Claire Chase Prophesies What’s Possible in “Density 2036, part vi” at The Kitchen