{"id":16251,"date":"2013-11-26T19:02:41","date_gmt":"2013-11-27T00:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=16251"},"modified":"2013-11-26T22:39:38","modified_gmt":"2013-11-27T03:39:38","slug":"montreal-composer-nicole-lisee-awarded-7500-jules-leger-prize-for-new-chamber-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2013\/11\/26\/montreal-composer-nicole-lisee-awarded-7500-jules-leger-prize-for-new-chamber-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal composer Nicole Liz\u00e9e awarded $7,500 Jules L\u00e9ger Prize for New Chamber Music"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>
A page from the score of While Label Experiment<\/em>, by Nicole Liz\u00e9e. Note the little LP record icons on bottom two staves (image courtesy of SoundMakers).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of us think of a piano trio or string quartet when we hear the term ‘chamber music.’ Montreal composer Nicole Liz\u00e9e thought turntables, percussion and digital processing — winning her the 2013 Jules L\u00e9ger Prize for New Chamber Music, which comes with a $7,500 cheque.<\/p>\n

Oh yes, there’s manual typewriter and toy piano included in the sound mix, as well.<\/p>\n

Liz\u00e9e’s piece, White Label Experiment<\/em>, was premiered in Toronto a year-and-a-half ago at a Soundstreams concert organized in honour of the 100th anniversary of the birth of John Cage.<\/p>\n

\u201cNicole Liz\u00e9e\u2019s innovative musical creations perfectly capture Cage\u2019s wit and inventiveness,\u201d said Canada Council head Robert Sirman in the press release. \u201cOur congratulations to Ms. Liz\u00e9e on winning the 2013 Jules L\u00e9ger Prize, and bringing a unique sound to chamber music audiences in Canada and internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n

The jury of peers who assessed the winning composition noted that, “In White Label Experiment<\/em>, Ms Liz\u00e9e has created not only an engaging work of new chamber music, but also one that achieves the highest standards of innovation and excellence, almost entirely without the help of proven chamber music idioms. As such, it represents a triumph of artistic vision supported by masterful skill.”<\/p>\n

In other words, this jury loved the fact that this was chamber music that had nothing to do with chamber music as we traditionally know it.<\/p>\n

I’m not sure what to think of Liz\u00e9e’s piece. So I’ll have to listen again, thanks to Soundstreams’ extensive archive of concert recordings at SoundMakers<\/a>:<\/p>\n