Michael Hersch, Composer

Works

Full Work List
Large Ensemble
Ensemble With Soloist
Chamber Music
sew me into a shroud of leaves
Solo Instrumental
Opera
Vocal
Arrangements

Opera

and we, each (2024)

for soprano, baritone and five players
Text by Shane McCrae
Libretto by Michael Hersch
Duration: ca. 135'
Premiere: September 27, 2024
Directed by James Matthew Daniel
Ah Young Hong, soprano / Jesse Blumberg, baritone
Tito Muñoz, conductor
premiere performances Baltimore, MD / Washington D.C. / New York City
MORE INFORMATION

MEDEA (2022)

for soprano, 6-part vocal ensemble, and sixteen players
Libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann
Duration: ca. 55’
Commissioned by Ensemble Musikfabrik and Kunststiftung NRW
Premiere: June 3, 2023
Sarah Maria Sun, soprano / Schola Heidelberg / Ensemble Musikfabrik
Cologne, Germany
PROGRAM NOTE

POPPAEA (2019)

Duration: ca. 110' (one act)
Libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann

Characters
Poppaea – soprano
Nero – tenor or baritone
Octavia – mezzo-soprano
Handmaidens – 2 sopranos, 1 mezzo-soprano
Additional female chorus – 2 soprano sections, 1 mezzo-soprano section

Instrumentation: 1 Fl., 1 Ob., 1 Bb Cl., 1 Bass Cl. (sep. player), 2 Alt. Sax., 1 Bn., 1 Cnt. Bn., 1 Hn., 1 Tpt., 1 Trb., 1 Perc., 1 Pno., 2 Vln., 1 Vla., 1 Vc., 1 Db. Bs.
Premiere date:
September 2021 - ZeitRaeume Basel – Biennial for New Music and Architecture
November 2021 - Wien Modern Festival, Vienna, Austria
MORE INFORMATION

On the Threshold of Winter (2012) a monodrama in two acts

Duration: ca. 120'
Libretto by Michael Hersch
Text adapted from Marin Sorescu's The Bridge
Translation by Adam J. Sorkin and Lidia Vinau
Instrumentation: 1 Soprano, 1 Fl., 1 Ob., 1 Bb Cl., 1 Bass Cl. (separate player), 1 Perc., 1 Pno., 1 Vln., 1 Vc.
Presented by Nunc
Miranda Cuckson, Artistic Director
Roger Brunyate, Stage Director
Ah Young Hong, soprano
Tito Muñoz, conductor
Christopher Cairns, Kevin Tuttle, Sets
Premiere date: June 25, 2014
Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, New York
thresholdopera.com
PURCHASE SCORE

Large Ensemble

the script of storms for soprano and orchestra (2018)

nine songs after texts of Fawzi Karim
Duration: ca. 25'
Instrumentation: 1 Picc./2 Fl./2 Ob./2 Bb Cl./1 Bs.Cl./2 Bn./1 Cnt.Bn./
4 Hrn./2 C Tpt./2 Tn.Trb./1 Bs.Trb./3 Perc./1 Hp./1 Pno./Strings
Premiere Date: February 14, 2020 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
Ah Young Hong, soprano
London, England
Radio broadcast on BBC
PROGRAM NOTE
Michael Hersch: Reflections on Fawzi Karim - PNR 248, July-August 2019
the script of storms - texts
EXCERPT
PURCHASE SCORE

end stages (2016)

Duration: ca. 20'
2 Fl./2 Ob./2 Cl. (second dbl. bass cl.)/2 Bn./2 Hrn./2 C Tpt./1 Perc./Strings
Commissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Premiere date:
January 19, 2017 - Thomasville Center for the Arts, Thomasville, GA
February 4, 2017 - Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
PROGRAM NOTE
LISTEN

Symphony No. 3 (2009)

Duration: ca. 30'
1 Pic./2 Fl./2 Ob./2 Bb Cl./1 Bs.Cl./2 Bn./1 Cnt.Bn./
4 Hrn./2 C Tpt./2 Tn.Trb./1 Bs.Trb./1 Tba./Timp./3 Perc./2 Hp./1 Pno./Strings
Commissioned by the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
Marin Alsop, Music Director
Premiere date: Summer 2010, Santa Cruz, California
LISTEN

Arraché (2004)

Duration: ca. 8'
1 Pic./2 Fl./2 Ob./2 Bb Cl./1 Bs.Cl./2 Bn./1 Cnt.Bn./
4 Hrn./2 C Tpt./2 Tn.Trb./1 Bs.Trb./1 Tba./Strings
Commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Premiere date: February 2005, Yuri Temirkanov, conductor
Strathmore Music Center, Bethesda, Maryland

Variations on a Theme of Hugo Wolf (2004)

Duration: ca. 27'
2 Fl./2 Ob./2 Bb Cl./2 Bsn./2 Hrn./2 C Tpt./Strings
Commissioned by the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
Premiere date: June 2005, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, conductor
Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Fracta (2002)

Duration: ca. 12'
1 Pic./2 Fl./2 Ob../2 Bb Cl./1 Bs.Cl./2 Bn./1 Cnt.Bn./
4 Hrn./2 C Tpt./2 Tn.Trb./1 Bs.Trb./1 Tba./Timp./3 Perc./Strings
Commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Premiere date: March 2003, Claus Peter Flor, conductor
Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Symphony No. 2 (2001)

Duration: ca. 20'
1 Pic./2 Fl./2 Ob./2 Bb Cl./1 Bs.Cl./2 Bn./1 Cnt.Bn./
4 Hrn./3 C Tpt../2 Tn.Trb./1 Bs.Trb./1 Tba./Timp./3 Perc./1 Hp./1 Pno./Strings
Commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Premiere date: April 2002, Mariss Jansons, conductor
Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
EXCERPT

Symphony No. 1 (1998)

Duration: ca. 27'
1 Pic./2 Fl./2 Ob./2 Bb Cl./1 Bs.Cl./2 Bn./1 Cnt.Bn./
4 Hrn./2 C Tpt./2 Tn.Trb./1 Bs.Trb./1 Tba../Timp./2 Perc./1 Hp./1 Pno./Strings Commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Premiere date: November 1999, Alan Gilbert, conductor
Meyerson Symphony Hall - Dallas, Texas

Ensemble With Soloist

MEDEA (2022)

Agatha (2018)

Duration: ca. 26'
Soloists: Soprano, Violin, Clarinet in Bb
Ensemble: 1 Bs. Cl., 1 Bn., 1 Pno., Section - Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vc., Cb.
Ah Young Hong, soprano; Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin; Reto Bieri, clarinet
Commissioned by Camerata Bern
Premiere date: February 21, 2020
Bern, Switzerland
PROGRAM NOTE
WATCH/LISTEN

the script of storms for soprano and orchestra (2018)

cortex and ankle for soprano and ensemble (2016)

Duration: ca. 33'
Soprano/2 Alto Sax./1 Tnr. Trb./1 Perc./1 Pno./1 Elec. Gtr.
Commissioned by Ensemble Klang
Premiere date: December 7, 2016 - De Doelen, Rotterdam, Holland
Ensemble Klang Albums-In-Depth
LISTEN

Violin Concerto (2015)

Duration: ca. 35'
1 Fl./1 Ob./1 Bb Cl./1 Bs.Cl./1 Bn./
1 Hrn./1 C Tpt./1 Pno./Solo Vln./2 Sec.Vlns./1 Vla./1 Vc./1 D.b.
Commissioned by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Premiere date: November 6, 2015 - Saint Paul, MN
Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin
[BBC RADIO 3] Modern Muses: Michael Hersch and Patricia Kopatchinskaja
WATCH/LISTEN - first movement
LISTEN
PURCHASE SCORE

Black Untitled for trombone and ensemble (2013)

Duration: ca. 24'
2 Alto Sax./1 Tnr. Trb./1 Perc./1 Pno./1 Elec. Gtr.
Commissioned by Ensemble Klang
Premiere date: October 25, 2014 - Orgelpark, Amsterdam, Holland
LISTEN

Night Pieces for trumpet and orchestra (2010)

Duration: ca. 24'
1 Pic./2 Fl./2 Ob./2 Bb Cl./1 Bs.Cl./2 Bn./1 Cnt.Bn./
4 Hrn./2 C Tpt./2 Tn.Trb./1 Bs.Trb./1 Tba./Timp./2 Perc./2 Hp./1 Pno./solo C tpt./Strings
Commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra
Premiere date: 2011/12 season
Cleveland Orchestra
Michael Sachs, trumpet

along the ravines for piano and orchestra (2010)

Duration: ca. 26'
2 Fl./2 Ob./2 Bb Cl. dbl. Bs. Cl./2 Bn./
2 Hrn./2 C Tpt./2 Trb./1 Perc./Pno.Solo/Strings
Premiere date: Spring 2012
Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Gerard Schwarz, conductor
Shai Wosner, piano
LISTEN

Piano Concerto (2002)

Duration: ca. 38'
1 Pic./2 Fl./2 Ob./2 Bb Cl./1 Bs.Cl./2 Bn./1 Cnt.Bn./
4 Hrn./2 C Tpt./2 Tn.Trb./1 Bs.Trb./1 Tba./
Timp./3 Perc./1 Orch. Pno./1 Hp./Pno.Solo/Strings
Commissioned by the Saint Louis Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony and Garrick Ohlsson
Premiere date: November 2002
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor
Garrick Ohlsson, soloist

Vocal

one step to the next, worlds ending (2022)

songs after texts of Jan Zwicky
for soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, chamber organ, violin and double bass
Duration: ca. 20’
Commissioned by Ensemble Phoenix Basel
Premiere Dates: December 2/3, 2022
Ah Young Hong, soprano / Ensemble Phoenix Basel Gare du Nord - Basel, Switzerland
PURCHASE SCORE

MEDEA (2022)

anonymous beneath the lemon trees (2021)

seven songs after text fragments of Utler, Kociejowski, Fleischmann, Middleton, Karim and Thucydides
for soprano, bassoon, piano, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass
Duration: ca. 20’
Commissioned by the Decoda Ensemble
Premiere date: March 23, 2022
Alice Teyssier, soprano / Decoda
Carnegie Recital Hall - New York, NY
PROGRAM NOTE
PURCHASE SCORE

sapped from me broken: three songs after texts of Anja Utler (2019)

for soprano, violin and bassoon
Duration: ca. 10'
Commissioned by Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Premiere date: February 2020

Agatha (2018)

the script of storms for soprano and orchestra (2018)

... das Rückgrat berstend for violin/speaker and cello (2017)

Duration: ca. 11'
Text by Christopher Middleton
Commissioned by Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Premiere date: October 9, 2017
Park Avenue Armory
New York, New York
PROGRAM NOTE
WATCH/LISTEN
PURCHASE SCORE

I hope we get a chance to visit soon (2017)

Duration: ca. 70'
Text drawn from letters of Mary Harris O'Reilly to the composer, and the poetry of Rebecca Elson and Christopher Middleton
Instrumentation: 2 sopranos, 1 Bb clarinet doubling bass clarinet, 1 alto saxophone, 1 bassoon, 1 piano, 2 violins, 1 viola, 1 violoncello, 1 contrabass
commissioned by the Ojai Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Cal Performances & PN Review
Premiere Date: June 8, 2018, Ojai Music Festival - Ojai, CA
Ah Young Hong, soprano; Kiera Duffy, soprano; Gary Louie, saxophone; Tito Muñoz, conductor;
members of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra
MORE INFORMATION
EXCERPT
PURCHASE SCORE

cortex and ankle for soprano and ensemble (2016)

a tower in air for soprano and horn (2015)

Texts by Christopher Middleton
Duration: ca. 30'
Premiere date: May 28, 2016 - London, England
Ah Young Hong, soprano; Michael Atkinson, horn

a breath upwards for soprano, clarinet, horn and viola (2014)

Duration: ca. 35'
Texts by Dante Alighieri and Ezra Pound
Commissioned by the Network for New Music
Premiere date: April 19, 2015 - Philadelphia, PA
Ah Young Hong, Paul Demers, Burchard Tang, Jamie Hersch
conducted by Jan Krzywicki
EXCERPTS

How Far the Cradle for soprano and piano (2013)

Suite from the opera On the Threshold of Winter
Duration: ca. 30'
Premiere date:
January 13, 2013 - Ensemble Nunc Benefit Concert, New York, NY
Ah Young Hong, soprano; Matei Varga, piano

Domicilium: a song cycle after poems of Thomas Hardy (2010)

Duration: ca. 20'
2 versions available:
Version 1 - for lyric baritone and piano
Version 2 - for bass-baritone and piano
Commissioned by Thomas Hampson and the A.S.C.A.P. Foundation Kingsford Fund for Art Songs
Premiere date: February 26, 2013 - San Francisco, California
Thomas Hampson, baritone; Wolfram Rieger, piano
San Francisco Performances

From Ecclesiastes for unaccompanied SATB chorus (1997)

Duration: ca. 10'

Two Songs for soprano and piano (1993)

Duration: ca. 14'
Premiere date:
1994 - The Peabody Institute of Music, Baltimore, MD
Ulrike Huhs, soprano; Paul Wyse, piano

Arrangements

Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)
Fantasia, arrangment for flute, violin and cello (2021)

Premiere Date: May 16, 2021
Emi Ferguson, flute / Miranda Cuckson, violin / Coleman Itzkoff, cello
Studio of Christopher Cairns
Havertown, PA
WATCH

Josquin des Pres (c.1450-1521)
Douleur me bat, arrangement for soprano and string quartet (2020)

for soprano and string quartet
WATCH

Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-1377)
Puis qu'en oubli, arrangement for soprano and string quartet (2020)

for soprano and string quartet

Orlande de Lassus (c.1532-1594)
Susanne un jour, arrangement for soprano and string quartet (2018)

Premiere Date: December 16, 2018
Ah Young Hong, soprano / FLUX Quartet
The Icebox Project Space
Philadelphia, PA
WATCH

Josquin des Pres (c.1450-1521) arrangements for solo piano (2003)

Mille Regretz: ca. 3'
LISTEN
De Profundis Clamavi: ca. 6'
LISTEN

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) Wesendonck Lieder
for solo violin and chamber ensemble (2005)

Duration: ca. 25'
1 Fl./1 Ob./1 Bb Cl./1 Bn./1 Hn./1 Tpt./Vln. Solo/2 Vln./1Vla./1 Vc.
Commissioned by Nurit Pacht
Premiere date: February 2006 - Alliance Francais
Nurit Pacht, violin

Chamber Music

one step to the next, worlds ending (2022)

anonymous beneath the lemon trees (2021)

scars plummet to the corners (2020)

for flute and piano
Duration: ca. 80’
Commissioned by the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC)

sapped from me broken: three songs after texts of Anja Utler (2019)

for soprano, violin and bassoon
Duration: ca. 10'
Commissioned by Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Premiere date: February 2020

... das Rückgrat berstend for violin/speaker and cello (2017)

Variations on a Theme of Hugo Wolf for seven players (2016)
[chamber version]

Duration: ca. 30'
fl./Bb cl. dbl. bass cl./pno./2 vlns./vla./vc.
Commissioned by the Alban Berg Ensemble Wien
Premiere date: November 13, 2017
Musikverein - Vienna, Austria
LISTEN

Carrion-Miles to Purgatory: thirteen pieces after texts of Robert Lowell for violin and cello (2014)

Duration: ca. 35'
Commissioned by the Library of Congress
Premiere date: October 16, 2015
Stefan Heinemeyer, cello; Annette von Hehn, violin
Washington, D.C.
PROGRAM NOTE
LISTEN

Zwischen Leben und Tod: twenty-two pieces after images by Peter Weiss for violin and piano (2013)

Duration: ca. 100'
Commissioned by Mark Wait, Carolyn Huebl and Vanderbilt University
Premiere date: February 26, 2015
Carolyn Huebl, violin / Mark Wait, piano
Nashville, Tennesse
PROGRAM NOTE

Seven Pieces for Banjo and Cello (2012)

Duration: ca. 17

Images From a Closed Ward for string quartet (2010)

Duration: ca. 65'
Commissioned by the Blair String Quaret and Vanderbilt University
Premiere date: February 17, 2012
The Blair String Quartet
Nashville, Tennessee
PROGRAM NOTE
WATCH/LISTEN
PURCHASE SCORE

Two Pieces for Cello and Piano (2009)

Duration: ca. 12'
Premiere date:
November 11, 2010 - The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.
Daniel Gaisford, cello; Michael Hersch, piano
WATCH/LISTEN

A Forest of Attics (2009)

Duration: ca. 32'
1 Bb Cl. dbl. Bs.Cl./1 Hrn./1 Perc./1 Vln./1 Vla./1 Vc./1 Cb.
Commissioned by the Network for New Music
Premiere date: April 9, 2010
Society for Ethical Culture - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
PROGRAM NOTE
EXCERPT

Last Autumn for horn and cello (2008)

Duration: ca. 120'
Premiere date: October 17, 2009
Jamie Hersch, horn; Daniel Gaisford, cello
St. Mark's Church - Philadelphia, PA
PROGRAM NOTE
Also see SEW ME INTO A SHROUD OF LEAVES

the wreckage of flowers for violin and piano (2003)

Duration: 25'
Commissioned by Midori Goto
Premiere date: November 2004
Midori Goto, violin; Robert McDonald, piano
Lisbon, Portugal
Press

Variations on a Poem for violin, cello and piano (2003)

Duration: ca. 30'
Commissioned by the Sequenza Piano Trio
Premiere date: February 2004
Sequenza Piano Trio
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Octet for Strings (2001)

Duration: ca. 31'
4 vln./2 vla./2 Vc.
Commissioned by the Kronberg Akademie
Premiere date: August 2002
Schloss Neuhardenberg Festival - Brandenberg, Germany

After Hölderlin's 'Hälfte des Lebens' for viola and cello (2001)

Duration: ca. 13'
Matthew Hunter, viola; David Riniker, cello
Premiere Date: January 2003, Philharmonie - Berlin, Germany

After Hölderlin's 'Hälfte des Lebens' for B-flat clarinet and cello (2000)

Duration: ca. 11'
Commissioned by the Romaeuropa Festival
Premiere date: December 2001
Walter Boeykens, clarinet; Ilia Laporev, cello
Pantheon - Rome, Italy

Trio No. 1 for violin, B-flat clarinet and piano (1995)

Duration: ca. 17'
Commissioned by the Ensemble da Camera
Premiere date: 1996 American Music Festival
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

sew me into a shroud of leaves

sew me into a shroud of leaves (2001–2016)

Total timing without intermissions ca. 660’

PART I - The Vanishing Pavilions for piano – ca. 180’ + 1 intermission
PURCHASE SCORE
PART II - Last Autumn for horn and violoncello – ca. 120’ + 1 intermission
PURCHASE SCORE
PART III - one day may become menace for piano – ca. 360’ + 2 intermissions
PURCHASE SCORE

World Premiere Date: November 9, 2019 Wien Modern Festival - Vienna, Austria
Program Note from Wien Modern 32 - 9 November 2019
LISTEN

The cycle consists of approximately ten hours of music. Intermissions within each work over the course of the work add an additional two hours (the suggested intermission timing being 30 minutes). If the work is presented on a single date, it is suggested to have further time of at least one hour between Parts 1 & 2 and Parts 2 & 3. While the piece may be performed over a single date as described above, it may also be presented one Part per date over the course of three consecutive dates.

Georg Friedrich Haas on the work of Michael Hersch
“Michael Hersch is an astonishing musician. He is one of those rare artists who personally are totally melded together with their art. Here he is working against all conventions, against all practical realities of today’s concert life." —Georg Friedrich Haas