Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez, György Kurtág, Kaija Saariaho, Unsuk Chin. They’re major figures in musical modernism, right up to the present day, but rarely performed around here. To redress that neglect, a four concert mini-festival called “Parisian Refraction” is coming to Southern Methodist University’s Caruth Auditorium. It’s the work of a contemporary music outfit called ensembleNEWSRQ, organized and led by husband-and-wife Dallas musicians Samantha Bennett (a violinist in the Dallas Opera Orchestra and frequent sub in the area) and George Nickson (principal percussionist of the Dallas Symphony). Maurice Cohn, assistant conductor of the Dallas Symphony, will conduct.
Of the composers programmed for the festival, only Boulez was French, but all but Hans Otte have had French connections.
All at 7:30 p.m., the four programs will include works for voice, violin, harp, piano and percussion.
April 23: Chin: Acrostic Wordplay, Double Concerto for piano and percussion. Saariaho: Graal théâtre
April 24: Hans Otte: Das Buch der Klänge (The Book of Sounds)
April 25: Kurtág: Kafka Fragments
April 28: Stockhausen: Freude (Hour Two of Klang). Boulez: Sur Incises
Details: Caruth Auditorium at Southern Methodist University, Bishop Boulevard and Binkley Avenue. Single tickets $20; four-concert package $60. 214-768-2787 (noon to 5 p.m.), smu.universitytickets.com.
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