When Steven Mackey began composing his most recent commission for violinist Leila Josefowicz, he intended to write a barn burner for her. A couple of months into the project, he took a new direction: a requiem dedicated to his mother. “I was in contact with him throughout the process, and when he explained that it would be about his mother gaining control of her destiny, I told him I would be happier with it than with a barn burner,” Josefowicz said. “From my early years, I’ve wanted to be the messenger of the composer. The last thing I want to do is get in the way of his creative process. The title is taken from his mother’s last words, ‘Please tell everyone I had a beautiful passing.’
“This is an amazing piece of music. Steve went through an intense period of writing about letting go and struggling through the last day of her life. There are two different characters: the orchestra that is about life and the violin that is calm and neutral. It’s written in two sections divided by a cadenza. After the cadenza, it characterizes her breathing. Then there is a moment of struggle as the orchestra and violin come together, evaporate and go into nothing. ”
| Onstage |
| Violinist Leila Josefowicz |
| Where: Kennedy Center Concert Hall |
| When: 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday |
| Info: $20 to $85; 202-467-4600, 800-444-1324; kennedy-center.org |
Throughout her career, Josefowicz has gravitated to jazz, improvisation and new music and championed contemporary composers. As a MacArthur Foundation Fellow, she is grateful that what she does matters and already is amassing a healthy list of remarkable new works for the violin. Her commissions and performances reflect the creativity of such major composers as John Adams, Colin Matthews, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Thomas Ades and Oliver Knussen.
Following an intense January schedule, Josefowicz will play fewer concerts until after the arrival of her second child in late spring. While waiting for next season, she will work on two new commissions. One is a work by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, a German composer who died in 1970.
“He is best known for ‘Die Soldaten,’ an opera,” she said. “I plan to play his Fantasia for violin, a piece Oliver Knussen introduced me to. The people I work with are important to me and we share many ideas. We’re like a family and Oliver is part of my musical family. Zimmerman is not well known, but I believe that people should hear new pieces and this one is worth sharing.”
Josefowicz is delighted to be working again with the NSO and Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu who shares her love of exploring new music. Wherever she performs new works worldwide, she senses that people trust her to present a meaningful experience.
“We all have to do things that mean something to us and really matter,” she said. “I want my performance of ‘Beautiful Passing’ to be powerful and meaningful for someone who walks into the hall without knowing the background of the piece.”
