The University of Iowa’s Hancher will present vocal ensemble Anonymous 4 performing love fail by UI alumnus and Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lang on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 228 East Jefferson St. in Iowa City.
The work, which is co-commissioned by Hancher, is a rewriting of Tristan and Isolde’s tragic love story. The program is interleaved with settings of Lang own texts, Richard Wagner’s libretto, and stories by MacArthur Prize-winning author Lydia Davis.
Anonymous 4, which is made up of Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genensky, Susan Hellauer, and Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, is a multi-award-winning ensemble performing everything from early music to brand new compositions. The quartet has twice been named Billboard's top classical artists. The ensemble has performed three Hancher-presented concerts, most recently in 2002.
Lang is also co-founder and co-artistic director of the acclaimed ensemble Bang on a Can, which has performed his music in two Hancher concerts. He is among America’s most performed composers. Of his Pulitzer honors, the New Yorker wrote, "With his winning of the Pulitzer Prize for the little match girl passion (one of the most original and moving scores of recent years), Lang, once a post-minimalist enfant terrible, has solidified his standing as an American master." For excerpts from an interview with Lang, click here.
"Lang...has solidified his standing as an American master."
—New Yorker
In the days leading up to the performance, Lang will visit classes in the UI School of Music.
Lang’s love fail was commissioned by Hancher as well as the Brooklyn Academy of Music 2012 Next Wave Festival, Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven CT, The John F. Kennedy Center Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and Wake Forest University/Secrest Artists Series.
The performance is supported by the Hancher Partners and gifts to Hancher Circle through the University of Iowa Foundation.
How to get tickets
Tickets for Anonymous 4 are $40 for non-students and senior citizens, and $10 for college students and youth. Tickets are available from the Hancher Box Office, located on the first floor of the south end of the Old Capitol Town Center near the parking ramp. The Hancher Box Office is open for phone (319-335-1160 or 800-HANCHER) or walk-up business from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. Tickets may be ordered online at www.hancher.uiowa.edu. Any remaining tickets will be available for sale one hour before show time at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.