Spectrum is thrilled to present our second Michael Hersch Festival, taking place October 2-4, 2026 at MISE-EN_PLACE this fall season.
The festival takes place a decade after our first series dedicated to the composer’s music. Covering the 2016 festival, The New York Times wrote of Hersch’s
“viscerally gripping and emotionally transformative music … moments of sublime beauty nestled inside thickets of dark virtuosity … an extraordinary musical experience”
And New York Classical Review described music of “a unique directness, with every moment dedicated to the urgent expression of meaning … As the music went along, the experience of the concert grew increasingly deep and mysterious. In place of explicit narrative, the pieces conveyed the sensation of a profound internal experience for which words are inadequate.”
The festival will feature some of today’s top contemporary musicians who are most frequently associated with Hersch’s music, including the FLUX Quartet, soprano Ah Young Hong, violinists/violists Miranda Cuckson, Adda Kridler and Leah Asher, oboist James Austin Smith, cellist Coleman Itzkoff, bassoonist Ben Roidl-Ward, and the String Noise Duo. The composer will also give what are increasingly rare public performances at the piano.
PROGRAM I – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2026, 7:30 PM
Images from a Closed Ward for string quartet – Michael Hersch
PROGRAM II – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2026, 7:30 PM
Fourteen Pieces after Primo Levi for unaccompanied violin – no. III
oaks cut for the pyre for soprano and bassoon – Michael Hersch [NYC PREMIERE]
Fourteen Pieces – no. IV
a tearing loose from matter for two violins – Michael Hersch
Fourteen Pieces – no. XIII
Trauerrefrain: songs after texts of Anja Utler for soprano, oboe and violin – Michael Hersch [NYC PREMIERE]
Fourteen Pieces – no. XIV
PROGRAM III – SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2026, 7:30 PM
Douleur me bat for soprano and string quartet – Josquin des Prez. – arr. Hersch
the weather and landscape are on our side for unaccompanied violin – Michael Hersch
The Vanishing Pavilions for piano (excerpts) – Michael Hersch
Susanne un jour for soprano and string quartet – Orlande de Lassus – arr. Hersch
Sonata No. 2 for Unaccompanied Cello – Michael Hersch