Performances + Events
What music best captures and clearly evokes the experience of winter? As the season continues to grip and chill the Northeast, we invite you to settle in and listen to Cold Fusion to hear how two members of our community responded to the question. NEC faculty composer Sid Richardson and Piano Department Co-Chair Bruce Brubaker each selected five tracks from the Apple Music catalog, provided a few words about each, and offered insight into how they came to make their selections.
Sid Richardson’s Selections
1. Franz Schubert: Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911, No. 6, “Wasserflut” (“Flood”) — Ian Bostridge and Thomas Adès
Schubert’s Wintereisse is the non plus ultra of winter music, and the intimacy of many of the songs in the cycle brings to my mind being out on a cold day alone with one’s thoughts.
2. Hans Abrahamsen: Schnee (Snow), Canon 1b. Fast immer zart und stiller — Lapland Chamber Orchestra with John Storgårds
Abrahamsen’s Schnee presents various fascinating canons in sound worlds that range from the austere to the equivalent of a timbral blizzard.
3. Judith Weir: “On White Meadows,” from The New Winter Songbook — Rebecca Lea and Caroline Jaya-Ratnam
This fascinating new song project reflects contemporary perspectives on the winter season, here highlighted by Weir’s contemplative contribution.
4. Chaya Czernowin: Wintersongs (2014), IV. “Wounds/Mistletoe” — International Contemporary Ensemble
Czernowin’s detailed gestural language plunges one’s psyche into the depths of winter as it affects the mind as well as the body.
5. Benjamin Britten: “In Freezing Winter Night,” from A Ceremony of Carols — The Choir of King’s College
Winter always makes me think of Christmas, and this is perhaps one of my favorite pieces to grow out of the Lessons and Carols tradition.
Richardson’s Selection Process
For this Cold Fusion playlist, I chose works that strike me as having the introspective qualities I associate with winter. As someone who loves to walk during the winter months, I often find myself drawn inward in the cold. I find that for me reveries and meditations abound in this state. As such, I gravitated toward music here that draws the listener inside on a journey, whether it be abstract or more explicit, as in the case of these vocal works.”
Bruce Brubaker’s Selections
1. Brian Eno: The Chill Air (arr. Bruce Brubaker), Bruce Brubaker, piano
Brian Eno and pianist Harold Budd first made this spare loveliness using studio techniques. I turned it into music that can be played live. I hope the varying edges of notes — clearer or fuzzier — suggest winter air.
2. Antonio Vivaldi: “Winter,” from The Four Seasons (Violin Concerto in F Minor, Op. 8, No. 4), Andrew Manze, violin, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, directed by Ton Koopman
The inevitable classic, but performed here with instruments such as musicians used in the 1700s. Vivaldi’s piece is very specific in imitating or suggesting sounds from nature.
3. Piotr Tchaikovsky: “February,” from The Seasons, Op. 37a, Yunchan Lim ’26 AD, piano
One of NEC’s piano stars performs a jubilant piece that might have been heard in 19th century living rooms — perhaps with a blazing hearth.
4. Meredith Monk: Totentanz (arr. Bruce Brubaker), Bruce Brubaker and Ursula Oppens, pianos
The rattle of death, or the cycles and circles of life. Meredith’s piece started as music for voice and many instruments. With her help, I arranged the music for two pianos.
5. “Che pena questa” (“What Pain is This”), from Codex Faenza, Bruce Brubaker, piano
Perhaps based on vocal music by Landini that tells of the pains and sorrows of love. Written as a keyboard piece in the 1400s, the written music leaves many questions unanswered for the performer. The playing is a structured improv.
Brubaker’s Selection Process
Winter is ice — and fire. In temperate climates, winter brings extremes, challenges. and perhaps, opportunities for hope. There’s snow — but also, bright sunshine. Early sunsets made the ancients wonder if the sun was burning out. In the 21st century, some are treated for Seasonal Affective Disorder. The serious questions of life feel pressing, as winter offers us the chance to contemplate, and to wonder.
Listen to Cold Fusion
As the first conservatory to become an Apple Music Curator, NEC is extending its digital stage — connecting global audiences with the artistry of its students, alumni, and faculty, and the music that inspires them. Visit our New England Conservatory Apple Music Curator page for world class performances, curated seasonal playlists, and more.
