Theme

Caroline Shaw

The 42-year-old American Caroline Shaw is one of the most extraordinary composers today. The youngest ever, she won the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2013. She is an accomplished violinist, but more than that, stands out by her crystal-clear singing and accessible compositions. You can hear all kinds of influences in her music: minimalism, neoclassicism, neoromanticism and the directness of pop. She collaborated with hip hop star Kanye West, and with her favourite classical ensembles like Attacca Quartet and percussion group Sō Percussion. Shaw regularly joins vocal group Roomful of Teeth, for whom she wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning Partita for 8 voices. Currently, she is composer-in-residence at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

This Theme’s episode puts her superb string quartets in the spotlight, together with her close collaboration with Sō Percussion. Additionally, we highlight Shaw’s brand-new film score, written for the four-hour long documentary Leonardo da Vinci from Ken Burns.

Playlist:

Caroline Shaw

1. ‘Entr’acte’ (2011), for string quartet, on Caroline Shaw – Orange. Attacca Quartet New Amsterdam/Nonesuch 7559-79260-9 CD
2. ‘Other Song’ for string quartet and vocals, on Caroline Shaw – Evergreen. Attacca Quartet + Caroline Shaw (vocal). Nonesuch 075597913507 CD
3. ‘And So’ for string quartet and vocals, on Caroline Shaw – Evergreen. Attacca Quartet + Caroline Shaw (vocal). Nonesuch 075597913507 CD
4. ‘Punctum’ (2009-2013), for string quartet, on Caroline Shaw – Orange. Attacca Quartet New Amsterdam/Nonesuch 7559-79260-9 CD
5. ‘Ritornello’ (2015), for string quartet, on Caroline Shaw – Orange. Attacca Quartet New Amsterdam/Nonesuch 7559-79260-9 CD
6. ‘Rectangles and Circumstance’ (2023) for percussion and vocals, on Caroline Shaw + Sō Percussion – Rectangles and Circumstance. Caroline Shaw (vocal) + Sō (percussion). Nonesuch 075597899542 CD
7. ‘Sing On’ (2023) for percussion and vocals, on Caroline Shaw + Sō Percussion – Rectangles and Circumstance. Caroline Shaw (vocal) + Sō Percussion (percussion). Nonesuch 075597899542 CD
8. ‘The Parting Glass’ (2023) for percussion and vocals, on Caroline Shaw + Sō Percussion – Rectangles and Circumstance. Caroline Shaw (vocal) + Sō Percussion (percussion). Nonesuch 075597899542 CD
9. ‘Who Turns Out The Light’ (2023) for percussion and vocals, on Caroline Shaw + Sō Percussion – Rectangles and Circumstance. Caroline Shaw (vocal) + Sō Percussion (percussion). Nonesuch 075597899542 CD
10. ‘To Music’ (2023) for percussion and vocals, on Caroline Shaw + Sō Percussion – Rectangles and Circumstance. Caroline Shaw (vocal) + Sō Percussion (percussion). Nonesuch 075597899542 CD

11-14. ‘The Evergreen’ (2020) for string quartet, on Caroline Shaw – Evergreen. Attacca Quartet. Nonesuch 075597913507 CD

15-20. Music from the documentary Leonardo da Vinci (2024) for string quartet, percussion and vocal ensemble (‘Intentions of the Mind’; ‘Ginevra de’ Benci’; ‘Treatise on Painting’; ‘The Last Supper’; ‘Flying Machines’ + ‘The Mona Lisa’), Caroline Shaw – Leonardo da Vinci. Attacca Quartet + Sō Percussion + Roomful of Teeth and bass player John Patitucci. Nonesuch 075597898415 CD