by Jarrett Hoffman
One thing that’s interesting about the live-streamed, audience-less concerts that are happening during the pandemic: they can vary wildly in length.
Some musicians are playing three-hour sets devoted to Bach. On Saturday, April 4, violinist Jennifer Koh gave four world premieres in less than ten minutes.
Streamed live over Facebook and Instagram, and still available on-demand through YouTube, this was the first concert of “Alone Together,” Koh’s new commissioning project and performance series in support of composers during the COVID-19 crisis. New concerts take place on Saturdays at 7:00 pm Eastern Time.
Each premiere will be a “micro-work” for solo violin. Half of the composers, most of whom have salaried positions or other forms of institutional support, have agreed to donate their work. Each of those artists is also recommending a freelance composer to write a short piece on paid commission from the ARCO Collaborative, a nonprofit founded and directed by Koh that advocates for inclusivity in classical music.