Viet Cuong: Prized Possessions (2015)

Viet Cuong (b. 1990) Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the music of American composer Viet Cuong has been performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Eighth Blackbird, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Sō Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, Atlanta Symphony, Sandbox Percussion, Albany Symphony, PRISM Quartet, and Dallas Winds, among many others. Cuong’s music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, and his works for wind ensemble have amassed several hundreds of performances worldwide. Passionate about bringing these different facets of the contemporary music community together, his recent projects include a concerto for Eighth Blackbird with the United States Navy Band. Cuong also enjoys exploring the unexpected and whimsical, and he is often drawn to projects where he can make peculiar combinations and sounds feel enchanting or oddly satisfying. His works thus include a snare drum solo, percussion quartet concerto, and double oboe concerto. He is currently the Pacific Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence and serves as Assistant Professor of Music Composition at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Cuong holds degrees from Princeton University (MFA/PhD), the Curtis Institute of Music (AD), and Peabody Conservatory (BM/MM). Prized Possessions (2015) I. Mother's Monster 0:06 II. Beggar's Lace 6:25 With its two contrasting movements, Prized Possessions attempts to address the human phenomenon of taking things for granted by sending musical material through various repetitions and expressive treatments. The piece focuses on balancing fleeting, quickly vanishing ideas with other material that’s allowed to obsessively linger until almost no longer welcome. This work was composed for the PRISM Quartet during their residency at Princeton University, and premiered during the group’s 2015 New York and Philadelphia concert series at the Curtis Institute of Music and Symphony Space on May 22 and 23, respectively. Heartfelt thanks to the members of PRISM: Timothy McAllister, soprano Zachary Shemon, alto Matthew Levy, tenor Taimur Sullivan, baritone -note by composer Instrumentation For saxophone quartet Performers PRISM Quartet Timothy McAllister, soprano Zachary Shemon, alto Matthew Levy, tenor Taimur Sullivan, baritone The music published in my channel is exclusively dedicated to divulgation purposes and not commercial. This within a program shared to study classical contemporary music which involves thousands of people around the world. If someone, for any reason, would deem that a video appearing in this channel violates the copyright, please inform me immediately ([email protected]) before you submit a claim to YouTube, and it will be my care to immediately remove the video accordingly. Your collaboration will be appreciated.