The World Premiere in January 2019 of Julia Wolfe’s Fire in my mouth, a searingly vivid evocation of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, perfectly capped New York Stories: Threads of Our City, our exploration of New York’s roots as a city of immigrants.

Fire in my mouth, which the Orchestra co-commissioned, also featured The Crossing, conducted by Donald Nally, and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, directed by Francisco J. Núñez. The New York Times called the work “ambitious, heartfelt, often compelling. … There is both heady optimism and a sense of dread in Ms. Wolfe’s music. … Mr. van Zweden led a commanding account of a score that … ends with an elegiac final chorus in which the names of all 146 victims are tenderly sung to create a fabric of music and memory.” The performance earned the coveted spot in the highbrow / brilliant quadrant of New York magazine’s Approval Matrix.

Director: Annie Kauffman

Commissioned by:

The New York Philharmonic; Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley; the Krannert Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the University Musical Society at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Performed By:

New York Philharmonic; Jaap Van Zweden, conductor; The Crossing Choir, and The Young People’s Choir of NYC .

January 24-26, 2019; David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City

Awards:

The winner of the 2020 Brendan Gill Prize is composer Julia Wolfe for her magnificent oratorio, Fire in my mouth, a hauntingly beautiful retelling of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Regretfully, our annual awards reception, Celebrating the City, has been postponed in response to concerns about coronavirus. We hope to announce a new date soon.