Editing Julia Wolfe (section)

==Music==
Wolfe has written a major body of work for strings, from quartets to full orchestra. Her quartets, as described by ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine "combine the violent forward drive of rock music with an aura of minimalist serenity [using] the four instruments as a big guitar, whipping psychedelic states of mind into frenzied and ecstatic climaxes."<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Platt|first1=Russell|title=String Theory|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/03/03/string-theory-2|access-date=18 August 2014|magazine=The New Yorker|date=3 March 2003}}</ref> Wolfe's ''[[Cruel Sister (Wolfe)|Cruel Sister]]'' for string orchestra, inspired by a traditional English ballad of a love rivalry between sisters, was commissioned by the [[Munich Chamber Orchestra]], received its US premiere at the [[Spoleto Festival USA]], and was released (along with her other string orchestra piece, ''Fuel'') on Cantaloupe Music.<ref>{{cite news|title=Julia Wolfe: String Quartets|url=http://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-8807/|access-date=19 August 2014|work=Classics Today}}</ref> Written shortly after September 11, 2001, her string quartet concerto ''[[My Beautiful Scream]]'', written for [[Kronos Quartet]] and the [[Orchestre National de France]] (premiered in the US at the [[Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music]] under the direction of [[Marin Alsop]]), was inspired by the idea of a slow motion scream.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kozinn|first1=Allan|title=Music of the Spheres and the Pain of Earthly Matters|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/arts/music/24kron.html?pagewanted=print|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The New York Times|date=24 April 2007}}</ref> ''The Vermeer Room'', ''Girlfriend'', and ''Window of Vulnerability'' show Wolfe's ability to create vivid sonic images. ''Girlfriend'', for mixed chamber ensemble and recorded sound, uses a haunting audio landscape that consists of skidding cars and breaking glass. ''The Vermeer Room'', inspired by the [[Johannes Vermeer|Vermeer]] painting "[[A Girl Asleep]]"—which when x-rayed reveals a hidden figure—received its orchestral premiere with the [[San Francisco Symphony]]. In ''Window of Vulnerability'', written for the [[American Composers Orchestra]] and conducted by [[Dennis Russell Davies]], Wolfe creates a massive sonic universe of dense textures and fragile windows.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Holland|first1=Bernard|title=Review/Music; A Common Language Of Layered Loudness|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/11/news/review-music-a-common-language-of-layered-loudness.html|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The New York Times|date=11 March 1992}}</ref>

The influence of pop culture can be heard in many of Wolfe's works, including ''Lick'' and ''Believing'' for the [[Bang on a Can All-Stars]]. ''Lick'', based on fragments of funk, has become a manifesto for the new generation of pop-influenced composers.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Beggs|first1=Jo|title=Richard Alston Dance Company – The Lowry, Salford|url=http://www.thepublicreviews.com/richard-alston-dance-company-the-lowry-salford/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820094624/http://www.thepublicreviews.com/richard-alston-dance-company-the-lowry-salford/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 20, 2014|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The Public Reviews|date=19 March 2013}}</ref> The raucous ''My Lips From Speaking'' for six pianos was inspired by the opening riff of the [[Aretha Franklin]] tune "Think". Wolfe's ''Dark Full Ride'' is an obsessive and relentless exploration of the drum set, beginning with an extended hi-hat spotlight, while ''Lad'' is a piece for nine bagpipes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Strohm|first1=Adam|title=Dark Full Ride: Music in Multiples|url=http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5377|access-date=19 August 2014|work=Dusted Reviews|date=12 November 2009}}</ref>

Wolfe drew on oral histories, interviews, geography, local rhymes, and coal advertisements for her Pulitzer Prize-winning piece ''[[Anthracite Fields]]'', an oratorio about the coal mining community of her native [[Pennsylvania]] which premiered in Philadelphia and was performed at the [[New York Philharmonic]] Biennial in the spring of 2014.<ref>{{cite web |last=Oteri |first=Frank J. |title=Julia Wolfe Wins 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music |work=[[NewMusicBox]] |date=April 20, 2015 |url=http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/2015-pulitzer-prize-in-music/ |access-date=May 9, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Swed |first=Mark |title=NY Phil Biennial laudable, yet in need of curatorial vision |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-ny-phil-biennial-notebook-20140605-column.html |access-date=August 19, 2014 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=June 5, 2014}}</ref> In 2015–16, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, with first the [[Los Angeles Master Chorale]] and then the Danish Radio Vocal Society, gave ''Anthracite Fields'' its West Coast and European premieres, and Cantaloupe Music released the studio recording, featuring the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Bang on a Can All-Stars.

Wolfe's interest in labor history has informed her recent work, including ''[[Steel Hammer]]'', an evening-length art-ballad that was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. The text is culled from more than 200 versions of the John Henry legend and based on hearsay, recollection, and tall tales that explore the subject of human versus machine. Premiered by the [[Trio Mediaeval]] and the Bang on a Can All-Stars, ''Steel Hammer'' was presented in a fully staged version by director [[Anne Bogart]] and her [[SITI Company]] at the University of Illinois, UCLA, Virginia Tech, OZ Arts Nashville, and BAM in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=Steel Hammer|website=SITI Company|url=http://siti.org/content/production/steel-hammer|access-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref>

Following her folk interests and the tradition of body percussion in American folk music also led her to compose ''riSE and fLY'', a concerto for body percussionist [[Colin Currie]]. The piece premiered in 2012 with the [[BBC Concert Orchestra]], conducted by [[Keith Lockhart]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Clements|first1=Andrew|title=BBCCO/Lockhart – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/oct/12/bbcco-lockhart-review|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The Guardian|date=12 October 2012}}</ref> and premiered in the Netherlands with the Codarts Ensemble and the United States with the [[Albany Symphony Orchestra]] in the 2014–15 season. ''[[Fire in my mouth]]'', was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered at [[David Geffen Hall]] on January 25, 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/arts/music/review-new-york-philharmonic-julia-wolfe.html|title=Review: With Protest and Fire, an Oratorio Mourns a Tragedy|last=Tommasini|first=Anthony|date=2019-01-25|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-02-14|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The piece was based on extensive research into the [[Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire|Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire]]. Her most recent piece, unEarth, draws heavily from scientific data surrounding climate change. It was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered at [[David Geffen Hall]] on June 1, 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Walls |first=Seth Colter |date=2023-06-02 |title=Review: Julia Wolfe's 'unEarth' Is Crowded Out by Multimedia |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/02/arts/music/review-julia-wolfe-unearth-new-york-philharmonic.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Music for film and theatre===
Wolfe's work with film includes ''Fuel'' for the Hamburg-based [[Ensemble Resonanz]] and filmmaker [[Bill Morrison (director)|Bill Morrison]], and ''Impatience'' and ''Combat de Boxe'' for the [[Asko/Schönberg]] Ensemble and 1920s film experimentalist [[Charles Dekeukeleire]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kozinn|first1=Allan|title=Post-Minimalism and Folk Ballads Fuel a Composer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/arts/music/02julia.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The New York Times|date=1 February 2011}}</ref>

Wolfe has collaborated with theater artist [[Anna Deavere Smith]], architects [[Diller Scofidio + Renfro]], filmmaker [[Bill Morrison (director)|Bill Morrison]], Ridge Theater, director [[François Girard]], Jim Findlay, and choreographer [[Susan Marshall (choreographer)|Susan Marshall]], among others. Her music has been heard at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]], the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival, Settembre Musica (Italy), [[Théâtre de la Ville]] (Paris), [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts]], and [[Carnegie Hall]], and has been recorded on [[Cantaloupe Music]], [[Teldec]], Point/Universal, [[Sony Classical Records]], and Argo/Decca.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ziporyn|first1=Evan|title=Julia Wolfe|url=http://unitedphoenixrecords.com/Home/Composers/Julia-Wolfe.html|website=United Phoenix Records|access-date=19 August 2014}}</ref> Wolfe received a 2000 [[Foundation for Contemporary Arts]] Grants to Artists Award.

Her music for theatre includes the score for [[Anna Deavere Smith]]'s ''House Arrest'', and she won an [[Obie Award]] for her score to Ridge Theater's ''Jennie Richie''. She has composed a series of collaborative multimedia works with composers [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]] and [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], including ''Lost Objects'' ([[Concerto Köln]], directed by [[François Girard]], libretto by Deborah Artman),<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kozinn|first1=Allan|title=MUSIC THEATER REVIEW; Socks to Souls: Finding Meaning in What Goes Missing|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E4DA1E3EF931A35751C1A9629C8B63|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The New York Times|date=2 December 2004}}</ref> ''Shelter'' ([[musikFabrik]], Ridge Theater, libretto by Deborah Artman),<ref>{{cite news|last1=Meyer|first1=Robinson|title=Album Preview: Gordon/Lang/Wolfe's 'Shelter'|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/03/album-preview-gordon-lang-wolfes-shelter/274188/|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The Atlantic|date=20 March 2013}}</ref> and ''The Carbon Copy Building'' (with comic-book artist [[Ben Katchor]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Gordon, Lang, Wolfe, Katchor: The Carbon Copy Building|url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/gordon-lang-wolfe-katchor-carbon-copy-building|website=Tiny Mix Tapes|access-date=19 August 2014}}</ref> Wolfe created the citywide spectacle ''Traveling Music'' with architects [[Diller Scofidio + Renfro]] in Bordeaux, France, filling the streets of the old city with 100 musicians walking and riding in pedi-cabs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Traveling Music|url=http://www.dsrny.com/#/projects/traveling-music|website=Diller Scofidio + Renfro|access-date=19 August 2014}}</ref>

===Bang on a Can===
Wolfe is one of the founders and artistic directors of [[Bang on a Can]] (alongside fellow composers [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]] and [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]]), best known for its Marathon Concerts <ref name="bangmarathon">{{Cite web|url=https://bangonacan.org/bang_on_a_can_marathon|title=Bang on a Can Marathon – Bang on a Can|website=bangonacan.org|access-date=Feb 7, 2019}}</ref> during which an eclectic mix of pieces are performed in succession over the course of many hours while audience members are welcome to come and go as they please. For the twentieth anniversary of their Marathon Concerts, Bang on a Can presented twenty-six hours of uninterrupted music at the [[Brookfield Place (New York City)|World Financial Center]] [[Winter Garden Atrium]] in New York City. In 1992, Bang on a Can founded the chamber ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars.

Among Bang on a Can's early events were performances by [[John Cage]], premieres of [[Glenn Branca]]’s epic symphonies for massed electric guitars, and fully staged operas by [[Harry Partch]], featuring the composer's original instruments.

Wolfe, Gordon, and Lang occasionally collaborate on jointly-composed large-scale staged works, often without revealing which sections each contributed. The opera ''The Carbon Copy Building'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2420&State_2874=2&WorkId_2874=28248|title=Michael Gordon; David Lang; Julia Wolfe: Red Poppy: The Carbon Copy Building|work=G. Schirmer Inc.|access-date=7 March 2011}}</ref> is a collaboration with comic book artist [[Ben Katchor]], received the 2000 [[Village Voice]] [[Obie Award]] for Best New American Work. A projected comic strip accompanies and interacts with the singers, and the frames fall away in the telling of the story. Gordon, Wolfe and Lang have subsequently collaborated with writer Deborah Artman on the 'oratorio' ''Lost Objects'', the recording of which was released in summer 2001 ([[Teldec]] New Line).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kozinn|first1=Allan|title=Socks to Souls: Finding Meaning in What Goes Missing|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/02/arts/music/02lost.html?pagewanted=print&position=|access-date=20 August 2014|work=The New York Times|date=2 December 2004}}</ref>

A further project, ''Shelter'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?tabId=2420&State_2874=2&workId_2874=28250|title=Michael Gordon; David Lang; Julia Wolfe: Red Poppy: Shelter|work=G. Schirmer Inc.|access-date=7 March 2011}}</ref> is a multi-media work that was commissioned by the ensemble [[musikFabrik]] and features the Scandinavian vocalists [[Trio Mediaeval]] in a staged spectacle that, in the words of librettist Deborah Artman, "evokes the power and threat of nature, the soaring frontier promise contained in the framing of a new house, the pure aesthetic beauty of blueprints, the sweet architecture of sound and the uneasy vulnerability that underlies even the safety of our sleep."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Artman|first1=Deborah|title=Libretti/Texts for Music|url=http://www.deborahartman.com/pages/libretti-text_for_music/|website=Deborah Artman|access-date=19 August 2014}}</ref> Shelter was premiered in Cologne, Germany in spring 2005, and received its US premiere in November 2005.

Both ''Shelter'' and ''Carbon Copy'' Building were staged by New York's Ridge Theater, in collaboration with Laurie Olinder (visual graphics), [[Bill Morrison (director)|Bill Morrison]] (film-maker) and Bob McGrath (director). In 2017 Chinese singer [[Gong Linna]] premiered ''Cloud River Mountain,'' written by the three Bang on a Can composers in addition to [[Robert Zollitsch (composer)|Lao Luo]]. They also premiere ''Road Trip,'' a celebration of Bang on a Can's 30-year journey, together at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] in October 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Road Trip|url=http://www.bam.org/music/2017/road-trip|website=BAM|access-date=3 August 2017|archive-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804012951/http://www.bam.org/music/2017/road-trip|url-status=dead}}</ref>