The Korngold Commission Project was developed and sponsored by AYS Board member, Peter Mandell, and Advisory Council member, Sarah Coade Mandell, and designed to unite great film and media composers with top classical soloists to create and premiere new works. The project takes its name and inspiration from Erich Wolfgang Korngold, a prolific composer in the golden age of Hollywood, whose 1945 Violin Concerto is now celebrated as a virtuoso masterwork.
Since its inception in 2018, AYS has commissioned two new pieces by composers Fil Eisler and Kris Bowers. Read more about the project and past premieres below, or watch a recent panel discussion with Eisler, Bowers, and violinist Charles Yang moderated by Starr Parodi on our YouTube Channel.
For A Younger Self, violin concerto by Kris Bowers, featuring Charles Yang
World Premiere by AYS at Walt Disney Concert Hall on February 8, 2020
Read Kris’ program note for his piece, For A Younger Self, here.
American Youth Symphony’s world premiere of For A Younger Self was featured in the documentary, A Concerto is a Conversation, by Breakwater Studios, and published on The New York Times website on November 24, 2020. This documentary is also an Official Selection for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
For J.E., violin concerto by Fil Eisler, featuring Sarah Chang
World Premiere by AYS at Royce Hall on April 27, 2019