Riley: The Holy Liftoff

With "The Holy Liftoff," the American composer Terry Riley presents one of his most recent and, at the same time, most ambitious works. The starting point was a sketchbook created in 2022 filled with drawings, graphic notations, and musical ideas, from which a multi-layered work developed over the following years. Characteristic of Riley, "The Holy Liftoff" combines precisely crafted composition with open formal concepts that allow the performers freedom regarding instrumentation, duration, and execution.

The approximately one-hour version recorded here by Samuel Clay Birmaher was created in close collaboration with Riley and the participating musicians. It combines multiple flutes with a string quartet and allows the work's extraordinary sound world to be experienced in all its diversity.

"The Holy Liftoff" marks the eleventh installment of Claire Chase’s long-term project "Density 2036," through which the flutist is commissioning new repertoire for her instrument leading up to the centenary of Edgard Varèse’s pioneering solo work "Density 21.5." Together with the JACK Quartet, one of the leading ensembles for contemporary music, she dedicates herself to this fascinating fusion of composition, improvisation, and sonic exploration.