Jennifer Koh discusses her collaborations with Vijay Iyer and Courtney Bryan

The American Concerto, Volume One, out August 14 launches a new recording series showcasing works commissioned through Koh’s The American Concerto project. A “tireless champion of new music” (The New York Times), Koh created The American Concerto, asking composers to reimagine the violin concerto for the 21st century to create works that reflect American experiences, stories, and identities. The American Concerto, Volume One, features Vijay Iyer’s Trouble and the world premiere recording of Courtney Bryan’s Syzygy, performed with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble conducted by Tim Weiss.

Praised as “one of the best in the world at what he does” (Pitchfork), Iyer composed Trouble as a response to discrimination, social struggle, and the immigrant experience. Premiered at the 2017 Ojai Music Festival, the work takes its title from Congressman John Lewis’s reflection on the Montgomery Bus Boycott: “I got in trouble. It was good trouble. It was necessary trouble.” Hear Koh describe the third movement of Trouble, invoking the memory of Vincent Chin.

Also featured on the album is Courtney Bryan’s Syzygy, a three-movement work that draws inspiration from three female artistic titans, depicted here as celestial bodies.