A few months before the coronavirus pandemic made even the smallest gatherings seem quaint, the composer Caroline Shaw asked her audience at the Kings Place concert hall, in London, to hum in B-flat while she sang from the stage, accompanied by the strings of Attacca Quartet. This was not a typical classical concert. For much of it, Shaw sat atop a barstool, either singing or introducing her works to the audience. After the intermission, she joined the quartet as second viola for a more conventional performance of a well-loved classic, Mendelssohn’s String Quintet No. 2.
The audience skewed younger than one might expect. Shaw, who lives in New York City, is often cited as proof that classical music has an exciting future. In 2013, at the age of 30, she became the youngest composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for music, for Partita for 8 Voices. The citation for the winning composition described it as “a highly polished and inventive a cappella work” including “speech, whispers, sighs, murmurs, wordless melodies and novel vocal effects.” Since then, Shaw’s music has been performed at the Hollywood Bowl and Lincoln Center, and used for a Beyoncé tour video. She has collaborated with hiphop giants such as Kanye West and Nas, and received a 2020 Grammy nomination for Orange, an album of her music recorded by Attacca Quartet. She released her latest album, Narrow Sea, in January.
This story is from the March 2021 edition of The Atlantic.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2021 edition of The Atlantic.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Saint Dismas
Carlito held one end of the rope, Omar the other.
Why Do Animals Play?
Scientists want an evolutionary explanation. But maybe the answer is simply: Its fun.
The Insider
Is Kara Swisher tearing down tech billionaires—or burnishing their legends?
A Bloody Retelling of Huckleberry Finn
Percival Everett transforms Mark Twain’ classic.
THE SECRET GOSPEL
A Columbia history professor claimed that he discovered a sacred text with shocking details about the life of Jesus. Was it real?
AFTER THE MIRACLE
Cystic fibrosis once guaranteed an early deathbut a medical breakthrough has given many patients a chance to live decades longer than expected. What do they do now?
JODIE FOSTER'S LIFE ON-SCREEN
SINCE CHILDHOOD, SHE'S STRUGGLED WITH ONE QUESTION: HOW MUCH DOES SHE WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW HER?
THE END OF THE GOLDEN AGE
ANTI-SEMITISM ON THE RIGHT AND THE LEFT THREATENS TO END AN UNPRECEDENTED PERIOD OF SAFETY AND PROSPERITY FOR JEWISH AMERICANS-AND DEMOLISH THE LIBERAL ORDER THEY HELPED ESTABLISH.
The Radio Squirrels of Point Reyes
\"Calling all. This is our last cry before our eternal silence.\" With that, in January 1997, the French Coast Guard transmitted its final message in Morse code.
THE GRUMPY ECONOMY
Why Americans trust feelings more than facts when it comes to prosperity