Patricia Kopatchinskaja:
Dies Irae

How does one of the greatest violinists of our time respond to the threat of global collapse? Join us for a haunting and powerful evening as violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja joins Princeton University faculty and students to present the East Coast premiere of her Dies Irae project at the iconic Princeton University Chapel. This provocative, semi-staged performance offers a deeply moving musical reflection on the devastating consequences of global warming, resource wars, and the refugee crisis, drawing inspiration from the Gregorian Dies Irae chant, a symbol of fear and impending judgment. Spanning centuries of music, the program contemplates the end of civilization with works including Heinrich Biber’s Battalia à 10, evoking the chaos of war, and George Crumb’s Black Angels, a searing critique of the Vietnam War. The evening’s centerpiece is Galina Ustvolskaya’s intense Dies Irae, with Kopatchinskaja playing percussion alongside eight double basses and piano, creating a visceral and emotionally charged soundscape. Dies Irae, which has toured the world including the Lucerne Festival, Ojai Festival, and Southbank Centre to great acclaim, is a bold, unflinching exploration of today’s most urgent global issues, pushing the boundaries of classical music to challenge our understanding of the world and our role in shaping its future.

In Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s words:

“How much time do we have left? — Scientists warn that global warming will lead to a devastated planet. Previous measures to mitigate climate change have been nothing more than a sticking plaster. The grave implications of this situation overlap with the musical scope of this program, in which the Dies irae is prominently featured. This outpouring of God’s eschatological wrath that culminates in the Last Judgment is represented in musical works from Gregorian chant through to Galina Ustvolskaya. Most of all, it raises the question of how much time we have left.”