Vox Tablet

Let ‘Freedom’ Ring: A Flutist Gives Life to Musical Celebrations of Liberations

Mimi Stillman’s new album features works inspired by upheaval in Europe and the Middle East

November 9, 2015


Mimi Stillman is a world-renowned flutist heralded by the New York Times as “a consummate and charismatic performer.” Stillman is the founder and artistic director of the Dolce Suono Ensemble, a Philadelphia-based chamber group. Also a historian, she brings both interests—history and music—to bear on her latest release, an album called Freedom.

Freedom features compositions by Richard Danielpour, David Finko, and the late Mieczyslaw Weinberg. All three draw on political upheavals and the personal tolls they took in Iran and Europe. In particular they considered the impact such tumult had on members of the Jewish community.

Stillman joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from a rehearsal room at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied as a child, to discuss how the Holocaust, the Cold War, and recent uprisings in Iran affected the lives and works of the composers she interprets; the serendipity that led her to the little-known works of Mieczyslaw Weinberg; and what it was like to be a musical prodigy.

Vox Tablet is Tablet Magazine’s weekly podcast, hosted by Sara Ivry and produced by Julie Subrin. You can listen to individual episodes here or subscribe on iTunes.

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