Sunday, October 20, 20247:00pm

Bang on a Can All-Stars play Ryuichi Sakamoto 1996


Vilnius, Lithuania

National Philharmonic Hall

Ryuichi Sakamoto “was arguably the best-known and most successful Japanese musician in the world.” (Peter Tasker, Nikkei Asia)  Now Bang on a Can All-Stars offer their realization of the album 1996 (arranged by the All-Stars’ multi-talented clarinetist-composer Ken Thomson) — which includes an incredible selection of many of Sakamoto’s greatest hits.

January 24January 26, 20257:30pm

Flower Power and Beethoven’s Seventh


One Symphony Place, Nashville, TN 37201-2031, USA map

One of the hallmarks of Giancarlo’s tenure has been the relationships he has developed with composers, inviting them to Nashville to make definitive recordings of their work. Julia Wolfe is one such composer: she describes her Flower Power, inspired by the 1960s counterculture movement, as “about optimism, idealism, psychedelia, breaking with convention, and a little bit of love and peace.” Beethoven self-proclaimed his Seventh Symphony as one of his best works—we couldn’t agree more.

Julia Wolfe's Flower Power with BBC Concert Orchestra London

Saturday, February 1, 20257:30pm

David Lang: before and after nature (world premiere)


327 Lasuen Street , Stanford, CA 94305 map

Stanford alumnus David Lang set out to write a new composition for the Bang on a Can (BOAC) All-Stars, the electrifying music ensemble he co-founded, he looked to his alma mater for inspiration.  Commissioned by Stanford Live specifically to bring Lang and the BOAC All-Stars back to campus, before and after nature is a meditation on the natural world, both before human existence and after humans are gone.

Saturday, February 15, 20258:00pm

Julia Wolfe: Steel Hammer

Amare, Den Haag

Inspired by her love for the music and lore of Appalachia, Julia Wolfe based her text for Steel Hammer (called a “wild hybrid” by the New York Times) on over 200 versions of the “John Henry” ballad, which has been recorded by everyone from Johnny Cash to Bruce Springsteen. A runner-up for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, Steel Hammer features the alternately haunting and whimsical vocalizations of Norway’s renowned Trio Mediaeval, and stretches the standard instrumentation of the Bang on a Can All-Stars with wooden bones, mountain dulcimer, banjo, clapping, clogging and more.

Monday, February 17, 20258:00pm

Julia Wolfe: Steel Hammer

Elbphilharmonie
Hamburg, Germany

Inspired by her love for the music and lore of Appalachia, Julia Wolfe based her text for Steel Hammer (called a “wild hybrid” by the New York Times) on over 200 versions of the “John Henry” ballad, which has been recorded by everyone from Johnny Cash to Bruce Springsteen. A runner-up for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, Steel Hammer features the alternately haunting and whimsical vocalizations of Norway’s renowned Trio Mediaeval, and stretches the standard instrumentation of the Bang on a Can All-Stars with wooden bones, mountain dulcimer, banjo, clapping, clogging and more.

Friday, June 20, 2025

Bang on a Can All-Stars play Ryuichi Sakamoto 1996

Theatro Circo
Braga, Portugal

Ryuichi Sakamoto “was arguably the best-known and most successful Japanese musician in the world.” (Peter Tasker, Nikkei Asia)  Now Bang on a Can All-Stars offer their realization of the album 1996 (arranged by the All-Stars’ multi-talented clarinetist-composer Ken Thomson) — which includes an incredible selection of many of Sakamoto’s greatest hits.

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Bang on a Can All-Stars play Ryuichi Sakamoto 1996

Sintra Festival
Lisbon, Portugal

Ryuichi Sakamoto “was arguably the best-known and most successful Japanese musician in the world.” (Peter Tasker, Nikkei Asia)  Now Bang on a Can All-Stars offer their realization of the album 1996 (arranged by the All-Stars’ multi-talented clarinetist-composer Ken Thomson) — which includes an incredible selection of many of Sakamoto’s greatest hits.