Julia Wolfe: Steel Hammer

Saturday, February 15, 20258:15pm


Den Haag, Netherlands

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.

Bang on a Can All-Stars

  • Vicky Chow – piano
  • David Cossin – percussion
  • Arlen Hlusko – cello
  • Tristan Kasten-Krause – bass
  • Taylor Levine  – guitar
  • Ken Thomson – clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone
  • Andrew Cotton – sound engineer

Trio Mediæval:

  • Anna Maria Friman-Henriksen
  • Linn Andrea Fuglseth
  • Jorunn Lovise Husan