Min Kwon Releases 5-CD Box Set of 76 America the Beautiful Reinterpretations
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 23
Min Kwon Releases 5-CD Box Set of 76 America the Beautiful Reinterpretations
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 23
Summary
Five CDs of 76 newly commissioned piano-centered interpretations of “America the Beautiful” are now out on streaming and CD in Min Kwon’s “America/Beautiful” box set.
Kwon conceived the project during the 2020 Covid lockdowns, saying she wanted to counter isolation, fear and racial turmoil with a work that built connection and celebrated America’s diversity.
Composers from Terry Riley and Nico Muhly to Pamela Z and Vijay Iyer contributed pieces that Kwon says range from prayers and protests to dreams and confessions.
Live performances have extended the project beyond the recordings, including a June event in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery catacombs staged with nonprofit Death of Classical.
Released ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the set is framed by Kwon as a lasting body of work for future generations to revisit after a period of national crisis.