Selected reviews

The Guardian on Breath, Contained III

“Even seasoned aficionados of avant-garde music are unlikely to have witnessed a musician playing a mini concerto for bubble wrap. But that’s what the composer Tonia Ko is playing tonight… During a rubato-heavy “solo”, where she crunches some small-gauge bubble wrap and then “pops” a particularly large variety of industrial packaging, she even elicits applause.”

I Care if You Listen on Farewell Dwelling

“Scored for yangqin, piano, percussion, and flute, its contrasting timbres were related yet each had their own distinctive character… Ko’s striking approach to sound made this the musical highlight of the programme.”

San Francisco Chronicle on From Ivory Depths

“Tonia Ko’s From Ivory Depths sets fragments of text from Virginia Woolf’s writings and is a highlight…The second movement, “Tuesday,” creates colorful, textured soundscapes with extended techniques. It engages your mind and ears and invites you to listen more deeply.”

The Strad Magazine on Moves and Remains

“Moves and Remains for solo violin, a striking premiere by US composer Tonia Ko, displays her unusually fluid knowledge of advanced violin techniques, including strumming open strings behind the bridge (a nod to Hawaii, the composer’s childhood home).”

The New York Times on Games of Belief

“Her captivating score plays musical games of sound and color, often requiring Mr. Lebhardt to strike keys with one hand while, leaning into the piano, moving his other over the strings to create sounds that combined percussive thumps with sighing harmonics. The more traditional elements involved rustling runs, skittish riffs and high tinkling figures that evoked pagoda chimes, all splendidly played.”

The New York Times on Strange Sounds and Explosions Worldwide

“In writing the symphony, Ms. Ko...conducted spectral analyses of audio clips of explosions and experimented with other sounds. The resulting piece for acoustic instruments proved more somber and eerie than jubilant, its initial rumblings morphing into dramatic surges. Ms. Ko’s vivid orchestral palette included fragile whispers in the upper strings interrupted by ominous brass flourishes, with sonic explosions following more sparsely orchestrated fragments.”

Photos

Click to download high resolution images (photos by Kaupo Kikkas)

 Profiles

I Care if You Listen: 5 Questions to Tonia Ko

“The London Symphony Orchestra regularly promotes new music, but surely their recent performance featuring composer Tonia Ko as bubble wrap soloist was a first for them. The concerto, titled Breath, Contained III, was a highlight of the Nonclassical 20th birthday celebration concert in October 2024. Ko’s music is informed by her international heritage.”