Liza Lim – Composer in Residence

Since 2007, Casa da Música has opened its doors to allow a composer to make it their home as well – we call this the “Composer in Residence.” For an entire year, the programming seeks to create a sonic portrait of the chosen figure, exploring their various creative stages, while also stimulating and supporting the composition of new works, which are later premiered by the resident ensembles. All of this takes place in an environment that fosters an intense and rich exchange between composer, performer, and audience. Those who have followed Casa da Música over the years may have encountered figures like Emmanuel Nunes, Kaija Saariaho, Pascal Dusapin, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Rebecca Saunders, Vasco Mendonça, and many others in the corridors or in Sala Suggia. In this year of Caminhos Cruzados (Crossed Paths), we hand over the keys to Liza Lim, an Australian composer who has lived in Brunei, Southeast Asia, and studied in Amsterdam. A composer, professor, and researcher, Liza Lim focuses on creating music rooted in collaborative and transcultural practices.

Beauty, fury and noise, ecological connection, and feminine spiritual lineages lie at the heart of recent works such as Sex Magic (2020) for flutist Claire Chase; Multispecies Knots of Ethical Time (2023) for a gestural performer, film, and ensemble; and particularly the orchestral cycle Annunciation Triptych: Sappho, Mary, Fatimah (2019-22), which will be presented in its entirety at Casa da Música in its national premiere, across three concerts throughout the season. Lim is interested in a plural kind of creativity, one that is not human-centered, as well as speculative questions about the sentience of things. Her large-scale piece Extinction Events and Dawn Chorus (2018) – presented at Casa da Música in 2023 – had a significant international impact, proposing a form of ecologically informed listening that explores realms beyond the human. This approach also frames other works, such as How Forests Think, for ensemble and sheng; World as Lover, World as Self, for piano and chamber orchestra; and Speak, Be Silent, for violin and ensemble. These works will also be presented in national premieres, completing the retrospective of Liza Lim’s oeuvre with Songs Found in Dream and A Sutured World – the latter commissioned by Casa da Música in partnership with a group of international institutions.

Since serving as Composer in Residence with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2005 and 2006, Liza Lim has received numerous commissions from many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and ensembles, and her music is performed in major concert halls and festivals. She is the first musician to be awarded the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship, leading a five-year program (2025–29) aimed at fostering engagement with climate emergencies and social issues through music. She is also involved in initiatives such as the Sydney Conservatorium’s gender equality program Composing Women, which has had a significant impact on Australian music. Lim teaches composition masterclasses around the world. Liza Lim continually reinvents her musical language and practice through a body of work that spans intimate, collaborative solos to orchestral works, and she has also written five operas. Her discography comprises 40 CDs, including 10 monographic albums, several of which have been featured on The New Yorker’s Recordings of the Year lists.