Shaw Oratorio Premiere
BERKELEY—When it came to commissioning a new piece, Philharmonia Baroque aimed for the stars: composer Caroline Shaw. When it came to carrying it out, Shaw too aimed for the stars with her epic world premiere “Listeners,” now unveiled, played and recorded in several venues. Her uncommon secular “contempo-ratorio” draws in space travel, poetry, the UN and multiple one-world messages touching on eras and galaxies far vaster than our own. We realize we are just humble pixels in the universe’s scheme…