Passionate and prolific, David Lang—Carnegie Hall's 2013–2014 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair—embodies the restless spirit of invention with his creation of new forms that defy categorization. The musically omnivorous creator references folk, pop, and jazz influences in his compositions, while at the same time being deeply rooted in the classical tradition.

His cultural openness also informs the performers with whom he collaborates. Building on his work with New York’s legendary music collective Bang on a Can, Lang has helped design a workshop—Creating New Music—in which young composers and chamber ensembles will be mentored in the process of creating, rehearsing, premiering, and promoting new works, commissioned specially for the occasion by Carnegie Hall.

David Lang on collected stories

Music and storytelling began their lives together—music to accompany heroic tales, music to worship by, music to suggest the emotions running deep below the surface of a text. Not all music tells a story—how could it? It is the most abstract of all the arts. And yet we often listen to music as if it has a tale to tell, teasing a narrative out of all the tunes and harmonies and changes.