New Millennium Ensemble Does Wuorinen

A Wuorinen performance is reviewed.

Artists frequently dislike the descriptions assigned to their work. The term minimalist irked some composers, and the Impressionist painters called themselves by another name.

The modernist composer Charles Wuorinen has disputed the label “difficult,” which is invariably assigned, alongside “thorny” and “serial,” to much of his music.

Difficulty, of course, is in the ear of the beholder, and many might indeed find Mr. Wuorinen’s “Iridule” challenging. The work received its world premiere Thursday by the admirable New Millennium Ensemble at Symphony Space.