The composer Petr Kotik has been reading Gertrude Stein for more than 40 years, and her work remains a riddle.
"I don't think it's clear to this day," Mr. Kotik said. "It's not about clarity."
He doesn't mean that as a slight. The avant-garde writer, who died in France in 1946, has long served as a muse for Mr. Kotik. "Many Many Women," his six-hour work for six singers and six instrumentalists, which will be featured in a rare performance Friday at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea, is inspired by Stein's 1910 story of the same name.
"I don't think it's clear to this day," Mr. Kotik said. "It's not about clarity."
He doesn't mean that as a slight. The avant-garde writer, who died in France in 1946, has long served as a muse for Mr. Kotik. "Many Many Women," his six-hour work for six singers and six instrumentalists, which will be featured in a rare performance Friday at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea, is inspired by Stein's 1910 story of the same name.