Work of the Week – Han Lash: Zero Turning Radius

By Christopher Peter
25 Apr 2025

Can a lawn mower spark a musical composition? In the case of Han Lash’s new orchestral work Zero Turning Radius, the answer is yes. The title refers to a zero-turning-radius lawn mower – a machine that can pivot in place. In fact, Han Lash conceived the idea for this piece while operating such a nimble. Behind this quirky inspiration lies a serious question: “How can the orchestra continue to be relevant today?” . That question became the driving force of the composition. Lash set out to remove limiting frameworks and sent Zero Turning Radius out as “a prayer to the future” – envisioning the orchestra as a “beautiful, multi-limbed, amphibious creature” that could serve as a playground for kinds of music yet unimagined. In other words, the piece is a hopeful statement that an orchestra in our time can still be a living laboratory for new sonic adventures.

The Orchestra as a Living Organism

Zero Turning Radius vividly portrays the orchestra as a powerful, living organism in motion. Lash describes the work as “about the joy of steering a powerful, enormous, and fleet entity like an orchestra: shifting and dancing, turning on a dime”. Accordingly, the music is full of agile changes and dynamic energy – as if a massive musical machine with a zero turning radius were maneuvering through ever-changing landscapes of sound. Even the movement titles wink at the piece’s origin: this five-movement work features names like "Slow Movement with Weeds (Rhizome)" and "Interlude: Edging" – nods to gardening and lawn care – culminating in Laugh-Ride, a playful sonic “joyride.” Cast as a concerto for orchestra, Zero Turning Radius treats the entire ensemble as the virtuoso soloist, giving each section moments to shine. Traditional roles blur as the orchestra itself takes center stage. Lash’s approach reaches a new level of orchestral writing: thunderous full-orchestra climaxes stand alongside finely wrought, delicate textures, demonstrating the enormous range and versatility of this “creature” we call the orchestra.

Han Lash and Contemporary Music

Han Lash (b. 1981) has emerged as a significant voice in contemporary classical music. Lash’s compositions – ranging from solo pieces to chamber operas and orchestral works – have been performed at major venues such as Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall. The New York Times has praised Lash’s music as “striking and resourceful … handsomely brooding” (musicalamerica.com). Lash has received commissions from many esteemed orchestras and festivals, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. An accomplished harpist as well as a composer, Lash often performs their own works. They have also taught composition at prestigious institutions like Yale University and Indiana University, influencing a new generation of composers. With unconventional ideas – like the lawnmower inspiration behind Zero Turning Radius – and a flair for sonic imagination, Han Lash exemplifies how composers today are expanding the orchestral tradition.

World Premiere in Boston

After much preparation, Zero Turning Radius is set to receive its world premiere. The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), a leading orchestra dedicated to new music, commissioned the piece and will premiere it on May 4, 2025 in Boston. At Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory, BMOP and conductor Gil Rose will unveil this “zero-turn” adventure in sound. Fittingly titled Turning Point, the free concert celebrates the orchestra’s capacity for change, and features Lash’s opus alongside new works by Chris Theofanidis and Jeremy Gill. It will be exciting to witness how the audience responds to Lash’s visionary journey into orchestral new frontiers.

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