2015-2016 Barbican season
thomas gould
Associate Leader, Britten Sinfonia
intro duction welcome to britten sinfonia’s 2015-16 barbican season, and our fourth season as an associate ensemble – a blossoming partnership which was recognised in the recent royal Philharmonic society Music awards.
“it is the spirit of adventure that has won Britten sinfonia a reputation as one of the uK’s most forward-thinking musical ensembles”
Britten Sinfonia’s 2015-16 season embraces a fusion of the baroque, classical, jazz and modernist masters, with a stellar line up of musical collaborators including ian Bostridge, Colin Currie, iestyn Davies, Cristina Zavalloni, Benjamin grosvenor, Steven Osborne and jazz legend, eddie gomez. the orchestra’s tAKe tWO double-bill artist portraits paint compelling pictures of two of contemporary music’s towering figures: composers louis Andriessen, and Oliver Knussen. Opera and theatre are brought to the fore with ian Bostridge and Britten Sinfonia re-uniting for a new production of Hans Zender’s iconoclastic re-imaging of Schubert’s Winterreise, staged by brilliantly inventive opera director and video artist, Netia Jones, and the
orchestra also makes a welcome return to the Royal Opera House’s acclaimed staging of gerald Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Christmas festivities feature Britten Sinfonia Voices, and an all-star line up for Handel’s Messiah including Carolyn Sampson, iestyn Davies, Allan Clayton and Christopher purves, with easter marked by a performance of James MacMillan’s visceral, dramatic meditation, Seven Last Words from the Cross. legendary bassist eddie gomez and award-winning pianist, Steven Osborne join us for the london Jazz Festival and pianist Benjamin grosvenor performs and directs Mozart. And with an enthralling array of music by Byrd, Bach, Mozart, Stravinsky, tippett, Berg, Reich, Zappa, Bill evans and more, you’ll get an idea of the rich mix of great music to explore. On behalf of Britten Sinfonia i look forward to welcoming you to what promises to be a thrilling season of concerts.
DAVID BUTCHER Chief executive, Britten Sinfonia
barbican concert series 2015-16 Season
Britten Sinfonia’s wind section take the spotlight for In Focus One performing Knussen’s poignant tribute to his late wife alongside Berg’s dazzlingly crafted Chamber Concerto. In Focus Two features the full orchestra in Knussen’s luminous Violin Concerto and Tippett’s virtuosic Concerto for Orchestra.
claire booth soprano alexandra wood oliver knussen conductor
violin
huw watkins
piano
mozart Serenade No. 12 in C minor K388 oliver knussen Requiem - Songs for Sue berg Chamber Concerto for piano and violin Op. 8 in focus one
A TAKE TWO double-bill exploring the music and influences of one of Britain’s finest and most beguiling musical figures, composer Oliver Knussen, opens Britten Sinfonia’s 2015-16 London season. Two concerts, curated and conducted by Knussen, give a compelling personal insight into the composer, setting his own works alongside music that he admires and loves.
oliver knussen in focus one
MILTON COURT Sunday 25 October 2015
7.30pm
tickets £10-£30 plus booking fee
oliver knussen in focus two oliver knussen
conductor
frederieke saeijs
violin
mozart Masonic Funeral Music K477 oliver knussen Violin Concerto stravinsky Ode tippett Concerto for Orchestra in focus two
take two: oliver knussen in focus
BARBICAN HALL Wednesday 28 October 2015
7.30pm
tickets £10-£35 plus booking fee
“No figure in British music is more respected than Oliver Knussen” the guardian page 3
steven osborne
handel’s messiah
piano
Messiah
carolyn sampson soprano iestyn davies countertenor allan clayton christopher purves bass britten sinfonia voices eamonn dougan conductor
efg london jazz festival featuring eddie gomez steven osborne piano eddie gomez kristjan järvi conductor
BARBICAN HALL tuesday 15 deceMber 2015
7.30pm
tenor
tiCKetS £10-£45 pluS BOOKiNg Fee
pReMiuM tiCKetS £70 | BeSt SeAtS & pRe-CONCeRt ReCeptiON
Handel’s remarkable oratorio Messiah, with its vivid portrayal of biblical scenes and high emotional charge, is staple ‘fare’ in many people’s Christmas musical diet. in this performance Britten Sinfonia is joined by a stellar quartet of soloists for a festive performance that is sure to be both thrilling and jubilant.
double bass
Jazz Festival
stravinsky tango bill evans arr. claus ogerman zappa arr. cashian igor’s Boogie Symbiosis (part ii) milhaud la Creation du Monde stravinsky Ragtime for 11 simon bainbridge New work instruments (World premiere) zappa perfect Stranger MILTON COURT wednesday 18 noVeMber 2015
7.30pm
tiCKetS £10-£30 pluS BOOKiNg Fee
Britten Sinfonia makes a welcome return to the EFG London Jazz Festival in the company of legendary bassist, Eddie Gomez and award winning pianist Steven Osborne. eddie gomez has been in the vanguard of music for four decades, working with jazz giants including Dizzy gillespie, gerry Mulligan, Benny goodman and as a member of the Miles Davis Quintet and Bill evans trio. He joins the orchestra to walk the fine, infinitely fascinating line between classical and jazz.
carolyn sampson soprano page 5
Colourful textures, vivid sonorities and propulsive energy ignite for In Focus One featuring minimalist master Steve Reich and a rare performance of Andriessen’s darkly lyrical song cycle, La Passione. In Focus Two is a dance infused programme exploring Andriessen’s admiration for Stravinsky, the influence of Bach, and his life-long love of jazz.
“Andriessen achieves a kind of honest rugged sonic splendour that communicates an unimpeachable creative honesty...” cd review
louis andriessen in focus one cristina zavalloni mezzo soprano monica germino violin eamonn dougan Britten Sinfonia Voices director britten sinfonia voices clark rundell conductor martland Tiger Dancing steve reich The Desert Music louis andriessen La Passione in focus one
From a background in jazz and avant-garde composition, Louis Andriessen has emerged as a central figure in new music, creating vigorous, wonderfully inventive music to explore complex issues. Britten Sinfonia’s TAKE TWO double-bill presents a compelling portrait, placing Andriessen’s distinctive output in the context of his musical influences, including Stravinsky, Bach, jazz, and minimalist contemporaries.
BARBICAN HALL Tuesday 9 february 2016
7.30pm
tickets £10-£35 plus booking fee
louis andriessen in focus two colin currie percussion allison bell soprano andrew gourlay conductor bach arr. stravinsky Prelude and Fugue No. 4 in C sharp minor, BWV849
stravinsky Danses concertantes in focus two
take two: louis andriessen in focus
MILTON COURT SATURDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2016
3.00pm
louis andriessen Tapdance steve reich Duet louis andriessen Dances
tickets £10-£20 plus booking fee
Part of BBC’s Total Immersion
Louis Andriessen in Focus is part of M is for Man, Music and Mystery, the Barbican’s series exploring the music of Louis Andriessen.
SEVEN LAST WORDS FROM THE CROSS eamonn dougan
conductor
britten sinfonia voices
MacMillan
byrd Miserere mei shostakovich arr barshai Chamber Symphony bach Cantata ‘O Jesu Christ, Mein’s lebens licht’ james macmillan Seven last Words from the Cross BARBICAN HALL Good friday 25 MarcH 2016
6.00pm
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST tim murray conductor ramin gray director ben clark associate set designer after an idea by Johannes Schütz christina cunningham costume designer franz peter david lighting designer leon baugh movement director
tiCKetS £10-£35 pluS BOOKiNg Fee
pReMiuM tiCKetS £70 | BeSt SeAtS & pRe-CONCeRt ReCeptiON
With James MacMillan’s dramatic meditation on Christ’s final words, Seven Last Words from the Cross, at its heart, britten Sinfonia’s moving celebration of Easter features exquisite music from four centuries.
gerald barry the importance of being earnest produced by the Royal Opera House Gerald barry
Byrd’s melancholic Miserere mei, Bach’s graveside Cantata “O Jesu Christ, Mein’s Lebens Licht” and Barshai’s orchestral arrangement of Shostakovich’s searing eighth string quartet, complete this contemplative programme for good Friday.
BARBICAN THEATRE tuesday 29 & wednesday 30 MarcH FRIDAY 1 & SATURDAY 2 & SUNDAY 3 APRIL 2016
7.45pm (3 april - 3.00pm)
tiCKetS £10-£40 pluS BOOKiNg Fee
BOOKiNg OpeNS WeD 21 ocT 2015
“an undoubted success... manically energetic, the result both subverts and celebrates Wilde’s text, as well as the genre of opera.” the guardian
eamonn dougan conductor page 8
gerald Barry’s opera has been an extraordinary success. An idiosyncratic setting of Oscar Wilde’s classic play, it had its premiere in concert in los Angeles in 2011, and had its first full staging in Nancy in 2013, immediately followed up by this production in the Royal Opera House’s linbury Studio. this high-energy comedy was well received by both audiences and critics and this revival brings Barry’s hyperactive manic score back to london.
THE DARK MIRROR: ZENDER’S WINTERREISE
winterreise
ian bostridge tenor baldur brönnimann netia jones director, designer and video artist BARBICAN THEATRE tHursday 12, friday 13 & saturday 14 May 2016
tiCKetS £16-£50
7.45pm
produced by the Barbican and Britten Sinfonia
Ian Bostridge stars in a gripping theatrical version of schubert’s Winterreise in which composer Hans Zender’s iconoclastic orchestral re-imagining of the original is staged by acclaimed opera director and video artist, Netia Jones. The Dark Mirror is a startling reflection on art and performance, love, death and the passage of time.
BENJAMIN GROSVENOR directs benjamin grosvenor
piano/director
jacqueline shave
violin/director
Grosvenor
bartók String Quartet No. 2 (2nd movement) elena langer New Work (london premiere) mozart piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat Major, K595 strauss Metamorphosen MILTON COURT sunday 1 May 2016
7.30pm
tiCKetS £10-£30 pluS BOOKiNg Fee
in a long list of young composers and musicians to have worked with Britten Sinfonia, few come with a higher pedigree than pianist Benjamin grosvenor. praised for his electrifying performances, he makes his Britten Sinfonia debut directing Mozart’s last piano Concerto from the keyboard.
in conversation - 6.30pm Celebrating ten years with Britten Sinfonia, Jacqueline Shave talks about her role as leader/director in this pre-concert talk. (Free to ticket holders) page 10
conductor
ian Bostridge is one of Winterreise’s greatest living interpreters and this radical new production continues and deepens his life-long relationship with the work and our understanding of it. Netia Jones is renowned for her innovative multimedia productions including 2013’s ‘exceptional’ (telegraph) Curlew River at St giles’ Cripplegate and 2012’s Where the Wild Things Are in the Barbican Hall, both with Britten Sinfonia.
pluS BOOKiNg Fee
BOOKING INFORMATION
jacqueline shave
MultiBuY DiSCOuNt 15% discount
For those booking 3-5 of the following Britten Sinfonia concerts
20%
For those booking 6+ of the following Britten Sinfonia concerts
discount
oliver knussen in focus one oliver knussen in focus two efg london jazz festival handel’s messiah louis andriessen in focus one seven last words from the cross benjamin grosvenor directs
29 Oct 2015 - p2 28 Oct 2015 - p2 18 Nov 2015 - p4 15 Dec 2015 - p5 9 Feb 2016 - p6 25 Mar 2016 - p8 1 May 2016 - p10
premium tickets premium seats are available for concerts on 15 Dec 2015 and 25 Mar 2016 in the Barbican Hall. premium seat ticket holders will be invited to a private reception hosted by Britten Sinfonia. tickets are strictly limited.
concessions All tickets £5 for under 18s & students (students must have a valid NuS card; one concession per customer).
groups of 10 or more Receive a 20% discount when booking 10 or more tickets for one concert.
disabled visitors Disabled visitors who have joined the Barbican Access Membership scheme can inform the Barbican of their access requirements, receive
how to book Online at www.barbican.org.uk By phone 020 7638 8891 Monday – Saturday 10am-8pm Sunday and Bank Holidays 11am-8pm In person at the Advance Box Office Monday-Saturday 10am-9pm Sundays and Bank Holidays 12noon-9pm
tickets
please see individual concert pages for ticket prices
a discount will not apply to the dark mirror / zender’s winterreise on 12, 13 and 14 may 2016 but these performances will still count towards your multibuy discount.
information in alternative formats and may be eligible for reductions on tickets. Any available discounted tickets are limited in number and subject to availability – please book early to avoid disappointment. Full details are available online at www.barbican.org.uk/access and will be sent with your membership information.
ticket exchange
tickets can be exchanged for another Britten Sinfonia performance or for credit vouchers valid for six months provided that you return your tickets at least 24 hours prior to the performance. tickets received within 24 hours of the performance may be offered for re-sale. An administration fee applies for these services. Full conditions of sale are available at www.barbican.org.uk
booking fees the following booking fees are applicable per transaction: £3 online, £4 by telephone. there is no booking fee when tickets are purchased in person from the Box Office. All information and booking fees correct at time of going to press. Britten Sinfonia reserves the right to make changes to advertised programmes and artists as necessary.
Leader, Britten Sinfonia
Britten sinfonia 13 Sturton Street Cambridge CB1 2SN united Kingdom telephone: 01223 300795 email: info@brittensinfonia.com www.brittensinfonia.com
golsoncott Foundation | Holst Foundation | idlewild trust | Marsh Christian trust | Radcliffe trust | William Alwyn Foundation