” Residencies
THE TIMES
2013-14 season
The UK’s most dynamic chamber ensemble”
Projects
International Touring
Commissions
Learning
Recordings
@brittensinfonia
brittensinf
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
WWW .Britten Sinfonia .COM
“an ensemble fit for the 21st century” RPS Music Awards Jury
welcome The orchestra is still drawing breath after a packed 2012-13 season which saw Britten Sinfonia celebrate its 20th birthday, begin an exciting new association at London’s Barbican Centre and the launch of Britten Sinfonia Academy for gifted school-age musicians from the east of England. It certainly was a season to remember with over 70 concerts and projects across Europe, Scandinavia and South America, 10 new commissions and the accolade of being awarded the Ensemble prize at the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards (the orchestra’s 3rd RPS award in 6 years). We now look ahead and, as I hope this brochure will demonstrate, the 2013-14 season offers even more enticing projects. In spite of these turbulent times, we are being ever more ambitious with our programming, and our residencies are increasing in number this season. In particular, our Barbican season is doubling, with 15 performances throughout the centre (also including opera and dance), in the concert hall, theatre, St. Giles’ Cripplegate and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s beautiful new venue, Milton Court. We’ll also be performing in some of the world’s finest concert halls – the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Palace of Arts Budapest, Symphony Hall Birmingham, and we are proud to be giving the inaugural concert at Saffron Hall, a new venue in Saffron Walden.
Typically, this season our programmes journey across 500 years of music, including an unconducted Bach St John Passion to world premieres from some of today’s finest composers. We’re joined by carefully selected collaborators and curators, including guest soloists, choirs, and the Richard Alston Dance Company, and a good number of these artists are also working closely with our Creative Learning team to produce projects in schools, music hubs, universities and conservatoires. We remain extremely grateful to Arts Council England whose funding underpins our work, and also to the variety of trusts, individuals, sponsors and local authorities whose vision and support enables us to be so bold and ambitious. If you are able to get involved and help to do even more, then please do be in touch. Enjoy reading this brochure and finding out more about our work. We look forward to seeing you at one or more of our many events, in what promises to be a thrilling season of music-making. David Butcher Chief Executive, Britten Sinfonia
Welcome | 1
2013
DIARY Mark Padmore sings Britten and Finzi Wed 25 Sep Bradford upon Avon, Wiltshire Music Centre Thu 26 Sep North Yorkshire, Castle Howard Sun 29 Sep Colchester, Stoke by Nayland Church
7pm 6.15pm 3pm
www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk www.martinrandall.com www.romanrivermusic.org.uk
7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm
www.nd-mb.si www.filharm.sk www.mupa.hu
Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall Shrewsbury, Allington Hall London, Barbican, Milton Court Concert Hall
7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm
www.brittensinfonia.com www.shrewsbury.org.uk www.barbican.org.uk
London, Barbican Hall
7.30pm
www.barbican.org.uk
Norwich, Theatre Royal
7.30pm
www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk
Eastern European Tour Thu 3 Oct Maribor, Narodni dom Maribor Fri 4 Oct Bratislava, Slovenska Filharmonia Sat 5 Oct Budapest, Palace of Arts Paul Lewis Wed 9 Oct Thu 10 Oct Fri 11 Oct
Zbigniew Preisner Sat 12 Oct Within Her Arms Sun 20 Oct
Schools Concert: Mr Big Wed 23 Oct Peterborough, Key Theatre
11.30am & 1.30pm www.brittensinfonia.com
Barbican Britten Phaedra: Richard Alston Dance Company Wed 6, Thu 7, London, Barbican Theatre 7.45pm www.barbican.org.uk Sat 9 Nov Barbican Britten: Bostridge sings Our Hunting Fathers Fri 8 Nov London, Barbican Hall
7.30pm
www.barbican.org.uk
8pm
www.barbican.org.uk
7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm
www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk www.brittensinfonia.com www.barbican.org.uk
2pm
www.brittensinfonia.com
7.30pm 7.30pm
www.thsh.co.uk www.barbican.org.uk
7.30pm
www.saffronhall.com
Cambridge, Jesus College Chapel
7.30pm
www.jesus.cam.ac.uk
London, Wigmore Hall Norwich, Assembly House Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall
1pm 1pm 1pm
www.wigmore-hall.org.uk www.brittensinfonia.com www.brittensinfonia.com
Oslo, Nasjonal Jazzscene, Victoria
8pm
www.nasjonaljazzscene.no
Barbican Britten: Curlew River Thu 14 – Sat 16 Nov London, Barbican, St Giles’ Cripplegate
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings Sun 17 Nov Norwich, Theatre Royal Fri 22 Nov Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall Sun 24 Nov London, Barbican, Milton Court Concert Hall Children’s Event: Let’s Make a Concert Sat 23 Nov Cambridge, St John’s College School Choir of King’s College Cambridge Tue 26 Nov Birmingham, Symphony Hall Sat 7 Dec London, Barbican Hall Saffron Walden Inaugural Concert Sat 30 Nov Saffron Walden, Saffron Hall Messiah Tue 10 Dec
At Lunch 1 Wed 11 Dec Fri 13 Dec Tue 17 Dec Stian Westerhus Fri 13 Dec
2 | Diary
2014
Schools Concert: Songs of No Man’s Land
Thu 23 Jan Thu 6 Feb Fri 7 Feb Tour of Spain
London, Wigmore Hall Norwich, St Andrew’s Hall Peterborough, Key Theatre
11.30am & 1.30pm www.wigmore-hall.org.uk 11.30am & 1.30pm www.britten sinfonia.com 11.30am & 1.30pm www.brittensinfonia.com
Murcia, Auditorio Madrid, Auditorio Nacional
8.30pm 8pm
www.auditoriomurica.org www.auditorionacional.mcu.es
Norwich, Assembly House London, Wigmore Hall Saffron Walden, Saffron Hall Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall
1pm 1pm 1pm 1pm
www.brittensinfonia.com www.wigmore-hall.org.uk www.saffronhall.com www.brittensinfonia.com
3pm 2pm & 4pm
www.wigmore-hall.org.uk www.brittensinfonia.com
7.30pm 7.30pm
www.brittensinfonia.com www.barbican.org.uk
10.30am
www.brittensinfonia.com
7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm
www.brittensinfonia.com www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk www.barbican.org.uk
1pm 1pm 1pm
www.brittensinfonia.com www.brittensinfonia.com www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
7.30pm 7.30pm
www.jesus.ac.uk www.theapex.co.uk
4pm 3pm
www.readingarts.com www.saffronhall.com
7.30pm
www.readingarts.com
Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall Amsterdam, Concertgebouw London, Barbican Hall Saffron Walden, Saffron Hall Norwich, Theatre Royal
7.30pm 8.15pm 6pm 7.30pm 7.30pm
www.brittensinfonia.com www.concertgebouw.nl www.barbican.org.uk www.saffronhall.com www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk
Fri 2 May Norwich, Assembly House Tue 6 May Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall Wed 7 May London, Wigmore Hall Brett Dean: Composer & Performer
1pm 1pm 1pm
www.brittensinfonia.com www.brittensinfonia.com www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
9pm
www.concertgebouw.nl
Fri 23 May Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall Sat 24 May Saffron Walden, Saffron Hall Fri 30 May London, Barbican, Milton Court Concert Hall Birtwistle at 80: Yan Tan Tethera
7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm
www.brittensinfonia.com www.saffronhall.com www.barbican.org.uk
Tue 1 Jul Fri 4 Jul
Wed 29 Jan Thu 30 Jan At Lunch 2 Fri 31 Jan Wed 5 Feb Sun 9 Feb Tue 11 Feb
Family Concert: Songs of No Man’s Land Sat 25 Jan London, Wigmore Hall Sat 1 Feb Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall Imogen Cooper Thu 13 Feb Fri 14 Feb
Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall London, Barbican, Milton Court Concert Hall
Cambridge University Composers’ Workshop Sat 22 Feb Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall
Patricia Kopatchinskaja Mon 3 Mar Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall Tue 4 Mar Norwich, Theatre Royal Thu 6 Mar London, Barbican, Milton Court Concert Hall At Lunch 3 Fri 14 Mar Tue 18 Mar Wed 19 Mar
Norwich, Assembly House Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall London, Wigmore Hall
St Matthew Passion Tue 18 Mar Cambridge, Jesus College Chapel Thu 20 Mar Bury St Edmunds, St Edmundsbury Cathedral Family Concert: Mr Big Sat 5 Apr Reading, The Hexagon Sun 6 Apr Saffron Walden, Saffron Hall Goldberg Variations Sat 5 Apr Reading, The Hexagon St John Passion Wed 16 Apr Thu 17 Apr Fri 18 Apr Sat 19 Apr Sun 20 Apr At Lunch 4
Thu 8 May Fields of Sorrow
Amsterdam, Concertgebouw
Thu 29 May At Lunch 5
London, Barbican Hall
7.30pm
www.barbican.org.uk
Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall Norwich, St Andrew’s Hall
1pm 1pm
www.brittensinfonia.com www.brittensinfonia.com
Diary |
3
Residencies & Associations
Barbican
Barbican Brighton Cambridge Norwich Peterborough Saffron Walden Wigmore Hall
We have a number of places we call home. Our backbone of residencies stretches a line through the east of England, from Norwich to Cambridge (where we are the University’s Orchestra-in-Association), Peterborough, Saffron Walden, London and down to Brighton. During 2012-13, we gave 38 performances in the east and south east of England, with a further 26 performances in London or elsewhere in the UK. Through our UK residencies and associations Britten Sinfonia reached an audience of over 25,000 people.
4 | Residencies & Associations
In only our second season as the Barbican’s Associate Ensemble we are expanding and diversifying the number and artistic range of our projects, illustrating the blossoming partnership between Britten Sinfonia and London’s Barbican Centre. Complementing our Barbican season we also perform our acclaimed At Lunch series in the home of chamber music, Wigmore Hall. Our established residencies in Cambridge and Norwich continue to see committed audiences who enjoy our adventurous and bold programming. In both cities we perform an evening concert series plus our At Lunch concerts alongside Creative Learning projects.
XXXXXXX © XXXXXX
Norwich Theatre Royal
Wigmore Hall © XXXX XXX Britten Sinfonia, West Road Concert Hall © Peter Austen
Our burgeoning association with Peterborough centres around our Creative Learning programme and includes cross-genre work with the Beat Orchestra, school concerts and work supporting the local music hub. In 2013-14 we begin an innovative association with the brand new concert venue, Saffron Hall. With world-class acoustics we are looking forward to bringing a number of our thrilling projects to new audiences in Saffron Walden, including their inaugural concert.
Residencies & Associations | 5
Projects & Collaborations A selection from 2013-14
Britten Sinfonia’s programming is centred on collaboration and intelligent musical choices. We are not defined by a particular musical period or style but instead focus on our musicians and their willingness to experiment, not only with artists and repertoire, but across genres and media. We don’t have a principal conductor or music director but work with our players and collaborators to create programmes to inspire our audiences with quality and creativity at their heart.
Benjamin Britten Centenary Britten Sinfonia is inspired by the ethos of Benjamin Britten through world class performances, illuminating and distinctive programmes where old meets new, and a deep commitment to bringing music to both the world’s finest concert halls and the local community. Our centenary celebrations of Britten bring together his music in unfamiliar contexts and in unexpected company, shedding light on his remarkable versatility.
Mark Padmore sings Britten & Finzi 25, 26, 29 Sep 2013 Wiltshire / Castle Howard / Stoke by Nayland Mark Padmore tenor Jacqueline Shave leader/director Programme to include works by Purcell, Britten and Finzi
6 | Projects & Collaborations
Richard Alston Dance Company 6, 7, 9 Nov 2013 Barbican Theatre Richard Alston Dance Company Pekka Kuusisto violin / viola / director Allison Cook mezzo-soprano Robin Tritschler tenor Huw Watkins piano Britten Lachrymae Sechs Holderlin Fragmente (New work, Barbican co-commission, World premiere) Phaedra (New work, Barbican co-commission, World premiere) Les Illuminations Produced by the Barbican as part of Barbican Britten
Mark Padmore © Ben Ealovega
lean yet forceful “Padmore’s voice cut a swathe through
Britten’s challenging writing, maintaining tension in the high-wire act of the creepy Dirge and applying an ethereal sensuousness to the uneasy insomnia of the final Keats’ sonnets .
”
The Guardian
Bostridge sings Our Hunting Fathers 8 Nov 2013 Barbican Hall
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings 17, 22, 24 Nov 2013 Norwich / Cambridge / Barbican Milton Court
Ian Bostridge tenor Lara Melda piano Paul Daniel conductor
Mark Padmore tenor Pekka Kuusisto violin / director Stephen Bell horn
Purcell arr. Britten Chacony in G minor Britten Young Apollo Tippett Fantasia on a theme of Corelli Britten Our Hunting Fathers Britten Suite on English Folk Tunes – A Time There Was
Nico Muhly Three Songs (for tenor, violin and orchestral drone) Bartók Fourth movement from Quartet No. 4 Britten Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal Erkki Sven Tüür Lighthouse Judith Weir I Give You the End of a Golden String (World premiere tour) Nordheim Individualisierte Höhemessung der Lagen (from Partita fur Paul) Nico Muhly Material in E flat (from Drones & Violin) Bartók Third movement from Quartet No. 4 Berg arr. Schnittke Kanon Arvo Pärt Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten George Crumb God Music (from Black Angels) Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings
Produced by the Barbican as part of Barbican Britten
Curlew River 14-16 Nov 2013 St Giles’ Cripplegate, Barbican Ian Bostridge Madwoman Gwynne Howell Abbot Neal Davies The Traveller Peter Coleman-Wright The Ferryman Netia Jones director William Lacey music director Britten Sinfonia Voices Britten Curlew River Produced by the Barbican as part of Barbican Britten
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
Projects & Collaborations | 7
Roderick Williams © Benjamin Ealovega
As lunchtime “ assignations go, nothing
takes you on a more exciting journey, nothing so lavishly feeds the imagination, nothing stretches the brain quite as completely
At Lunch At Lunch is an award-winning series of hour-long lunchtime concerts featuring Britten Sinfonia’s principal musicians. Each concert pairs major works from the chamber repertoire alongside new pieces co-commissioned by Britten Sinfonia and Wigmore Hall. Cambridge At Lunch 1-4 performances are recorded by BBC Radio 3 for a special week of broadcasts on BBC Radio 3’s Lunchtime Concert.
At Lunch 1 11, 13, 17 Dec 2013 Wigmore Hall / Norwich / Cambridge Jacqueline Shave violin Clare Finnimore viola Caroline Dearnley cello Huw Watkins piano Mozart Adagio from Violin Sonata in E flat, K481 Lutoslawski Duo for viola and cello Sally Beamish New Work (World premiere tour) Fauré Piano Quartet No.2 in G minor
8 | Projects & Collaborations
”
Charlotte Higgins, The Guardian
At Lunch 2 31 Jan, 5, 9, 11 Feb 2014 Norwich / Wigmore Hall / Saffron Walden / Cambridge Roderick Williams baritone Huw Watkins piano Joy Farrall clarinet Britten Sinfonia Voices Eamonn Dougan Britten Sinfonia Voices Director Roderick Williams Red Herring Blues Schubert Der Tanz D826 Schubert Trinklied D75 Roderick Williams New Work (World premiere tour) Schubert An die Sonne D439 Schumann Auf einer Burg Schubert Schicksalslenker D763 Schumann Mondnacht Schubert Lebenslust D609 Schubert Trinklied D183
Allison Bell Š Felipe Pagani
At Lunch 3 14, 18, 19 Mar 2014 Norwich / Cambridge / Wigmore Hall
At Lunch 4 2, 6, 7 May 2014 Norwich / Cambridge / Wigmore Hall
Jacqueline Shave violin Clare Finnimore viola Caroline Dearnley cello Stephen Williams double bass Joy Farrall clarinet Sarah Burnett bassoon Stephen Bell horn
Allison Bell soprano Brett Dean viola Jacqueline Shave, Miranda Dale violins Caroline Dearnley cello
William Cole Winner of Cambridge University Composers’ Workshop New Work (World premiere tour) Beethoven Septet in E flat, Op. 20
Tintner Ellipse Brett Dean New Work (World premiere tour) Schoenberg String Quartet No. 2 At Lunch 5 1 & 4 Jul 2014 Cambridge / Norwich Britten Sinfonia Academy Musicians from Britten Sinfonia Programme to include: Philip Cashian New work (World premiere tour)
Projects & Collaborations | 9
Moldovan violinist “Gifted Patricia Kopatchinskaja
has slimmed her tone to a fragile finesse…the freshness of this interpretation is exhilarating.
”
Patricia Kopatchinskaja © Marco Borggreve
The Times
… directs … Our collaborations with some of the world’s finest soloists result in performances of rare insight and energy. We work closely with guest artists and Britten Sinfonia’s players to create distinctive and illuminating programmes.
Paul Lewis 9, 10, 11 Oct 2013 Cambridge / Shrewsbury / Barbican Milton Court Paul Lewis piano / director Jacqueline Shave violin / director Nicholas Daniel oboe Stravinsky Three pieces for string quartet Anna Clyne Within Her Arms (UK premiere tour) Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K414 Maw Little Concert Haydn Symphony No. 60 “il distratto”
10 | Projects & Collaborations
Imogen Cooper 13 & 14 Feb 2014 Cambridge / Barbican Milton Court Imogen Cooper piano / director Mark Simpson New Work (World premiere tour) Beethoven Quintet in E flat for piano and winds, Op.16 Mozart Serenade No. 10 for winds in Bb major, K361 “Gran Partita” Patricia Kopatchinskaja 3, 4, 6 Mar 2014 Cambridge / Norwich / Barbican Milton Court Patricia Kopatchinskaja violin / director Brahms arr. Paul Angerer Chorale Prelude Op.122 Tigran Mansurian Four Serious Songs Bartók Romanian Dances Janác˘ek arr. Richard Tognetti String Quartet No. 1 Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in D minor
Birtwistle at 80 One of Britain’s most significant composers, Sir Harrison Birtwistle celebrates his 80th birthday in 2014. We perform his rarely heard opera Yan Tan Tethera alongside a programme which traces major English composers’ responses to landscape and national identity including Birtwistle’s highly individual continuation of the pastoral tradition.
Fields of Sorrow 23, 24 30 May 2014 Cambridge / Saffron Walden / Barbican Milton Court Baldur Brönnimann conductor Maxim Rysanov viola Eamonn Dougan Britten Sinfonia Voices Director Britten Sinfonia Voices Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis Holst If you love songs Lovely venus David’s Lament for Jonathan The Fields of Sorrow Harrison Birtwistle The Fields of Sorrow Harrison Birtwistle Melencolia I Vaughan Williams Flos Campi Yan Tan Tethera 29 May 2014 Barbican Hall
Birtwistle is a towering “ figure in British music. His
language, though complex and modernistic, is distinctive and exhilarating
”
New York Times
Baldur Brönnimann conductor John Lloyd-Davies director Claire Booth Hannah Omar Ebrahim Caleb Raven Roderick Williams Alan Daniel Norman Bad’un / Piper Eamonn Dougan Britten Sinfonia Voices Director Britten Sinfonia Voices Harrison Birtwistle Yan Tan Tethera (semi-staged concert performance) (text by Tony Harrison) Co-produced by the Barbican and Britten Sinfonia
Projects & Collaborations | 11
Britten Sinfonia Voices © Rhydian Peters
Choral Music Since the formation of Britten Sinfonia Voices in 2011, choral repertoire is increasingly becoming a key part of our programming, not only with our own choir but some of the most renowned vocal ensembles in the UK. Each project is thoroughly prepared to produce informed and inspirational performances.
Choir of King’s College Cambridge 26 Nov & 7 Dec 2013 Birmingham / Barbican Stephen Cleobury conductor Andrew Kennedy (26 Nov) tenor James Gilchrist (7 Dec) tenor Choir of King’s College, Cambridge Arvo Pärt Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten Britten A Ceremony of Carols Britten Saint Nicolas
Messiah 10 Dec 2013 Cambridge Ruby Hughes soprano James Laing counter-tenor John Mark Ainsley tenor TBC baritone Mark Williams conductor Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge Handel Messiah St Matthew Passion 18 & 20 Mar 2014 Cambridge / Bury St Edmunds Katherine Manley soprano Madeleine Shaw mezzo-soprano Andrew Kennedy tenor Matthew Brook baritone Mark Williams conductor Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge Bach St Matthew Passion
12 | Projects & Collaborations
Impressive was the fine“grained control of Britten Sinfonia Voices trained by Eamonn Dougan
”
Britten Sinfonia Voices © Benjamin Ealovega
The Guardian
St John Passion 16 – 20 Apr 2014 Cambridge / Amsterdam / Barbican / Saffron Walden / Norwich Julia Doyle soprano Iestyn Davies counter-tenor Nicholas Mulroy Evangelist Jeremy Budd tenor Matthew Brook bass Eamonn Dougan Pilate / Britten Sinfonia Voices Director Jacqueline Shave violin / director Britten Sinfonia Voices Bach St John Passion
Projects & Collaborations | 13
International Touring
This acclaimed ensemble finally “ made its American debut at Lincoln Center - it was worth the wait.” New York Times, Concentric Paths tour with Thomas Adès, 2012
During 2012-13 we gave 13 concerts abroad to audiences numbering over 9,000. As a touring orchestra we love to take our bold programming across the globe and in 2013-14 we visit Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Norway and Spain whilst continuing to develop our collaborations and projects with Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. Future plans include return visits to New York’s Lincoln Center, Mexico, the Netherlands and our debut in India.
Eastern European Tour 3 – 5 October 2013 Maribor / Bratislava / Budapest Pekka Kussisto violin / director Mark Padmore tenor Stephen Bell horn Britten Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal Judith Weir I Give You the End of a Golden String (World premiere tour) Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge Bridge Three Idylls for string quartet Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
14 | International Touring
Stian Westerhaus 13 December 2013 Oslo Stian Westerhaus The Matriarch and the Wrong Kind of Flowers Tour of Spain 29 & 30 January 2014 Murcia, Madrid Claudia Huckle mezzo soprano Jacqueline Shave violin / director Purcell Chacony Britten Phantasy Quartet Bridge There is a willow grows aslant a brook Mahler arr. D Matthews Four Rückert Lieder Purcell Rondeau from “Abdelazar Suite” Thomas Adés Court Studies from The Tempest Oliver Knussen Songs without Voices Britten Sinfonietta
Julia Doyle soprano Iestyn Davies counter-tenor Nicholas Mulroy Evangelist Jeremy Budd tenor Matthew Brook bass Eamonn Dougan Pilate / Britten Sinfonia Voices director Jacqueline Shave violin / director Britten Sinfonia Voices
Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City
Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City
St John Passion 17 April 2014 Amsterdam
Bach St John Passion Brett Dean: Performer and Composer 8 May 2014 Amsterdam Allison Bell soprano Brett Dean viola Jacqueline Shave, Miranda Dale violins Caroline Dearnley cello Tintner Ellipse Stravinsky Three Pieces for string quartet Brett Dean New work (World premiere tour) Schoenberg String Quartet No. 2 International Touring | 15
Commissioning A selection from 2013-14
to think of an orchestra “It’s hard in the land more eager to change shape and take risks through edgy and challenging programming and a sceptical attitude to convention.
”
Daily Telegraph
Britten Sinfonia is not an exclusively ‘new music’ group yet works by living composers are at the core of our programmes. We love to build unexpected bridges between earlier music and other genres showcasing both established composers and those in the early stages of their careers. In the 2013-14 season we feature eight new commissions. Many are co-commissioned with Wigmore Hall as part of our award-winning At Lunch series, and most receive multiple performances and are broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Sally Beamish Scottish-based Sally Beamish’s work is influenced by jazz and Scottish traditional music and she has composed for youth and amateur groups as well as film music, symphonies and an opera. She will write a piece for string trio for our 2013-14 At Lunch series. Premiere performances: At Lunch 1* 11, 13, 17 Dec 2013 London / Norwich / Cambridge
16 | Commissioning
Roderick Williams Best known as a baritone singer, Roderick Williams is also gaining a strong reputation as a composer. He will write a piece for our vocal ensemble, Britten Sinfonia Voices, to be performed during our 2013-14 At Lunch series. Premiere performances: At Lunch 2* 31 Jan, 5, 9, 11 Feb 2014 Norwich / London / Saffron Walden / Cambridge Emily Hall Emily Hall is a founding member of Camberwell Composers Collective and has had her work widely performed. She will be writing a new work for small ensemble for our annual family concert exploring the themes of the Great War. Premiere performances: Songs of No Man’s Land 25 Jan & 1 Feb 2014 London / Cambridge
Mark Simpson Mark Simpson is both a clarinet player and composer. At the age of 16 he became the first person to win both the BBC Young Musician of the Year and the BBC Proms/ Guardian Young Composer competitions. Mark is writing a piece that will be performed in a programme which focuses on Britten Sinfonia’s talented wind principals.
Brett Dean © Pawel Kopzynski
Premiere performances: Imogen Coopers 13 & 14 Feb 2014 Cambridge / London William Cole William Cole was commissioned after winning the annual University of Cambridge Composers’ Workshop with Britten Sinfonia. A recent music graduate of Clare College, Cambridge William will write a piece for septet for our 2013-14 At Lunch series. Premiere performances: At Lunch 3* 14, 18 , 19 Mar 2014 Norwich / Cambridge / London
Brett Dean Australian composer Brett Dean is one of the most internationally performed composers of his generation alongside his performing career as a professional viola player. Brett will be writing a piece for our At Lunch series in which he will also perform. Premiere performances: At Lunch 4* 2, 6, 7 May 2014 Norwich / Cambridge / London Philip Cashian The Head of Composition at Royal Academy of Music, Philip Cashian is renowned for his compositions that are both colourful and inventive revealing his abundant imagination. Philip will write a new work for Britten Sinfonia Academy, our ensemble of talented young musicians from the east of England. Premiere performances: At Lunch 5 1 & 4 Jul 2014 Cambridge / Norwich OPUS2014 OPUS is Britten Sinfonia’s open call for submissions offering unpublished composers the chance to receive a professional commission for our 2014-15 At Lunch series. Closing date for submissions: 1 Oct 2013
✱ Co-commissioned with Wigmore Hall
s Generously supported by the William Alwyn Foundation
Musically Gifted
Buy a gift and create new music
Musically Gifted Support commissioning Buy our a gift and programme through Musically Costing from create newGifted. music just £10 and whether for yourself or as a unique gift for someone special you can help create new music.
www.musicallygifted.org.uk
Commissioning | 17
B
Whilst our artistic programme reaches to Europe, the Americas and beyond, our Creative Learning programme roots us firmly and proudly in the east of England. Wherever possible, the programme links in with our concerts in Norwich and Cambridge, but our reach also stretches out to rural Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. In addition, we are currently developing exciting new relationships in Peterborough. The ethos which we uphold in our work on the concert platform also permeates our Creative Learning programme in that it is driven by the artistic vision, skills and passion of our players.
Britten Sinfonia Academy © Ben Ealovega
CREATIVE LEARNING Britten Sinfonia Academy Taking centre stage in July 2014, our talented youth ensemble will perform its own Academy At Lunch concert including a new commission from Philip Cashian. Composers Our OPUS2014 OPEN CALL FOR COMPOSERS and Cambridge University Composers’ Workshop discover new talent and offer unpublished or young composers the chance to win a professional commission as part of Britten Sinfonia’s award-winning At Lunch series.
OPUS2014
© Paul Harrison photography
In 2012-13 we ran 120 Creative Learning sessions attended by over 5,000 participants, including over 2,600 children and young people.
18 | Creative Learning
Talent
Music Hubs We are strategic partners of Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Norfolk music hubs and will continue to work in partnership with them in 2013-14. Highlights will include supporting Gifted and Talented instrumentalists in Peterborough and inspirational opportunities for beginner instrumentalists learning through First Access in Norfolk.
Communities We are working with hard-toreach young people across the East of England through crossgenre projects such as the Beat Orchestra in Peterborough, the Digital Youth Orchestra in Norwich as well as the Link Ensemble, a new project working with young people with Autistic Spectrum Syndrome in Cambridgeshire. Families Exciting family concerts and opportunities are taking place in London, Cambridge, Reading and Saffron Walden.
© Britten Sinfonia
Families and Communities
Muhly workshop © Paul Harrison Photography
© Britten Sinfonia
© claireborley.co.uk
If you are interested in any part of our Creative Learning Programme, please get in touch with the Creative Learning team on 01223 300794 ext 4 or email learning@brittensinfonia.com Schools Creative Learning at Lunch We regularly visit schools for half day workshops in order to make the music we play accessible to younger audiences. We creatively introduce repertoire and explore it in context, before inviting the school class to attend a Britten Sinfonia At Lunch concert. Special Projects Each year we run bespoke projects inspired by the music we play. In May 2013, this included a GCSE composition project with Parkside Academies, Cambridge inspired by Minimalism and our Adams & Muhly programme. This culminated in a pre-concert performance by students of Parkside playing alongside percussionist Colin Currie. Schools Concerts Commemorating the start of World War I through stories and songs, our KS2 schools concert will take place in Peterborough, London and Norwich in February 2014. Creative Learning | 19
Recordings
Just as Britten Sinfonia’s programming centres on collaborations, so too do our recordings. This results in highly personal, highly nuanced performances. Our recordings have received Grammy nominations and a Gramophone award. We’ve worked for major labels including Sony, Warner and EMI, and regularly record for Hyperion Records and Harmonia Mundi. In May 2013, Ninja Tune Records released Jaga Jazzist Live with Britten Sinfonia, which was the product of a collaboration at the Barbican in 2012. Tõnu Kõrvits’ Kreek’s Notebook was released on Hyperion in July 2013, featuring Britten Sinfonia and the Choir of Royal Holloway. Forthcoming releases include a further collaboration with Mark Padmore performing works
20 | Recordings
by Warlock, Vaughan Williams and Jonathan Dove for Harmonia Mundi, a recording of Duruflé’s Requiem, with soloists Roderick Williams, Christine Rice, Caroline Dearnley and the Choir of Westminster Abbey, and Benjamin Britten’s St Nicolas, with the Choir of King’s College Cambridge and the Choir of Sawston Village College with soloist Andrew Kennedy. In February 2014, Britten Sinfonia will record James MacMillan’s Oboe Concerto, which was written especially for the orchestra.
and remarkably “dynamic, dramatic free of self-indulgence� Q Magazine on Jaga Jazzist Live with Britten Sinfonia
Recordings | 21
Britten Sinfonia in Numbers Britten Sinfonia is a growing and successful orchestra, with a turnover last year of £1.5m. We represent a good investment of public funding: for every £1 of public subsidy we generate at least an additional £3, and despite tricky economic times more people than ever before are coming to hear
Our audiences
us play. We’re proud to be giving an increasing number of concerts across the UK, whilst flying the flag abroad by taking some of the best British music and musicians to the world’s finest concert halls.
43,500
In 2012-13:
(This is an increase of 45% from two years ago)
Our performances
64 13 17
Our income
49% 28% 23%
is earned income from Arts Council England
77 is fundraised income
performances in 2012-13:
UK performances overseas performances
120
World premieres
Creative Learning sessions
22 | Britten Sinfonia in Numbers
THANK YOU We acknowledge with gratitude the generosity and vision of our supporters and partners, all of whom make Britten Sinfonia’s extensive concert and Creative Learning programmes possible. We would also like to thank our many Friends, Chair Partners, and other individual donors, whose significant support makes a vital contribution to the life and music of Britten Sinfonia.
Principal Funder
Broadcast Partner
Funding partners EsmĂŠe Fairbairn Foundation Holst Foundation The John Jarrold Trust Kirby Laing Foundation Marsh Christian Trust The Monument Trust Orchestras Live PRS for Music Foundation RVW Trust William Alwyn Foundation Local authorities Cambridge City Council South Cambridgeshire District Council Norwich City Council Norfolk County Council South Norfolk Council
Corporate partners Cambridge Judge Business School Real VNC Savills Project partners Beat This Future Projects Cambridge Music Partnership Norfolk Music Hub Peterborough Music Partnership Vivacity
Thank you | 23
Britten Sinfonia
1st violins Jacqueline Shave, Leader Thomas Gould, Associate Leader Marcus Barcham-Stevens Magnus Johnston Clara Biss Ruth Ehrlich Martin Gwilym-Jones Beatrix Lovejoy Fiona McCapra Katherine Shave 2nd violins Miranda Dale Nicola Goldscheider Alexandra Reid Anna Bradley Marcus Broome Judith Kelly Suzanne Loze
Violas Clare Finnimore Kate Musker Bridget Carey Rachel Byrt Cellos Caroline Dearnley Benjamin Chappell Joy Hawley Julia Vohralik Double Basses Stephen Williams Roger Linley Flutes Emer McDonough Sarah O’Flynn Oboes Nicholas Daniel Emma Feilding Clarinets Joy Farrall Andrew Webster
Bassoons Sarah Burnett Simon Couzens Horns Stephen Bell Tom Rumsby Trumpets Paul Archibald Tom Rainer Tuba James Anderson Harp Lucy Wakeford Piano Huw Watkins Harpsichord Maggie Cole Britten Sinfonia Voices Director Eamonn Dougan
Trustees
Management
Dame Mary Archer, DBE Jonathan Barclay Dr Jerome Booth Prof. Germaine Greer Margaret Mair Charles Rawlinson, MBE John Stephens, OBE
Artistic Planning Director Nikola White
Marketing Assistant Lisa Buckby
Orchestra Manager (acting) Annabel Marsland
Creative Learning Assistant James Brady
Development Director Will Harriss
Finance Assistant Elaine Rust
Chairman Stephen Bourne
Chief Executive David Butcher
Marketing Director Claire Bowdler
Concerts Director (acting) Kate Wyatt
Creative Learning Director Isobel Timms
Concerts Assistant (acting) Cathy Al-Ghabra
Finance Director Paul O’Brien
Development Assistant Gabrielle Deschamps
Press Consultant Sophie Cohen
All details correct at time of going to print, however Britten Sinfonia reserves the right to substitute repertoire and artists as necessary.
24 | Britten Sinfonia Musicians, Trustees, Management
Thomas Skovsende ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Thomas Skovsende ©
Design: carly.merrydew@gmail.com
Britten Sinfonia 13 Sturton Street Cambridge CB1 2SN UK Telephone: +44 (0)1223 300795 Email: info@brittensinfonia.com www.brittensinfonia.com Chief Executive: David Butcher Chairman: Stephen Bourne Registered Charity No. 291245
Broadcast Partner: