FABER MUSIC NEWS AUTUMN 2011
fortissimo! Colin Matthews BBC Proms premiere, ‘No Man’s Land’, charts new territory
IN THIS ISSUE Three world premieres for Colin Matthews, p 2–3 New signing Francisco Coll, p 4–5 The buzz round Tansy Davies, p 6 Nicolas Maw tribute concert, p 7
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Colin Matthews at the forefront of new music Colin Matthews has long been a highly respected member of the music establishment, but with three world premieres in the space of six months, it’s clear that his star is still rising. ‘No Man’s Land’ - Matthews’s Extraordinary Proms Premiere Echoes of the First World War filled the Royal Albert Hall on 21st August with the premiere of Colin Matthews’s dazzlingly inventive and moving work, No Man’s Land. Set to a text by Christopher Reid, the piece uses the quiet bowing of a cymbal to frame a vivid evocation of the many facets of war: grim black humour, desperation, patriotic songs on a honky-tonk piano and orchestral tuttis which ricocheted around the hall. The starting point of the piece is not without its own tragedy as Matthews describes: The origin of the work was a phone call from Richard Hickox in November 2008, full of his usual bubbly enthusiasm and proposing a Proms commission to celebrate the City of London Sinfonia’s 40th birthday. Like everyone, I was shocked to learn of his sudden death 3 days later. Richard conducted my first ever Proms perfomance, in 1983, and clearly the work had to be written in his memory. Scored for orchestra and two vocal soloists, the 25-minute work, No Man’s Land, is a moving and fitting testament to a man so much missed. The work received its world premiere in a first-rate performance by the City of London Sinfonia conducted by Stephen Layton. Singers Ian Bostridge and Roderick Williams poignantly and beautifully evoked the ghosts of two soldiers that hang on barbed wire; the audience (and critics) cheered for more.
‘Matthews has provided a strikingly atmospheric score, regularly drawing on the idioms (and sometimes the actual recordings) of marches and sentimental songs of the period in an approach that recalls Mahler’s use of similar material to equally ironic effect. The final impression is of a subject drawing something powerfully distinctive from Matthews in its alternation of detached emotional observation and compassion.’ The Guardian (George Hall), 22 August 2011
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…’[it] inhabits terrain familiar from Britten’s War Requiem, with a pair of soldiers, Captain Gifford and Sergeant Slack… musing on their wretched existence in the trenches and on the enemy, Fritz, but with a black humour foreign to Wilfred Owen. Behind the War Requiem lurk other ghosts: that of Mahler, whose incursions of popular music are echoed by Matthews, but also the Kurt Weill of Mahagonny in the use of a honky-tonk to accompany parodies of pub songs. But Matthews ventures even further into this, for him, new territory, with recordings integrated into his score. The fusion is achieved subtly, muted brass joining in imperceptibly. The very end devastatingly incorporates a rendering by Edna Thornton of “Oh! we don’t want to lose you”, exhorting men of valour to sign up for king and country.’ Evening Standard (Barry Millington), 22 August 2011
‘Matthews’s delicate, elegiac score is heard as if through a thick white gauze suffused with the scents and sounds of memory.’ The Observer (Fiona Maddocks), 28 August 2011
‘The music at the outset conjures up evanescent images that take shape as the piece progresses…Matthews deploys sounds redolent of his subject, be it an out-oftune piano or the gallows humour of wartime ballads, and he even calls on period recordings…Enhancing the music’s poignancy, these facets are woven in to the fabric of a piece that is imagined with a sure dramatic touch and a deeply affecting compassion. ‘ The Telegraph (Geoffrey Norris), 22 August 2011
photo: (bottom right) War memorial in Crewkerne, Somerset, (left) colin matthews © Maurice Foxall
Highlights ‘Grand Barcarolle’
‘Night Rides’ Matthews and the London Sinfonietta go back at least 25 years and during that time the ensemble has given numerous premieres of his works. This year is no exception; and in May the London Sinfonietta gave the world premiere of Matthews’s imaginative piece, Night Rides, as part of the 2011 Festival of Britain. The concert, entitled ‘Pavilions,’ came in the form of a journey through the landscape of British contemporary music, with figures both little-known and well-established represented. However, Matthews was undoubtedly the acclaimed veteran of the night, and in a programme that produced strong reactions, Night Rides got a number of positive press comments:
‘…Colin Matthews’s Night Rides made an absorbing debut: a sinister, galloping movement that pays homage to Sibelius, perhaps, and to Strauss in its downward-sweeping sunset music.’
The acclaimed conductor Riccardo Chailly has long championed Matthews’s music and Grand Barcarolle is Matthews’s response to an interesting challenge set by Chailly: to compose a companion piece to Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony. The piece will be premiered on 11.10.2011 by the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig and will then tour to the Musikverein, Vienna (18.10.2011) Salle Pleyel, Paris (29.10.2011) and the Barbican, London (01.11.2011). The Beethoven connection is nuanced, as Matthews explains: ‘My starting point for this piece was the fanciful thought of Beethoven returning to his Eighth Symphony 200 years later and realising that he had forgotten to write a slow movement. Not that there is any implication that this Grand Barcarolle could be inserted into the Eighth Symphony - stylistic considerations aside, that would be a pointless exercise. But I began by working with elements of the symphony, as well as of the roughly contemporary piano sonatas Op. 81a and 101, and composing some Beethoven pastiche of my own. This material was largely submerged in the process of composition, and I found to my surprise that another composer was coming to the surface: the first draft was in fact completed on the 100th anniversary of Mahler’s death. So perhaps appropriately a centenary as well as a bicentenary is commemorated here… ’
Movements for a Clarinet Concerto (Britten arr. Colin Matthews) Violin Concerto
The Guardian (Erica Jeal), 31 May 2011
‘…Colin Matthews’s Night Rides made an absorbing debut’ ‘Similarly long-term is Colin Matthews’s Night Rides (2011), its title close to Sibelius’s Night Ride and Sunrise (as Matthews acknowledges) and with similar “galloping” rhythms. Matthews’s glinting soundworld (including a digital piano and two alto flutes) is supported by pungent woodwinds (two bass clarinets part of the scene) and in the passages of craggy stillness (offsetting purposeful impetus) Pierre Boulez-like timbres seemed to enter, if peripherally, into the equation. Originally Matthews had a sunset element in his title, but suppressed it, so the windingdown of the coda may equate to such an image; this following much scintillation, a flugelhorn and soprano saxophone imbibing the listener with their distinctive tones. Night Rides is a rewarding 14 minutes’ worth. ‘
Debussy Preludes orch. Colin Matthews Les collines d’Anacapri Bruyères/La danse de Puck/Le vent dans la plaine Bruyères/La danse de Puck/La cathedral engloutie/La fille aux cheveux de lin/Feux d’artifice
www.classicalsource.com (Colin Anderson), 30 May 2011
The sketches for Night Rides date back to 2006, but the majority of the work was composed between 2009-2011. The piece was commissioned by the London Sinfonietta and is dedicated to Barry Till in recognition of his contribution to contemporary music. 3
Francisco Coll signs to Faber Music Faber Music is delighted to announce a publishing agreement with the young Spanish composer, Francisco Coll.
‘I have known Mr. Coll’s music for several years and have from the start been impressed by his ear for timbre and his highly personal sense of musical structure. His music displays an original and powerful sense of drama, and his ideas about music proceed from a strikingly individual and unusual mind.‘ Thomas Adès
‘Meeting him for the first time made a huge impression on me: he was a young artist with a strong belief, determination and his intentions as a composer were absolutely clear. Since that day I have seen Mr. Coll working continuously to ensure a craftsmanship in projecting his musical ideas and visions on the orchestral forces. Mr. Coll has by now the craftsmanship which will enable him to go on and succeed with large scale projects.’ Magnus Lindberg
Francisco Coll was born in Valencia in 1985. He is currently living in London where he is a fellow at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and a private pupil of Thomas Adès. To date, Coll has composed three works for orchestra, several pieces for large ensemble, and chamber and instrumental music. His latest piece was a clarinet quintet, Sguardo verso l’interno, for this year’s Aldeburgh (17th June), Aix-en-Provence (4th July) and Verbier (30th July) festivals. Recent projects have included a new piece, Piedras, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic which was premiered at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in April 2011 under the baton of Thomas Adès, and an octet for members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra for broadcast on BBC Radio 3. In 2010 Óxido, for soprano and ensemble was premiered at Wigmore Hall, London, under the baton of the composer. His music has attracted many prizes and accolades, and the following comments:
Piedras
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photo:(above) francisco coll, (background) coll’s own painting ‘Cuando el niño era niño’
The future holds much for Coll. As well as an upcoming performance with the London Sinfonietta on 5th November (see below), Coll has been appointmented composer in residence with the Jove Orquestra de la Generalitat Valenciana. They are one of the few Spanish orchestras to have a composer-in-residence position and Coll will write two commissions for them in 2012. The first will be a piano concerto for Nicholas Hodges, which will be premiered in April 2012. The second piece will be for large orchestra and chorus and will be premiered in July 2012. Both pieces will be commercially recorded. For more information on Francisco Coll please take a look at www.fabermusic.com or contact promotion@ fabermusic.com, or call +44 (0)20 7908 5311 /12
Works now available from Faber Music include:
Highlights
An interview with Francisco Coll Faber Music has been thrilled to welcome you on board. How do you feel about this recent signing? I am extremely happy! I feel very proud to be part of this family, and I am looking forward to working together. It has come at a perfect time for me, because now I am around people who really understand how to help young composers develop.
What is most important to you and your music: a sense of the past, the present or the future? When I write music I look more to the past than to the future. This I believe is also a postmodern idea; Jürgen Habermas sees the postmodern as “young conservative”. When starting a new piece, I often find that the first idea I have is very conventional, it is only when I am developing ideas through the piece, that things become less conventional. Another important aspect to me is my fascination with ruins. For me ruins are not the end of something. In fact I think ruins are a wonderful starting point; it is at the moment you part from them, that you can find something new. I have been impressed by various remains of ancient buildings, but especially the ruins of ancient houses in small villages in the Meseta area of Spain. These images have always excited me, and I think this is a strong aspect in my own music. The first piece I wrote with this idea in mind was my Piano Quartet Cuando el niño era niño (2007), but now I think I have a clearer idea of the concept and I can apply it with more confidence in my current music.
This seems a very visual image. Do you always visualise what you are composing? My compositions have what may seem an unusual starting point: painting has been my passion since childhood, and I still create a canvas before translating my images into music. Colours rule, they determine what music I write. All year I have been exploring a new way of thinking: I would like to write a type of piece that is ‘more clean,’ i.e. with more clarity, and with simpler skills. I was in Paris with the great Spanish painter Miquel Barceló in May. We were speaking about art in general, and then he explained one of his obsessions: the act of “un-paint”. It is a mix of philosophical thoughts and more technical terms, but essentially it involves doing the opposite to your habitual process. The objective is to get gradually a more crystallised atmosphere. I plan to put this into practice in a piece I will write for large orchestra next year for the Jove Orquestra de la Generalitat Valencia. Although the piece is for large forces, I will aim for the transparencies of chamber music. The idea is just to clean your music; to clean your thoughts. I think this also comes from my admiration of composers like Tomás Luis de Victoria.
What is it in particular about Victoria that you admire? Always present in my mind is the powerful impact of polyphonic counterpoint, and my principal model is Tomás Luis de Victoria. I enjoy the beauty of his melodic lines and the simplicity of his music, but the strongest aspect for me, is the clarity in his music. I admire the transparencies and the colours he uses. In fact this is an important model for my own work, and I am looking for this kind of clarity in my current pieces.
What about contemporary composers? You have had some high profile teachers, Magnus Lindberg, Colin Matthews and, currently, Thomas Adès. How have their different compositional styles influenced you? I first met Colin Matthews and Magnus Lindberg in 2009. From the beginning they believed in my work, and they didn’t try to influence the way I was writing, but rather encouraged me to keep going in my own way. For instance, during my first contact with Magnus Lindberg we spoke about musical perspectives and my obsession with extremes; he encouraged me to explore this even more in order to achieve a kind of ‘3D music.’ This is a concept I applied in my song for soprano and small ensemble, Óxido. Thomas Adès was an early influence. I can remember that I had a kind of shock the first time I listened his music; I had the feeling of finding something completely refreshing and this was important to me. Until that moment I had only been impressed by painters, but never by contemporary composers. It was at this point that I decided to contact Adès. He suggested I come to London to study with him in private and also to study at the Guildhall School on Richard Baker’s composition masters course. I was lucky again when I met Mr Baker, because he believed in my work and it was possible to develop my musical ideas with him.
Coll’s own paiting ‘Hidd’n Blue’ which inspired his piece of the same title. 5
Tansy Davies crosses boundaries Rave reviews for ‘Troubairitz’ CD The much-awaited release of Tansy Davies’s album Troubairitz in March on the nonclassical label has got the music world - classical and non - talking. Davies and the innovative club night cum record label nonclassical have much in common; both are unafraid to push boundaries, challenge expectations and ignore any attempt to fix genre. The album Troubairitz sees the shared vision of all these groups collide in a kaleidoscope of sound and colour.
‘…Davies, you feel, is completely at home underground with hallucinogenic lights and hard-driven rhythms. Yet she’s also a composer who shapes her notes with the adventurous timbres and clarity of contemporary music’s avant-garde… Abrasive and abrupt, it’s both classical and non-classical, infused with funk and alternative rock, and it fills this exuberant new CD.’ The Times (Geoff Brown), 1 April 2011
The diverse album features Davies’s twisted funk hybrids neon, Salt Box, inside out 2, and Grind Show (electric) alongside the songs of the troubairitz, the female counterpart to the twelfth-century troubadours, and six remixes by Gabriel Prokofiev.
‘Note to chamber ensembles everywhere: commission Tansy to create new works; your audiences will dig her music.’ Exclaim.ca (Glen Hall), 28 March 2011
‘neon is like a Vespa ride through downtown on a Saturday night: lots of rhythmic verve, driving motifs, iridescent colours and intriguing alleyways. Salt Box is a mysterious walkabout exploring aspects of the Kent shoreline with oriental-ish reed lines, insistent bass clarinet interjections, curious, scuttling electronics and a magnetic character…’ Exclaim.ca (Glen Hall), 28 March 2011
‘Tansy Davies’s neon and inside out 2 can’t help but recall Stravinsky’s 1940s commission for Woody Herrmann’s orchestra, the Ebony Concerto. There’s an idiomatic use of rich, low-pitched sounds (plenty of bassoon and bass clarinet), and insidious, catchy dance rhythms bounce away in the bass…this is music with unsettling power and immediacy.’ www.theartsdesk.com (Graham Rickson), 8 April 2011
‘…a pungent musical language distinctly her own.’ The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 14 April 2011
Davies at the Spitalfields Festival Troubairitz was given another chance to shine at this year’s Spitalfields Festival. In a bold move the festival, known for its award-winning programming and outreach work, asked nonclassical to curate their daily ‘sandwich filler’ concerts in London’s bustling Bishops Square. One of the highlights was their concert devoted to Tansy Davies’s chamber music. Office workers, children and tourists might not be the typical audience for contemporary music, but all stopped to listen to Davies’s captivating compositions:
‘In the middle of a busy lunch hour near Liverpool Street Station, one would not generally expect to encounter a performance of a monophonic setting of translated 12th-century French poetry… Davies’ text is a collection of seven translations (or ‘adaptations’) by Derek Mahon of 12th-century songs by ‘trobairitz’, or female troubadours. In its sparsity and stateliness, the composition owes much to a sort of pseudo-medieval aesthetic, but the composer follows the poet in drawing us towards moments which jar historically: one song climaxes with the line ‘I fancy him the most’, an arresting thing to hear in a medieval poem. The subtle, winding chromaticism in the vocal line likewise offers a surreal perspective on the work’s medievalism, creating a strange mesh of old and new. Glancing around at all the busy passers-by in suits… only made things stranger. And certainly, the setting made the song cycle’s sober final line resonate: ‘I walk alone in a green wood with no man at my side.’ www.culturewars.org.uk (Paul Kilbey), 2 July 2011
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photo: tansy davies © Maurice Foxall
Highlights
Nicholas Maw tribute Nicholas Maw remains fondly remembered and two and a half years on from his death he will be honored by a tribute concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London (30th Oct 2011).
It is unfortunate then, that since his death, Maw’s works have not received the high profile performances they once had, and it is hoped that the memorial will reverse this unjust neglect. The Queen Elizabeth Hall performance will feature major milestones of Maw’s career including the Concert Suite from his masterful opera Sophie’s Choice championed by Paul Driver of The Sunday Times as ‘one of the most compelling operas I have ever seen’, the Violin Concerto which Financial Times critic Andrew Clark described as ‘glorious affirmation of how to pursue Romantic tradition in contemporary form’, alongside the beautifully haunting choral pieces One foot in Eden still, I stand and Hymnus. For anyone wishing to get to know Maw’s music, or for those wanting to savour it once more, this is a concert not to be missed.
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Selected forthcoming performances Eden
3.11.11, City Halls, Glasgow, United Kingdom: Ilan Volkov/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra 4.11.11, The Music Hall, Aberdeen, United Kingdom: Ilan Volkov/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Piano Etudes Nos. 1-3/Prayer
5.11.11, Music Hall, Aberdeen University, United Kingdom: Scott Dickinson
Bearded Lady, The
5.11.11, Music Hall, Aberdeen University, United Kingdom: Joanna Nicholson/Simon Smith
Fantasias
3.12.11, Royal Festival Hall, London, United Kingdom: London Philharmonic Orchestra/Vladimir Jurowski
New work
(World premiere) 24.3.12, Royal Festival Hall, London, United Kingdom: London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Mark Elder
Past Hymns
13.4.12, Royal Festival Hall, London, United Kingdom: London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony
21.5.12, Cologne Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany: Gürzenich Orchestra/Markus Stenz
Julian Anderson Final ‘Music of Today’ Concert After nine years of insightful, absorbing and thought-provoking programming, Julian Anderson’s final season as Artistic Director of the Philharmonia’s Music of Today series came to a close in May. Not one to bow out quietly, Anderson chose Kurtág’s extraordinary Messages of the Late Miss R. V. Troussova for his final concert in this ground-breaking series. Performers, directors and critics all paid tribute to Anderson’s leadership:
‘Julian’s time at the helm of the Music of Today series has been one of rich artistic exploration and he has brought inspiring programmes and talented performers to the London stage. Contemporary music is something to be championed, but also carefully nurtured; Julian has done this with passion and tenacity over many years. My heartfelt thanks go to Julian, who I believe is one of the leading composers alive today, and I wish him every success for the future.’ Esa-Pekka Salonen, Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor, Philharmonia Orchestra
‘…one of the leading composers alive today…’ ‘Julian’s contribution to the series has been outstanding over the last nine years, providing an artistically rich and musically adventurous programme that has developed the series’ profile as one of the most important and respected contemporary music programmes in the UK. Julian has taken us on a journey of exploration and discovery, an imaginative introduction to the newest sounds of today’s composers…’ David Whelton, Managing Director, Philharmonia Orchestra
‘This is Julian Anderson’s final season as artistic director and presenter of the Philharmonia’s Music of Today series… Anderson presided over the opening concert with the mixture of forthright warmth and scholarly insight that has characterised his directorship of the project for the last decade.’ The Guardian (Tim Ashley), 1 October 2010
London Philharmonic Orchestra
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After his many years of service with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Anderson is now working closely with another of London’s top orchestras, the LPO, as their composer-in-residence. The residency began last season with the performance of a fanfare for the Royal Society’s 350th Anniversary celebrations at Southbank Centre in June 2010, and with highly praised performances of The Stations of the Sun and The Crazed Moon. PHOTO: julian anderson © Maurice Foxall
‘The Stations of the Sun [is] an elaborate orchestral fantasy where the brilliance of the notes themselves count for more than the reasons for them being there…a decade of contemporary music’s continuing obsession with texture and effect has thrown the emotional subtext of this terrific piece into higher relief. You feel something when you hear it; the elaborate orchestral gestures (and you can hear why it wowed the 1998 Prom audience) unlock our imaginations; a beautiful violin melody proliferating into free variations is something you want to go back to.’ The Independent (Edward Seckerson), 16 December 2010
‘The Crazed Moon (1997) is among Julian Anderson’s more oblique yet equally personal works. Its commemorative aspect comes through in the sombre processionals that lead up to and away from its central climax - which latter unfolds with a luminosity and eloquence that surely invokes more elemental and also transcendent concerns. The piece… may yet come to be regarded among Anderson’s finest.’ www.classicalsource.com (Richard Whitehouse), 20 March 2011
This season, Anderson’s works once again make a notable appearance: the 23-minute work Fantasias (2009) will be played on 3rd December 2011, Past Hymns (1996),which lasts ten minutes, on 13th April 2012 and on 24th March 2012 the orchestra will perform a specially commissioned set of pieces by Anderson, under the expert baton of Sir Mark Elder.
New London Singers In addition to his orchestral music, Anderson is known for the quality of his vocal writing, notably Bell Mass (2010), Alleluia (2007) and Four American Choruses (2003). It comes as no surprise then that the dynamic, young choir, New London Singers, have chosen to appoint him as their patron and advisor.
tuning in TUNING IN Selected forthcoming performances
John Woolrich
Ulysses Awakes
‘Ulysses Awakes is a paraphrase of Monteverdi, in which a solo viola (Catherine Marwood here) sings the hero’s first great aria from The Return of Ulysses, and 10 more strings surround it with echoes of that early baroque world. It’s a powerfully effective piece, which manages to be utterly faithful to the spirit of Monteverdi and yet entirely part of Woolrich’s musical world, too. …Capriccio… is pure Woolrich. A miniature violin concerto in one movement, it careers along from one abrasive musical idea to the next, before gathering itself into a fierce motoric climax and finally collapsing from exhaustion. It’s a brilliant display piece…’ The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 1 July 2011
King’s Place ‘Woolrich & Friends’ festival Over three consecutive nights this summer ‘John Woolrich & friends’ took over London’s Kings Place. Woolrich was lucky enough to count three of the UK’s most exciting groups - the Scottish Ensemble, London Sinfonietta and Britten Sinfonia - as his ‘friends’ for the series. As the composer explains, these groups have been very important to his music: ‘When I look back over my catalogue, most of my commissions have come, one way or another, from players, which is quite flattering. It suggests that people who’ve played my music have thought, “That piece was quite nice, I’d like another piece”. For these concerts, I wanted to invite ensembles that I’ve worked with down the years and with whom I have a relationship.’ (John Woolrich)
For both the Scottish Ensemble and the Britten Sinfonia, the King’s Place concerts were a chance to re-explore their own Woolrich commissions: Capriccio (2009) (15 minutes) was written for the Scottish Ensemble and Jonathan Morton, who premiered it at the Cadogan Hall in August 2009. Likewise, Quiddities (2005) (10 minutes) was written for the Britten Sinfonia and Nicholas Daniel and was first played at the West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge in 2005. Alongside his own works Woolrich was able to showcase the extraordinarily varied musical landscape in which his music sits: Mozart, Wolf, Schoenberg, Messiaen and Thomas Adès.
6.10.11, Orebro, Sweden: Swedish Chamber Orchestra/ Brett Dean
8.10.11, Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall, Vilnius, Lithuania: Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra/Maxim Rysanov 12.10.11, Melbourne Festival, Australia: Maxim Rysanov/ Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra 16 & 18.10.11, Valladolid, Spain: Maxim Rysanov/Orchestra Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon
Capriccio
(Italian premiere) 17.10.11, Concert Hall, Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, Turin, Italy: Orchestra da Camera di Archi
‘His suite of Hugo Wolf songs, arranged for string orchestra without voice, were lush and absorbing to hear first time… Capriccio is really a quite substantial violin concerto, one which keeps you guessing as it proceeds… Woolrich’s compelling A Presence of Departed Acts, [is] built from “eleven clangorous piano chords”, its rigorous construction easy for the ear to follow… ‘ www.musicalpointers.co.uk (Peter Grahame Woolf), 1 July 2011
First season at helm of Dartington International Summer School As his King’s Place series demonstrates, Woolrich is no stranger to the art of interesting programming and his first season as Artistic Director of the Dartington International Summer School has been a perfect example of this talent. Over the years Dartington has been the setting for some extraordinary concerts and some incredible figures: Stravinsky, Berio, Tippett, Lutosławski, to name but a few. This year was no exception with Oliver Knussen, Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Dame Emma Kirkby, Stephen Kovaceivich and Betsy Jolas all gracing Dartington’s hallowed buildings and beautiful lawns.
‘If all this suggests that Woolrich has his head buried in the past, nothing could be further from the truth. His selection of composers also includes Thomas Adès and Tansy Davies, whose work could only have been written today… It is a long journey from Monteverdi to Prince, but John Woolrich has mapped out a fascinating route. For those willing to follow him, there is no livelier guide.’ Kings Place Magazine (Nick Kimberley), May 2011
9 PHOTO: (TOP LEFT) John Woolrich © Maurice Fioxall, (BOTTOM RIGHT) Dartington International summer school © Alice carfrae
Selected Forthcoming Performances Lieux retrouvés
Thomas Adès
(Hungarian premiere) 1.10.11, Budapest, Hungary,
New String Quartet – ‘The Four Quarters’ In addition to the LA performance, Adès’ new string quartet The Four Quarters has been on a grand tour with the Emerson String Quartet. After the premiere at New York’s Carnegie Hall in March, the tour took in the cities of LA, Freiburg, Zürich, Basel, Paris, London and Denver, and the piece met with critical acclaim wherever it went.
5.10.11, Bonn, Germany: Denes Varjon/Steven Isserlis
Concerto for Violin 1.10.11, Hilbert Circle Theatre, Indianapolis, IN, USA: Leila Josefowicz /Indianapolis SO/ Larry Rachleff 12, 13.10.11, Southam Hall, NAC, Canada: Hannu Lintu/ National Arts Center Orchestra/ Leila Josefowicz 13, 14.10.11, Helsingborg, Sweden: Andrew Manze/ Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester/ Peter Herresthal 10.3.12, Stadthaus Winterthur, Germany: Musikkollegium Winterthur/Douglas Boyd 13.4.12, Perth Concert Hall, Perth, WA, Australia: Kurt Nikkanen/West Australian SO/ Paul Daniel
Dances from Powder Her Face 13.10.11, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK: Philharmonia Orchestra/Darrell Ang 10.1.12, Barbican Hall, London, UK: Antonio Pappano/London SO 10.2.12, Tonhalle, Zürich, Switzerland: Tonhalle Orchestra/ David Zinman 16.4.12, Davies Hall, San Francisco, CA, USA: Cleveland Orchestra/Franz Welser-Most
Living Toys 31.10.11, Wien Modern Festival, Vienna, Austria: London Sinfonietta/Franck Ollu
Concerto Conciso
(Singapore premiere) 9.11.11, The Esplanade Recital Studio, University of Singapore, Singapore: Thomas Hecht/ Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music New Music Ensemble/ Chan Tze Law
Powder Her Face 11, 12.11.11, Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center, Houston, USA: Opera Vista
Aspects of Adès Festival The consummate talent of composer, conductor and pianist Thomas Adès is a rare thing, and in April the Los Angeles Philharmonic took the opportunity to celebrate the many sides of this unique musician in their ‘Aspects of Adès’ festival. Many key works by Adès were featured including a performance of the mighty 14-minute work Polaris (2010), the LA premiere of his new string quartet The Four Quarters (2010), as well as older works such as In Seven Days (2008) and Concerto Concisco (1997). These pieces were programmed in interesting juxtaposition with the music of those that have influenced Adès - Stravinsky, Nancarrow, Messiaen, Debussy et al. - as well as those that he sees as the future, such as his pupil Francisco Coll. This inventive presentation of twentieth-century classics brought out Adès music to startling effect:
‘Adès’ In Seven Days… It’s Stravinskian, in a way. It’s also Ligetian, Tippetian, Nymanian, Nancarrowian, Rachmaninoffian, Knussenian, Janacekian. A dozen more silly-sounding adjectives from composer names… might be added to this dazzlingly inventive score… Every measure of the score is a surprise. Sometimes the rhythms get incredibly complex. Sometimes the strings are sweetly Baroque and the brass can become majestically hymnal in their chorales.’ LA Times (Mark Swed), April 2, 2011
Darknesse Visible 28.11.11, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, UK: Thomas Adès
Court Studies from The Tempest
Asyla/Concerto for Violin/Tevot
20.12.11, Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam/ Concertgebouw Orchestra
In Seven Days/Tevot
Polaris
Concerto for Violin/Three Studies from Couperin
5, 7, 10.1.12, Avery Fischer Hall, New York, USA: New York PO/ Alan Gilbert (UK Premiere) 17.2.12, The Barbican Centre, London, UK: New York PO/ Alan Gilbert
The Tempest 14, 16, 18.3.12, Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA: Curtis Institute of Music
In Seven Days
Concerto for Violin/Les baricades mistérieuses/Three Studies from Couperin Asyla/Scenes from The Tempest
10 PHOTO: Thomas Adès © brian voce
‘Thomas Adès’s new quartet, The Four Quarters… charts the diurnal course with its first three movements entitled Nightfalls, Morning Dew and Days. Naturalistic touches such as the dewdrops on pizzicato strings are counterbalanced by a self-conscious cerebralism. The latter reaches its apogee in the finale, headed The Twenty-Fifth Hour, where the mercifully unprecedented time signature of 25/16 tests the metrical precision of the players. The draggy lilt of Adès’s intricate rhythms, nicely caught, is an attractive feature.’ Evening Standrard (Barry Millington), 8 April 2011
‘Ghosts of Bartok’s night music flit across the music, as do memories of Ligeti’s mad helterskelter constructions, and also Elliott Carter’s intriguing way of pairing the instruments off and making them proceed in semi-ignorance of each other… Adès’s tendency to tease out spirals of sidestepping motions - like a musical version of Escher’s endless staircase - was still there, as was his way of leading pieces to a luminously euphonious close. Overall the piece seemed interestingly suggestive rather than weighty, but none the worse for that.’ The Telegraph (Ivan Hewett), 8 April 2011
Concertgebouw debut Following on from the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Adès festival, this year’s Holland Festival also had a Thomas Adès focus. The events culminated in Adès’s debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, on 17th June, in a concert featuring three of his own works: Polaris (2010), Tevot (2007) and his Violin Concerto (2005). The three pieces have already received high profile performances from the likes of the Berlin Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, but as one critic rightly highlighted, these are pieces destined to last and become much-loved orchestral fare:
‘This was one of those concerts that make the listener, or at least me, glad to be alive… Thomas Adès is rightly considered one of the most talented composers of our age, and it will surprise (and mostly disappoint) me if all three of these works do not become part of the standard orchestral repertoire.’ ypgtcm.blogspot.com (Renée Reitsma),19 June 2011
TUNING IN Selected forthcoming performances
Malcolm Arnold
Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra
Sir Malcolm Arnold’s 90th anniversary time to celebrate!
24.9.11, Windsor Festival, United Kingdom: Valeriy Sokolov/ Students of the Yehudi Menuhin School/Charles Siem/Malcolm Singer
2011 marks the 90th anniversary of Sir Malcolm Arnold’s birth, and this grand figure of British music will be commemorated in several events up and down the country.
The Three Musketeers
Malcolm Arnold Festival The Symphonies (21-23 October)
27.9.11, Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet, Vilnius, Lithuania: Estonian National Ballet
In Northampton, Sir Malcom Arnold’s birthplace, there will be an impressive festival devoted to the composer. This will include an exciting and rare opportunity to hear all of Sir Malcolm Arnold’s symphonies, as well as fascinating talks about Arnold’s life and music, over three consecutive days at the Royal & Derngate on 21st-23rd October.
‘The Malcolm Arnold Festival will be celebrating Sir Malcolm’s 90th with an appropriately grand gesture! The Festival will include all of his nine symphonies. Arnold was undoubtedly a major symphonist: his very personal sense of musical structure and development and his selfproclaimed announcement that ‘all my music is autobiographical’ make these works enormously important within the corpus of 20th century British Music. I envisage the weekend not as a series of concerts but as one continuous musical experience which will also include other contemporary works, talks, discussions and general celebratory offerings!’ Paul Harris, Artistic Director of the Malcolm Arnold Festival
Sir Malcolm Arnold Festival - The Film Music (28-30 October) As well as his prodigious symphonic output, Sir Malcom Arnold was also a prolific composer of film scores, with almost 100 cinematic projects and an Oscar to his name. Plymouth University have chosen to explore this extraordinary part of Arnold’s career in their own festival of his film music on 28th-30th October. Few people might realise that Sir Malcolm Arnold wrote scores for some of the absolute classics of British cinema and the festival will showcase some of the best: Whistle Down the Wind (1961), The Belles of St. Trinians (1954), Hobson’s Choice (1954) and Bridge on the River Kwai (1957),
Concerto for Clarinet No 2
8.10.11, St Anne’s Church, Kew Green, Surrey, United Kingdom: Kew Sinfonia Concert/Marc Dooley/Anthony Lamb
Concerto for Clarinet No 2
for which Sir Malcolm Arnold one an Oscar. As well as these must-see screenings, there will be a chance to lift the lid on Sir Malcolm Arnold’s personal life in Towards the Unknown Region, filmmaker Tony Palmer’s moving and frank documentary of this most underestimated, yet popular composer. Finally, there will also be opportunities for audiences to hear Arnold’s music live in two concerts that feature his orchestral music and chamber music respectively.
Sir Malcolm Arnold Festival - The Chamber Music (27 November) The Sir Malcolm Arnold celebrations will continue in London with the young and talented Berkeley Ensemble at The Forge, Camden on 27th November. This time the focus will be Arnold’s chamber music, and as Paul Cott of the Berkley Ensemble rightly points out, these are works that deserve just as much attention as the symphonies:
15.10.11, United Reformed Church Northampton, United Kingdom: Northampton Concert Orchestra/David Chambers/ Andrew Kirkwood
Symphony No 6
8.10.11, St Martins Church, Acton, United Kingdom: Ealing Symphony Orchestra/John Gibbons 22.10.11, Derngate Theatre, Northampton, United Kingdom: Ealing Symphony Orchestra/ John Gibbons
Symphony No 7
23.10.11, Malcolm Arnold Festival, Royal & Derngate, Northampton, United Kingdom: Hull Philharmonic Orchestra/ Andrew Penny
Symphony No 8
23.10.11, Malcolm Arnold Festival, Royal & Derngate, Northampton, United Kingdom: East Riding YO/Andrew Penny
‘Remembered today for his colourful orchestral scores, Malcolm Arnold wrote eloquently for smaller forces in a series of chamber works of surprising intimacy. Join the ensemble in a journey through Arnold’s neglected chamber legacy, from the Oboe Quartet - by turns serene and comical - to his haunted masterpiece, the String Quartet No. 2.’ Paul Cott, Berkeley Ensemble
11 PHOTO: (TOP Right) malcolm arnold, (Bottom) Berkley Ensemble © Anna Gudaniec
Benjamin Britten - selected forthcoming performances The Company of Heaven
24.9.11, Church of St Michael, Zug, Switzerland: Ensemble St Michael/Henk Geuke 25.9.11, Jacobinjerkerk, Leeuwarden, Netherlands: Kamerkoor Capella ‘92/Tetsje van der Kooi/Harry van Berne 26.9.11, RK Kerk, Heerenveen, Netherlands: Kamerkoor Capella ‘92/Tetsje van der Kooi/Harry van Berne 1.10.11, Kaiser-WilhelmGedachtniskirche Berlin, Germany: Berliner BachAkademie/Heribert Breuer
Benjamin Britten
David Matthews
‘Phaedra’ - the opera Britten never wrote
Matthews in Germany
Benjamin Britten’s late, 15-minute cantata Phaedra (1975) might well have been a full-scale opera had Britten not been suffering from the illness that eventually was to lead to his death in 1976. Despite this, the piece remains a masterpiece in Britten’s late period. Up to now, Phaedra hasn’t yet achieved the fame of Britten’s operas, but this may well change as a result of the glowing reviews and wide admiration for Sarah Connolly’s recent Chandos recording of the work, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Edward Gardner.
David Matthews’s growing reputation in Germany sees him invited to be Composer-in-Redisdence at the prestigious Fuerstensaal Classix Chamber Music Festival in Kempten, 21st-25th September. Oliver Triendl, Artistic Director and pianist comments:
Editors Choice, Gramophone, July 2011
Curlew River
6 & 7.10.11, Sir Jack Lyons Theatre, Royal Academy of Music, London, United Kingdom: Royal Academy Opera & Sinfonia/cond. Peter Robinson
Radio 3 CD review: disc of the week, July 2011
Movements for a Clarinet Concerto 22.10.11, Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI, USA: La Crosse Symphony Orchestra/Alexander Platt
Phaedra
13.11.11, Locle & Neuchatel, Switzerland: Ensemble Symphonique de Neuchatel 17.11.12, Theatre Royal, Norwich, United Kingdom: Britten Sinfonia 19.11.12, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge, United Kingdom: Britten Sinfonia 22.11.12, Wigmore Hall, London, United Kingdom: Britten Sinfonia
David Matthews - Selected forthcoming performances Piano Quintet
21.9.11, ‘Fürstensaal Classix’, Kempten, Germany: Juhani Lagerspetz/kai vogler/Solve Sigerland/Eniko Magyar/ Julian Arp
Horn Quintet
22.9.11, ‘Fürstensaal Classix’, Kempten, Germany: Hervé Joulain/Solve Sigerland/Antti Tikkanen/Philip Dukes/Josephine Knight
Fifteen Fugues
23.9.11, ‘Fürstensaal Classix’, Kempten, Germany: kai vogler
The Flaying of Marsyas
25.9.11, ‘Fürstensaal Classix’, Kempten, Germany: Olivier Doise/ Natalia Lomeiko/Antti Tikkanen/ Lise Berthaud/Martti Rousi
Actaeon
11.10.11, Little Missenden Festival, United Kingdom: Counterpoise Ensemble
‘The Chandos disc is dominated by Phaedra, the wonderfully moody and compact cantata Britten wrote for Janet Baker at the end of his life, …Sarah Connolly reveals Phaedra’s stature, summoning such word-sensitivity, rhetorical flourish and classical poise that you wonder why this remarkable piece is not heard more often in the concert hall. Better still the stage: Connolly turns Racine’s heroine into the protagonist of an imaginary monodrama.’ Financial Times (Andrew Clark), 28 May 2011
‘From the first, arresting, bell-stroke of Phaedra this captivates the attention. This memorable work from the last year of Britten’s life was written for Janet Baker, whose own recording with the ECO and Steuart Bedford is an essential cornerstone of any Britten collection. Sarah Connolly is tremendous in this new recording too…’ International Record Review (Nigel Simeone ), May 2011
‘in Sarah Connolly the wonderful late cantata Phaedra finds a dramatically bold and interpretively distinctive champion. Warmly recorded and urgently recommended.’ Classical Music Magazine (Guy Weatherall), May 2011
‘the latest work is the dramatic cantata Phaedra, composed for Janet Baker and one of the minor masterpieces of Britten’s last years.’ Gramophone Magazine (Richard Fairman), July 2011
‘This is an extremely taut and economical work, very intense, and emotionally charged.’ www.prestoclassical.co.uk, July 2011
12 photo: david matthews © maurice foxall
‘We are happy that David Matthews, one of Britain’s leading composers, will be the festival’s Composer-in-Residence. We present several of his major chamber music works (many of which will be played in Germany for the first time), as well as the world premiere of his latest song cycle Lebensregeln - 8 Songs after Goethe.’ Symphony recordings continue to impress Excellent reviews and accolades continue to surround David Matthews’s cycle of symphony recordings on the Dutton label. In May the premiere recording of Matthews’s Second and Sixth symphonies (Dutton CDLX7234) won a BBC Music Magazine award. This stunning recording with Jac van Steen and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales only adds to Matthews’s reputation as one of the most formidable living British symphonists. As van Steen has himself remarked:
‘David’s symphony takes the English symphonic tradition a big step into the 21st Century. I hope this award will make people sit up and listen to a wonderful work.’ BBC Music Magazine (Jac van Steen/Ross Cohen), May 2011
Last in the Dutton series, and eagerly awaited, is Matthews’s Seventh Symphony which was recently recorded by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under John Carewe. The 20-minute work was commissioned by the BBC Philharmonic and partnered with Mahler Seventh at its premiere in the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester in 2010. On the disc, the symphony will be partnered with Matthews’s Vespers, a substantial and impressive work for mezzo and tenor soli, SATB chorus and orchestra.
TUNING IN
Tansy Davies
Oliver Knussen
Tansy Davies - selected forthcoming performances Streamlines
30.6.12, Westminster Central Hall, London, United Kingdom: Orange County High School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra/ Christopher Russell
Oliver Knussen - Selected forthcoming performances Flourish with Fireworks
(Korean premiere) 7.10.11, Seoul Arts Centre, South Korea: Ilan Volkov/Ars Nova
Hums and Songs of Winnie the Pooh 8.10.11, Arts Centre, Bridport, United Kingdom: Kokoro/Mark Forkgen
Remember ‘Wild Card’?
‘Where the Wild Things Are’ in Holland
Where the Wild Things Are
14 & 15.1.12, Apeldoorn, Netherlands: stichting Nationaal Jeugd Orkest/Dario Fo Chorus/ Anthony Hermus/DNOA Opera/ Timothy Nelson (director) 16.1.12, de Tamboer, Hoogeveen, Netherlands: stichting Nationaal Jeugd Orkest/Dario Fo Chorus/Anthony Hermus/DNOA Opera/Timothy Nelson (director)
‘Tansy Davies’s Wild Card was the certainly the most startling, ear-tickling of this season’s premieres… [a] parade of brilliantly etched musical images… made of piled-up rhythmic tics clothed in low growling sonorities, with angular melodies tiptoeing above.’
21.1.12, Dr Anton Philipszaal, Den Haag, Netherlands: stichting Nationaal Jeugd Orkest/Dario Fo Chorus/Anthony Hermus/DNOA Opera/Timothy Nelson (director) 15, 18, 20, 26.4.12, Stadttheater Bielefeld, Germany: Premiere Stadttheater Bielefeld
‘This 37-year-old is one of the bright lights of the new-music scene… the piece was a riot of cunningly-contrived blown, shaken, plucked, and struck textures…’ ‘The careful shading and subtle pointing of Davies’s more playful riffs helped, with shards of melody and small groups of texture jostling for position as the cards shuffled… Davies’s attention to detail and cross-genre fertilisation proved an intriguing listen…’ ‘The Devil’s stuttering dance pattern, on low winds punctuated by an itchy rattle, opens the work and provides one of its most distinctive ideas, as well as introducing the kind of misaligned rhythmic patterns in which Davies delights…Skilfully sparing with her use of a large orchestra, Davies creates an intriguing soundworld that never rests for long.’
Celebrating Sixty!
13 PHOTO: (Top left) tansy davies © maurice foxall, (top right) Oliver knussen © maurice foxall
Selected forthcoming performances Duet
George Benjamin
20 & 21.9.11, Kiel & Berlin, Germany: Junge Deutsche Philharmonie/Lothar Zagrosek/ Martin Helmchen
Once again Benjamin has collaborated with playwright Martin Crimp, with whom he created Into the Little Hill. It was said at the time that the two formed an especially close artistic partnership and if their first project is anything to go by, this latest opera will be equally special. The pair share a strong creative connection, as Benjamin once mentioned in a Guardian interview:
3, 4 & 5.11.11, Washington, DC, USA: Peter Serkin/National Orchestra/Oliver Knussen/Peter Serkin
Dance Figures
9 & 10.10.11, Auftakt, Frankfurt, Germany: Frankfurter Museumorchester/Sebastian Weigle
A Mind of Winter 25.9.11, MUSICA, Cité de la musique et de la danse, Strasbourg, France: Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg/ Jean Deroyer 16.11.11, Theatre des Champs d’Elysees, Paris, France: Ensemble Orchestra de Paris/ Douglas Boyd/Lisa Larsson
Into the Little Hill 19 & 20.11.11, Clare College Chapel, Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University New Music Ensemble/William Cole
(Hungarian premiere) 5.12.11 Budapest, Umze Ensemble
Fantasia VII
10.3.12, Winterthur, Switzerland: Winterthur Musikkollegium/ Douglas Boyd
Shadowlines
5.4.12, Kaplan Penthouse, Lincoln Centre, New York, USA: Gilles Vonsattel
Antara
12.4.12, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands: Asko/ Schönberg/Etienne Siebens/ Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Palimpsests
27.4.12, Hamburg, Germany: NDR Sinfonieorchester/Pablo Heras-Casado
RPS award In May George Benjamin was awarded honorary membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society, one of the highest accolades in music. The RPS described him as “a consummate musician who enriches our lives” and highlighted the “virtuosity, integrity, care and consideration he brings to everything he does, whether as a pianist, teacher, spellbinding speaker, programmer or internationally acclaimed conductor”. Honorary Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society is given in recognition of outstanding services to music and has been awarded fewer than 130 times. Benjamin joins an illustrious list of Honorary Members that include Rossini (1839), Brahms (1882), Clara Schumann (1887), Stravinsky (1921) and Aaron Copland (1970). The RPS praised Benjamin’s long and acclaimed career:
‘It is now 30 years since the 20 year-old George Benjamin blazed in to public view with a performance of his Ringed by the Flat Horizon at the BBC Proms. Since then he has won over audiences worldwide with his finely crafted and uncannily beautiful, expressive music. He is a consummate musician and enriches our lives. The Royal Philharmonic Society is proud to make George Benjamin an Honorary Member.’
‘He is a consumate musician and enriches our lives.’ New opera ‘Written on Skin’ Following the enormous success of George Benjamin’s first opera Into the Little Hill (2006), the musical world has been waiting with baited breath for his next operatic creation. Much secrecy has surrounded the new work, on which the composer has been hard at work, but the title can now be revealed as Written on Skin. 14 PHOTO: george benjamin © Simon jay price
“There’s a ‘eureka!’ moment in the compositional process,” Benjamin says, when he knows that every note is in the right place and, suddenly, he has a piece. Crimp has expressed a similar view; he says he sees his plays (which include 1997’s Attempts On Her Life, a series of violent, abstract scenes including images of rape and disembowelment) as “a kind of filter: you pass life through it, and maybe the unpalatable things are what are left behind, but they have to make beautiful shapes”. For Crimp, it’s the form that matters - just as for Benjamin, there’s an abstract alchemy in the combinations of notes in his music.’ The Guardian (Tom Service), 12 February 2009
Written on Skin will premiered at the Aix en Provence Festival in July 2012, and will tour to no less than six other prestigious opera houses. The production will feature Barbara Hannigan (soprano), Bejun Mehta (countertenor), Christopher Purves (baritone), Victoria Simmonds (mezzo-soprano) and Alan Clayton (tenor), and the director will be Katie Mitchell. At the premiere the Mahler Chamber Orchestra will be conducted by the composer.
‘Written on Skin’ performances
TUNING IN Selected forthcoming peformances
Jonathan Harvey
Serenade
Harvey’s ‘modern masterpieces’ on Hyperion choral disc Harvey’s choral music has been gathering acclaim in another area. The recent release of Harvey’s major choral works - The Angels (1994), Ashes Dance Back (1997), Marahi (1999) and The Summer Cloud’s Awakening (2001) - with the esteemed Latvian Radio Choir, on the Hyperion label, has proved a major success,with critics acknowledging Harvey to be one the world’s leading, and most unique, choral composers.
‘Weltethos’ - the new Beethoven 9? A world-encompassing theme, a dazzling array of instruments and voices, a grandeur reminiscent of Beethoven’s Ninth, all performed by one of the world’s greatest orchestras and choirs; the premiere of Jonathan Harvey’s extraordinary work Weltethos will be an event like no other. Those lucky enough to have tickets will be able to hear the piece for the first time on 13th and 15th October 2011 in Berlin’s Phiharmonie played by the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle, alongside Simon Halsey’s Berlin Radio Choir. The piece will then launch the London 2012 Festival (marking the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad) on 21st June 2012 in Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Edward Gardner. Weltethos - or ‘world ethics’ - was commissioned by the radical theologian Hans Küng, who’s Global Ethical Foundation was set up to develop an ethical consensus that might one day foster peace throughout the world’s communities. The universal language of music is one important medium through which this might be achieved, and in Weltethos it is the choir who are vital in communicating this message. Harvey is already a world-renowned choral composer and this occassion will be another chance for him to work with the talented Berlin Radio Choir, for whom he wrote Messages in 2007.
“Because Harvey himself sang in a choir,” says Simon Halsey, “he knows how to write for the voice. Weltethos belongs to the tradition of Britten’s War Requiem and Tippett’s A Child of Our Time, and develops it further using the musical language of the 21st century. We greatly look forward to working with Jonathan Harvey again.” ‘Poly Vokant’ magazine of Rundkunkchor Berlin
‘This is weird and wonderful music… It’s notoriously difficult to judge new music objectively, but to my ears both Ashes and Awakening are visionary pieces, and have the makings of modern masterpieces. They require, and will undoubtedly repay, repeated listening… a magnificent argument for the ongoing, cutting-edge relevance of contemporary classical music.’ BBC Music Magazine (Terry Blain), June 2011
‘…the calm ecstasy emerging out of and back into the predominate stasis of The Angels is as much a continuation of the Anglican choral tradition as Ashes Dance Back is an outcome of Harvey’s involvement with eastern spirituality… The Summer Cloud’s Awakening again draws on Buddhist scripture… In its melding of sound and semantics, moreover, the piece anticipates the subtle orchestral transformation of speaking, while its expressive diversity looks forward to Wagner Dream… Warmly recommended.’ Gramophone Magazine (Richard Whitehouse), July 2011
Become totally immersed in Harvey In January 2012 London’s Barbican Centre will host the BBC’s important retrospective on Harvey.
26.9.11, Rotterdam (de Doelen), Netherlands: Codarts Hogeschool voor de Kunsten/Hans Leenders
Weltethos
(World premiere) 13.10.11, Berlin, Germany: Berliner Philharmoniker/Sir Simon Rattle 15.10.11, Berlin, Germany: Berliner Philharmoniker/Sir Simon Rattle
…towards a pure land
21.10.11, Dukes Hall, Royal Academy of Music, United Kingdom: Royal Academy of Music/Martyn Brabbins
Scena
1 & 4.11.11, Wien Modern, Musikverein, Germany: PHACE
Body Mandala
19.11.11, Grote Zaal, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands: Codarts Symphony Orchestra/Hans Leenders 27 & 28.1.12, Antwerp, Belgium: de Filharmonie/Otto Tausk
Tranquil Abiding
29.3.12, MuziekGebouw Amsterdam, Netherlands: Radio Kamer Filharmonie
Songs of Li Po
28.1.12, Total Immersion, Barbican Hall, London, United Kingdom: Guildhall Symphony Orchestra/ Richard Baker
Wagner Dream
(UK premiere) 29.1.12, Barbican Centre, London, United Kingdom: BBC Symphony Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins/Claire Booth/Richard Angas/Roderick Williams
Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco
3.3.12, Concert in het kader van de Museumnacht, Netherlands.
TOTAL IMMERSION PERFORMANCES Tranquil Abiding/Songs of Li Po/ Tombeaue de Messiaen/Calling Across Time
Ashes Dance Back / Marahi/Forms of Emptiness/ Come Holy Ghost/How could the coul not take flight
Body Mandala/Messages (London premiere)/ Madonna of Winter and Spring
Wagner Dream (UK premiere)
15 PHOTO: Jonathan Harvey © Maurice Foxall
Selected forthcoming performances smear
(USA premiere) 17.10.11, Sonic Festival, Miller Theatre, Columbia University, NY, USA: Estelle Lemire/Marie Bernard
48 Responses to Polymorphia
(UK premiere) 31.10.11, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, United Kingdom: BBC Concert Orchestra/Keith Lockhart
Doghouse
10.11.11, Birmingham, AL, USA: Alabama SO/Steve Hackman
Popcorn Superhet Receiver 14.1.12, Koger Center for the Arts, Columbia, SC, USA: South Carolina Philharmonic/Morihiko Nakahara
Jonny Greenwood ‘Norwegian Wood Suite’ premiered at BBC Proms A 10-minute orchestral suite from Greenwood’s score to Norwegian Wood was premiered in London’s Royal Albert Hall on 12th August, as part of the 2011 BBC Proms. A BBC commission, it was conducted by the BBC Concert Orchestra’s Music Director Keith Lockhart as part of a Film Music Prom, also broadcast on BBC 4 TV.
In May, Greenwood’s largest orchestral work to date, Doghouse, was the centrepiece of one of New York’s most innovative new music strands, the Wordless Music Series. To a packed and expectant house, conductor Brad Lubman, Signal and the Wordless Music Orchestra gave a thrilling account. Greenwood’s music garnered acclaim from the US ‘Jonny Greenwood’s Norwegian Wood showed the press and had been uploaded to YouTube within hours: Radiohead front-man’s Herrmann-like mastery of
‘… a formidable piece in an individual style.’
atmosphere…’ The Telegraph (Hugo Shirley), 15 August 2011
‘the performance was superb. I want to get a little better sounded as hypnotic as ever, its basic strand of material cycled round & round at different speeds…The entrance of the lower strings, a few minutes in, is magical, at first quieting the anxious tone of the upper strings, before getting caught up in their material as well… It’s a case of blink-&-you’ll-miss-it with central movement The Meadow, the Wind, the Trees; for barely more than 90 seconds a high violin note slowly starts to become a melody, while beneath, a series of rich string chords shift & alter. One’s attention is constantly pulled between the two, which feel connected yet somehow independent. Its brevity is no bad thing; as it is, it becomes a sliver of beauty; a lesser composer would seek to draw this out for considerably longer…Ziegler’s choice of Naoko Died to conclude the Suite is a bold & surprising one, abruptly changing the mood from overt lyricism to dark & unsettling texture music… Particularly outstanding were the movement’s two soloistic passages, for horn & cello; both emerged as, respectively, desperate and plaintive outbursts from a music that seemed impelled to slide ever down into a dark nadir.’ 5-against-4.blogspot.com (Simon Cummings), August 2011
‘48 Responses to Polymorphia’ launches at European Culture Congress in Wroclaw
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Wordless Music Series stage US premiere of ‘Doghouse’
48 Responses to Polymorphia, a 20-minute piece for 48 solo strings is premiered in Wroclaw (Poland) on 9th September, as part of the European Culture Congress. It will be performed by the AUKSO orchestra under Marek Mos in a concert that pays homage to the distinguished Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, one of Greenwood’s composing idols. Penderecki will also conduct Greenwood’s Popcorn Superhet Receiver in the same concert. Greenwood then travels to Warsaw, where he is to perform Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint at the Sacrum Profanum festival. The UK premiere of 48 Responses will take place as part of “Disturbia”, a Halloween-themed event being mounted by the BBC Concert Orchestra in London’s Southbank Centre on 31st October. PHOTO: jonny greenwood.
The Rest is Noise (Alex Ross), May 2011
‘…the players gave Mr Greenwood’s piece a gripping, nuanced performance… In a program note, Mr. Greenwood writes that he imagined his piece as a ramble through the faded scores of forgotten light music works and jingles in the BBC ensemble’s archives. That description shortchanges the piece, though it explains the rapid morphing - from lively modal passages to stretches of sustained string writing or pounding percussion and brass figures - that is among its principal charms. But the qualities that make the nearly 30-minute piece so consistently involving are its insistent drive and Mr. Greenwood’s intuitive use of dissonance and resolution.’ The New York Times (Allan Kozinn), 22 May 2011
‘…it’s not at all hard to conceive of Greenwood as one of modern classical’s foremost ambassadors…’ ‘… a hive of buzzing textures that eventually collapses into an exciting blast of D… it’s not at all hard to conceive of Greenwood as one of modern classical’s foremost ambassadors…’ www.villagevoice.com (Seth Colter Walls), May 2011
TUNING IN Selected forthcoming performances
Peter Sculthorpe
Djilile
23.9.11, ‘Fürstensaal Classix’, Kempten, Germany:
Sculthorpe at the City of London Festival True to its vision to explore well beyond the ‘square mile’, this year’s City of London Festival delved into the cultural heart of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. As one of Australia’s most important and prolific composers, Peter Sculthorpe, was an important feature of the festival, which showcased nine of Sculthorpe’s key works including the European premiere of Shining Island (2011) played by the Ruthless Jabiru Chamber Orchestra, a performance of Nourlangie (1989) by the English Chamber Orchestra, and a polished rendition of his String Quartet No.18 (2010) by the Goldner Quartet.
‘…Sculthorpe’s tendency to incorporate birdcalls into his music, [was] most clearly heard in Shining Island, composed by Sculthorpe as a tribute to the Polish composer Henryk Górecki… Small Town ornaments a light and easygoing melody with intimations of darker currents… Djilile presages the initial gloom of Shining Island with plaintive tone and string-based repetitions. These are attractive and intriguing works…’ www.classicalsource.com (Andrew Morris) 12 July 2011
‘[In] Peter Sculthorpe’s Earth Cry… the five players revealed the subtleties under a simple-seeming ritual interplay between didgeridu and quartet.’ The Telegraph (Ivan Hewett), 7 July 2011
‘Sculthorpe’s 18th Quartet was receiving its first London performance. Like so much of his music, it’s embedded in Australian natural history. This time, he depicts a land being destroyed by drought and global warming, yet one in which the birds continue to sing; it’s sombrely reflective and elegiac, with just a glimmer of optimism in the final movement.’ The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 11 July 2011
The festival also featured the London première of Sculthorpe’s Requiem (2003) - a performance that Richard Morrison (Times, 31 Dec 2010) flagged up as one of the artistic highlights of 2011. This unique and moving work was performed by the Choir of Southwark Cathedral, joined by Australia’s foremost didjeridu player, William Barton, in a version where the organ replaces the orchestral part.
‘Sculthorpe’s idiom is traditional yet personal in its adaptation of standard modes and gestures. Even in this version with organ accompaniment (the original uses a large orchestra), the straightforward sincerity of the writing came through… A memorial to Sculthorpe’s parents, the Requiem also pays homage to Aboriginal culture in its inclusion of a traditional lullaby forming an extra canticle movement and recurring in the final and uplifting Lux aeterna.’ The Guardian (George Hall), 6 July 2011
Sun Music III
23 & 24.9.11, Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide, SA: Symphony Services Australia/Arvo Volmer
Sun Song
15 & 16.8.12, Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, United Kingdom: Sydney Symphony Orchestra/Thomas Sanderling
Requiem
24.11.12, St Peter’s, Notting Hill, London, United Kingdom: The Addison Singers/David Wordsworth
Spanish honour Peter Sculthorpe has received the rare and prestigious honour of being made Comendador de la Orden de Isabel la Católica by H.M. the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I. The honour was conferred on him by the Spanish Ambassador to Australia at a ceremony in the Australian National Library in Canberra on 14th May 2011 (amidst the Canberra International Music Festival). Sculthorpe already holds an MBE, OBE, Order of Australia, and is one of Australia’s National Living Treasures
New piano work ‘Riverina’ Sculthorpe’s latest piano work, the charming 20-minute Riverina takes its name from the remote Riverina region of New South Wales. The first performance was given by Michael Kieran Harvey, at the opening recital of the 10th Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference, hosted by the Riverina Conservatorium of Music in Joyes Hall, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia, on 4th July 2011. The new piece was such a resounding success that the Riverina Conservatorium has made Sculthorpe a founding patron.
New book Gwyneth Barnes’s new book Peter Sculthorpe: an Australian composer’s influence was released in July. Using a series of interviews, the book explores the influence of this iconic figure in Australian music.
‘Requiem’ (2003), 40 minutes: Performance Possibilities 1) SATB chorus and orchestra, with optional didjeridu 2) SATB chorus and organ, with didjeridu and optional percussion (3 players) 3) SATB chorus and organ, with percussion (3 players) 4)
SATB chorus and organ
17 PHOTO: peter sculthorpe © peter hislop
Matthew Hindson - Selected forthcoming performances Rush
22.10.11, Sir John Clancy Auditorium, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia: Slava Grigoryan/Australia Ensemble
Concerto for Violin (Australian Postcards)
11.11.11, Oxnard Performing Arts Center, Oxnard, CA, USA: Lara St John/New West Symphony/Sarah Ioannides 12.11.11, The Bank of America Performing Arts Center at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Lara St John/New West Symphony/Sarah Ioannides 13.11.11, Barnum Hall, Santa Monica High School Campus, Santa Monica, CA, USA: Lara St John/New West Symphony/Sarah Ioannides
Concerto for Two Pianos
(German premiere) 13 & 14.11.11, Stadthalle, Wuppertal, Germany: Pascal Rogé/Ami Rogé/Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal/Georg Fritzsch
Kalkadungu
*.2.12, Melbourne, VIC, Australia: William Barton/ Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/ Benjamin Northey
Matthew Hindson Pascal & Ami Rogé launch ‘Double Piano Concerto’ under Ashkenazy’s baton… “Love and Death” proclaimed the posters outside Sydney Opera House. Whilst Mahler provided the reminder of mortality with his 10th Symphony, Matthew Hindson’s Double Piano Concerto was a joyous and moving response to a commission (from Justice Jane Mathews) to mark the wedding anniversary of its performers, Pascal and Ami Rogé. Vladimir Ashkenazy, together with the Sydney SO, joined them to launch the new concerto on 12 and 13 May:
‘… the delicate, shimmering textures and Messaien-like sonorities were enchanting.’ The Australian (Murray Black), 16 May 2011
‘The mood was breathless and expectant, like the close of the first movement of Ravel’s Piano Concerto extended for an entire movement… The second and closing movement, “love song”, breathes soft harmonies, air-brushed piano gestures, and Disney-style twinkles from the percussion…’ The Sydney Morning Herald (Peter McCallum), 16 May 2011
… and give European premiere The Rogés give the European premiere of the Concerto with Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal and Georg Fritzch on 13th and 14th November.
West Coast premiere for ‘ Violin Concerto’ Lara St John’s terrific recording of Hindson’s Violin Concerto has brought his music to new audiences around the world. She’s also given the US and Canadian premieres of the work in recent months. She gives the West Coast premiere of the Concerto in November this year, when she joins forces with the New West Symphony and Sarah Ioannides for three dates in Southern California.
‘The Metallic Violins’ - “hedonistic & energetic” Hindson’s explosive violin duo The Metallic Violins has been lauded in the Australian press thanks to the recent recording on Tall Poppies by Natsuko Yoshimoto and James Cuddeford:
‘For me, however, the standouts are the opening and closing tracks. Matthew Hindson’s titular piece is hedonistic and energetic, maturely fusing his early attraction to pop music with new sonic complexities.’ 18
Derek Bermel
Limelight Magazine (Julian Day), 4 August 2011
PHOTO: (bottom left) Matthew Hindson © bridget elliott, (Top right) derek bermel
Bermel collaborates with Mos Def and Brooklyn Philharmonic A unique event being staged by the Brooklyn Philharmonic in New York, on 8th and 12th October, sees Derek Bermel joining forces with renowned hip-hop artist and actor Mos Def. The two events, at the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Rocks Festival and at the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center, will include the premiere of new orchestral arrangements by Bermel of songs by Mos Def. These will include Life in Marvelous Times (2008).
‘Ritornello’ - electric guitar concerto debuts in US and Europe Derek Bermel’s new electric guitar concerto, Ritornello, for Dutch virtuoso Wiek Hijmans, was inspired jointly by prog-rock band King Crimson and the Baroque concerto grosso! The Albany Symphony under David Alan Miller gave the world premiere in their home town in May; the European premieres took place on a Dutch tour with the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra and Bas Wiegers in June, whilst the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra with Jeffrey Kahane give the West Coast premiere in September, part of Bermel’s ongoing residency with the orchestra.
‘Battle for Brooklyn’ Bermel has also recently co-written the score (with David Reid) to the highly-acclaimed documentary film Battle for Brooklyn, “an intimate look at the very public and passionate fight waged by residents and business owners of Brooklyn’s historic Prospect Heights neighbourhood facing condemnation of their property to make way for the polarizing Atlantic Yards project, a massive plan to build 16 skyscrapers and a basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets.” The film premiered in Toronto in April before beginning a theatrical run in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
TUNING IN
Torsten Rasch
Vaughan Williams
Torsten Rasch - Selected forthcoming performances Wouivres
(World premiere) 12 & 13.10.11, Chemnitz, Germany: Robert Schumann Philharmonie Chemnitz/Frank Beermann
Vaughan Williams - Selected forthcoming performances Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis 8.11.11, Old Royal Naval College Chapel, United Kingdom: Trinity Laban String Ensemble/Nic Pendlebury 10.11.11, Alton College, United Kingdom: Trinity Laban String Ensemble/Nic Pendlebury
World premiere of ‘Wouivres’
‘Nocturne: Whispers of Heavenly Death’ (1908)
3.12.11, Wells Cathedral, Wells, Somerset, United Kingdom: Wells Cathedral Oratorio Society.
Hugh the Drover
11-13 & 16-20.11.11, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate Village, United Kingdom: Hampstead Garden Opera
‘Rasch’s characteristic dialogue of past and present, self and other, again makes something new out of a journey into several histories…’
The Wasps Overture
24.9.11, Exchange, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, United Kingdom: Bournemouth Philharmonic Society/Sam Newgarth 14.11.11, Kings Hall, Ilkley, United Kingdom: Airedale Symphony Orchestra/John Anderson
‘Sancta Civitas’ (1925)
19.11.11, Holy Trinity Church, Trowbridge, United Kingdom: David Price/Trowbridge Orchestra
Moritzburg residency
‘Rasch’s 1st string quartet was played. In his typical, very personal musical language, this 20-minute work reflects on the encounter of Mary Magdalene with Jesus. It is a very expressive piece with powerful contrasts in dynamics and sound… this work [was] an undisputable favourite of the audience.’
19 photo: (Top left) torsten rasch © maurice foxall, (top right) Vaughan williams
Selected forthcoming performances The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
5.10.11, Auditorium Orchestre National de Lyon, France: Orchestre National de Lyon/cond. Ernst van Tiel
The Wind
8.10.11, Cinema Verdi, Pordenone, Italy: Mitteleuropa Orchester/cond. Carl Davis
Easy Street
13.10.11, Symfonien, Aalborg, Denmark: Aalborg Symphony Orchestra/cond. Carl Davis 15.1.12, Kulturpalast Dreden, Dresden, Germany: cond. Helmut Imig/Dresdner Philharmoniker 2.2.12, Stadthalle Hagen, Germany: Bielefelder Philharmoniker/cond. Helmut Imig
The Phantom of the Opera
22.10.11, Renaissance Theater, Mansfield, OH, USA: Mansfield Symphony Orchestra/cond. Scott Seaton
The Cure
11.11.11, Rudolf-Oetker-Halle, Bielefeld, Germany: Bielefelder Philharmoniker/cond. Helmut Imig 15.1.12, Kulturpalast Dreden, Dresden, Germany: cond. Helmut Imig/Dresdner Philharmoniker 2.2.12, Stadthalle Hagen, Germany: Bielefelder Philharmoniker/cond. Helmut Imig
Safety Last
7.1.12, Atwood Concert Hall, Anchorage, AL, USA: Anchorage Symphony Orchestra/cond. Randall Craig Fleischer
The Adventurer
15.1.12, Kulturpalast Dreden, Dresden, Germany: cond. Helmut Imig/Dresdner Philharmoniker 2.2.12, Stadthalle Hagen, Germany: Bielefelder Philharmoniker/cond. Helmut Imig
The Kid Brother 18.3.12, Luzerner Theater, Switzerland: Luzerner Sinfonieorchester
Napoléon
24, 25, 31.3.12, & 1.4.12 San Francisco Silent Film Festival, USA: Oakland East Bay Symphony/cond. Carl Davis
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Carl Davis Silent Film music One of Carl’s most ambitious projects has been his score for Abel Gance’s epic masterpiece Napoleon. As The Scotsman commented in 1981:
‘…this is a voiceless opera… it will be impossible henceforth to imagine Gance’s film without Davis’s score….’ ‘Abel Gance’s 1927 epic Napoleon was shown in its latest version… with live orchestral accompaniment composed and conducted by Carl Davis. It was magnificent, awe-inspiring, colossal, sublime - all those words you use when you look at a work of art and find your critical reactions defused by its enormity.’ The Guardian (Jonathan Romney), 7 June 2000
‘The score is by Carl Davis, who was set a task that would have daunted Wagner; indeed, it is considerably longer that Götterdämmerung. Mr Davis, wisely, has not attempted to write the lot himself; he has ransacked Haydn, Mozart and above all Beethoven, and fitted their work to his so skilfully that the seams are truly imperceptible. On an ocean of C major the silent film floats, sounding depths and breadths that anyone would have thought impossible in a two-dimensional medium.’ The Times (Bernard Levin), 23 June 1990
When the Kevin Brownlow-restored film with Carl’s music was last shown in London at the Southbank in 2004, with Carl conducting the LPO, there was a storm of approval, not only for the emotional power of the film, but for the superb compilation score embracing music from the period by Beethoven and his contemporaries, interwoven seamlessly with Carl’s own music. Rights issues have so far prevented several screenings, so it is great news that now the San Francisco Silent Film Festival will be presenting the US premiere on 24th, 25th, 31st March and 1st April 2012. Each screening of the 5 ½ hour epic will begin in the afternoon and will be shown in four parts with three intermissions. Each performance will be accompanied by the Oakland East Bay Symphony Orchestra with 75 year old Carl Davis at the helm in what
will be a marathon conducting feat! The occasion is described by the organisers as ‘the cinema event of a lifetime’. Prior to this important screening Carl will be travelling in October to Pordenone for The Wind, and Aalborg in Denmark for Easy Street; during the same period a number of silent films with Davis scores are also being taken up by other conductors particularly The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Lyon.
Friday Night is Music Night Marking Carl’s 75th year (his birthday is on 28th October) was a BBC Friday Night is Music Night in August featuring much of his own music which will be relayed on BBC Radio 2 later in the year. Some of Carl’s long-time collaborators, Janis Kelly, Mary Carewe and Lance Ellington, appeared alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra, and all, audience included, joined in to sing Carl a ‘Happy Birthday!’
Hallé Commission
PHOTO: (top right) carl davis © richard cannon, (bottom) Albert Dieudonné as Napoleon
The title for Carl’s commission from the Hallé Orchestra and Children’s Choir for a work involving them both is now confirmed as The Last Train to Tomorrow. The premiere is set for 26th June 2012 in Manchester. Hiawyn Oram has provided the text for what is a dramatic telling of the ‘Kindertransport’ movement. The piece is a re-enactment of the journey to the UK made by thousands of Jewish children, who left behind their parents and loved ones, to survive the Holocaust as welcome guests in the homes of English families. More on this in the next newsletter.
TUNING IN Selected forthcoming performances
Carl Vine
Celebrare Celeberrime
Smith’s Alchemy in ballet form
27.10.11, Brighton Dome Concert Hall, United Kingdom: University of Winchester
One of the gems of Carl Vine’s output is undoubtedly his String Quartet No.3 (1994), and the associated arrangement for string orchestra, Smith’s Alchemy (2001). With whirling chromatic passages, haunting lyricism and violent sections reminiscent of Prokofiev’s Dance of the Montagues & Capulets, this is music that choreographers would find difficult to ignore. That certainly was the case for Gareth Belling, of Queensland Ballet, who has used Smith’s Alchemy to accompany his new ballet Transition Sequence. Vine’s work is all about contrast and that fits well with Belling’s vision of the ballet:
‘During times of change, our choices affect the realisation of our dreams. My piece will explore a sequence of transitions which bring about renewal.’ Gareth Belling, , Choreographer with Queensland Ballet
The dance was featured as part of Queensland Ballet’s ‘…with attitude 2011’ series in August and September.
String Quartet No.4 at COLF Another of Vine’s string quartets has received a high profile performance by the Elias Quartet at this year’s the City of London Festival. Tipped as one of today’s hottest quartets, the Elias first got to know Vine’s Quartet No.4 when they toured Australia in 2009. In this London performance they demonstrated their passion for the piece in playing that glowed with intensity and brought alive the historic church of St Lawrence Jewry.
‘…this expressive and sometimes expansive utterance [was] given a passionate performance. Particularly striking is the slower chorale music in the work’s second half, written as part of a reaction against the war in Iraq, pause for thought being taken in the form of a distinctive, slow-moving melody. Against this the fast music is fraught and anguished, less distinctive in its material but showing the influence of Bartók and Shostakovich.’ www.classicalsource.com (Ben Hogwood), 30 June 2011 PHOTO: (top right) carl vine © karen steanis, (left) gareth belling © ken sparrow
New ‘ Violin Concerto’ praised Of all the classical music genres, the violin concerto is one that is especially loved and Carl Vine’s Violin Concerto, premiered at the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House in July 2011, is a work that rightly demands a cherished place in this repertoire. The piece combines stunning orchestration with a solo part that soars above the other instruments in a manner reminiscent of Vaughan Williams’ muchloved Lark Ascending. However, unlike the Vaughan Williams, Vine explains that “this is ‘pure’ music that uses no external imagery, allusion, narrative or poetry.” The soloist at the first performance was the acclaimed violinist Dene Olding, accompanied by the Australian Youth Orchestra and conductor Thomas Dausgaard.
‘Vine’s two-movement concerto… is a restrained, introspective piece. For the most part, the rhapsodic solo violin floats above a gentle orchestral accompaniment. Vine’s compositional springboard, he says, was “the curious quality often achieved by solo violin accompanied by an orchestra playing softly”. Hence, full orchestral tuttis are used sparingly and Vine largely treats the orchestra as an ever-changing series of chamber ensembles. Gently throbbing strings and fluttering woodwind figures dominate, periodically coloured by muted brass chords and tinkling washes of harp and tuned percussion.’ The Australian (Murray Black), 22 July 2011
‘The first movement showed Vine’s maturity as an orchestrator. Its structure had a classical balance. With a prominent ruminating theme from the violin at the start and end… the movement had the periodic shape of a set of variations and was among the best of Vine’s recent music.’ The Sydney Morning Herald (Peter McCallum), 22 July 2011
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new Works Orchestral Carl Davis Ballade for Cello and Orchestra (2011) orchestra and cello. Duration 15-20 minutes. 2(II=picc).1.ca.2.2 - 4230 - timp - perc(2): vib/glsp/ t.bells/sups.cym/crash.cym/finger.cym/tgl/SD/TD/BD/tam-t - harp - strings. FP: 30.4.2011, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool: Jonathan Aasgaard/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Carl Davis. Score and parts for hire
Jonny Greenwood Suite from ‘Noruwei no Mori’ (‘Norwegian Wood’) (2011)
orchestra. Duration 10 minutes. 2(II=afl).1.ca.2.2 - 4.3.2.btrbn.1 - perc(2): 2 BD/2 susp.cym - strings (min 10.8.6.6.4). FP: 12.8.2011, BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London: BBC Concert Orchestra/ Keith Lockhart. Score and parts for hire
Jonathan Harvey Weltethos (2011) speaker, large chorus, children’s choir and large orchestra. Duration 90 minutes. 3(II=bfl & picc 2, III=picc 1).3(III=ca).3(III=bcl).3(III=cbsn) - 4431 - perc(6): mar/5 Korean or Chinese temple blocks/ small susp.cym/medium small tgl/slit drum/mcas/xyl/3 timp/5 wdbl/5 gongs/3 tam-t/guero/vib/crot/BD/ high wdbl/whip/spring coil/2 large c.bells/tubular bells/2 large gongs/vibraslap/2 wooden planks/ 2 very small bongos/glsp/2 tgl/boobams/ch.cym/2 susp.cym/clashed.cym/claves/Chinese bowl/ 4 wooden planks/Indian bells/cabaca/low mcas/glass chimes/handbells in D & B - cel - cimbalom 2 harp - organ - strings (14.12.10.8.6). FP: 13.10.2011, Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany: Rundfunkchor Berlin/Berliner Philharmoniker/Sir Simon Rattle. Texts and translations by Hans Küng (German). Score and parts for hire
Matthew Hindson Concerto for Two Pianos (2011)
two pianos and orchestra. Duration 26 minutes. picc.1.1.ca.1.bcl.1.cbsn - 4231 - timp - perc(2): tam-t/ glsp/vib/large & medium cyms/tgl/sleigh bells/bell tree/mounted tamb/low & medium tom-t/BD/SD/ hi-hat/small metal pipe or high cow bell/t.bells - harp - strings. FP: 12.5.2011, Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Sydney: Pascal Rogé/Ami Rogé/Sydney Symphony Orchestra/Vladimir Ashkenazy. Solo parts and piano reduction on special sale from the Hire Library, full score and parts for hire
Colin Matthews Grand Barcarolle (2011) orchestra. Duration 13-14 minutes. 2.2.2.2.cbsn - 4200 - timp - strings (min.12.10.8.8.6). FP: 11.10.11, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Germany: Gewandhaus Orchestra/Riccardo Chailly. Score and parts on hire Night Rides (2011) chamber orchestra. Duration 14 minutes. 2 afl.ob.ssax.bcl.bsn - fl.hn - perc(1): mar/vib/lujon/5 c.bells - hp - digital piano - 2222. FP: 29.5.2011, QEH, London, UK: London Sinfonietta/Nicholas Collon. Score and parts on hire No Man’s Land (2011)
chamber orchestra and soloist. Duration 25 minutes. 2.2.1.bcl.2 - 2200 - perc(1): large militiary drum/ hi-hat/BD with foot pedal/susp.cym/tam-t(+bow) - CD controls - upright pno/Cel - strings (minimum 14.4.4.2). FP: 21.8.2011, BBC Proms: Ian Bostridge/Roderick Williams/City of London Sinfonia/ Stephen Layton. Text: Christopher Reid - Airs & Ditties Of No Man’s Land (English). Score and parts for hire
Choral Howard Goodall A new heart, a new spirit (2011)
Chamber Ensemble Francisco Coll Sguardo verso l’interno (2011) clarinet quintet. Duration 10 minutes. FP: 17.6.11, Aldeburgh Festival, Snape, Suffolk, UK: Dimitry RasulKareyev/Barbirolli Quartet. Score and parts on special sale from the Hire Library
Vladimír Godár Little Suite for Little David (2011)
violin, cello, strings and harpischord. Duration minutes. FP: 7.4.2011, Primate’s Palace, Bratislava, Slovakia: Cappella Istropolitana/Peter Breiner. Score and parts for hire¶
David Matthews Horn Quintet (2011) horn and string quartet. Duration 12 minutes. FP: 23.3.2011, Wigmore Hall, London: Richard Watkins/ Nash Ensemble. Score and parts on special sale from the Hire Library
Claude Debussy arr. D Matthews Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (2011) small ensemble. Duration 10 minutes. fl.cl - crot - pno (2 players) - vln.vlc. FP: 25.6.2011, Wigmore Hall, London, UK: Nash Ensemble. Score and parts on special sale from the Hire Library¶
String Orchestra Matthew Hindson Maralinga (2011) solo violin and string orchestra. Duration 11 minutes. solo violin - strings (min 32221). FP: 1.4.2011, King’s College Theatre, Warrnambool, VIC, Australia: Lara St John/Australian Chamber Orchestra. Score and parts for hire
Peter Sculthorpe Shining Island (2011) Remembering Henryk Górecki strings. Duration 11 minutes. FP: 14.5.2011, Canberra International Music Festival, St Christopher’s Cathedral, Manuka, Australia: Canberra Festival Camerata incorporating the ANU School of Music Chamber Orchestra/Tor Fromyhr. Dedicated to Henryck Górecki. Score and parts for hire¶
Solo and Ensemble Derek Bermel Ritornello (2011) concerto for electric guitar and string orchestra. Duration 13 minutes. FP: 21.5.2011, EMPAC Center, Troy, NY, USA: Wiek Hijmans/Albany SO/David Alan Miller. Score and parts for hire
Voice and Ensemble Derek Bermel Mar de Setembro (2011)
mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra. Duration 13 minutes. 2(II=picc).2(II=ca).2(I=cl in A, II=bcl).2(II=cbsn) - 2200 - harp - perc(2) - strings. FP: 14.5.2011, Alex Theatre, Glendale, CA, USA: Luciana Souza/Los Angeles CO/Jeffrey Kahane. Text: Eugenio de Andrade(Portuguese). Score and parts for hire
treble choir, 3 SATB choirs and organ. Duration 8 minutes. FP: 18.6.2011, Truro Cathedral, Truro, UK: Truro Cathedral Choir/Cornwall Junior Choir/Cornwall Youth Choir/St Mary’s Singers/Luke Bond (org)/Christopher Gray. Commissioned by Truro Cathedral as part of its Inspire Cornwall project. Text: Wisdom 1 v 7 and Ezekiel 36 vv 24-26 & v 28b (Latin / English / French / Cornish). Full score and separate chorus scores on special sale from the Hire Library (hire@fabermusic.com)
Wind band
Instrumental
Danceries (Set 2) (2011)
Peter Sculthorpe Riverina (2011) solo piano. Duration 20 minutes. FP: 4.7.2011, 10th Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference, Joyes Hall, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia: Michael Kieran Harvey. Score on special sale from the Hire Library
carl Vine Toccatissimo (2011)
solo piano. Duration 5-6 minutes. FP: 10.7.12: Sydney International Piano Competition, Sydney, Australia. Score not available until August 2012
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Kenneth Hesketh symphonic wind band. Duration minutes. FP: 9.4.2011, CBSO Centre, Birmingham, UK: Birmingham Symphonic Winds/Keith Allen. Score 0-571-57049-6 and score/set of parts 0-571-57048-8 on sale
new publications and recordings new Publications Thomas Adès Lieux retrouvés piano 0-571-51982-2 £19.99
Julian Anderson I Saw Eternity SATB unaccompanied 0-571-53033-8 £2.50 My Beloved Spake SATB and organ 0-571-52464-8 £2.50
Carl Davis Cranford Suite orchestra 0-571-53598-4 £19.99 Pride and Prejudice Suite orchestra 0-571-53586-0 £19.99
Jonathan Harvey Body Mandala orchestra 0-571-51849-4 £24.99 The Royal Banners Forward Go SATB 0-571-52465-6 £2.50 Song of June SATB (divisi) unacc. 0-571-52639-X £2.50 Wagner Dream vocal score 0-571-52209-2
Oliver Knussen Ophelia’s Last Dance piano 0-571-51920-X
David Matthews Christ is Born of Maiden Fair SATB 0-571-52467-2 £2.50 Moments of Vision SATB unacc 0-571-53639-5 £3.99 Psalm 23 SATB and organ 0-571-52466-4 £2.50
Peter Sculthorpe Lullaby SATB unaccompanied 0-571-53136-9 £2.99
New recordings Thomas Adès Arcadiana/America: A Prophecy/Chamber Symphony/ Concert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face/Living Toys/ Piano Quintet/These Premises Are Alarmed/ Three Mazurkas/Violin Concerto Thomas Adès and Various Artists EMI cdq311e
BENJAMIN BRITTEN A Birthday Hansel/Who Are These Children? Mark Wild/Lucy Wakeford/David Owen Norris Naxos 8572706 Cello Suites Daniel Müller-Schott Orfeo C835111A Death in Venice (DVD) Scott Hendricks/Marlin Miller/François Bittar/Marlin Miller/R.-François Bitar/ Pierluigi Pizzi/Venice Teatro la Fenice Orchestra/Venice Teatro la Fenice Chorus/ Bruno Bartoletti Dynamic 33608 Phaedra Susan Monks/Elizabeth Burley/BBC SO/Edward Gardner Chandos LC7038
CARL DAVIS Our Hospitality (DVD) 1926 silent film starring Buster Keaton, original score composed and conducted by Carl Davis Kino International K714 Heroines in Music: The French Lieutenant’s Woman/ Hotel Du Lac/Pride and Prejudice Suite/Cranford Suite Philharmonia Orchestra/Carl Davis Carl Davis Collection CDC010
VLADIMÍR GODÁR Querela pacis (world premiere recording) Emily van Evera/Petra Noskaiová/Tomáš Šelc/Miloš Valent & Solamente Naturali/ Cathedral Choir of St Martin/Dušan Bill/Andrew Parrott Pavian Records: PM0050-2
JONNY GREENWOOD Norwegian Wood (DVD) Soda Pictures SODA134
JONATHAN HARVEY Run Before Lightning/Vers/Quantumplation/FlightElegy/Nataraja/Tombeau de Messiaen/The Roit/Haiku Dynamis Ensemble/Javier Torres Maldonado Stradivarius STR33796
MATTHEW HINDSON Flash (world premiere recording) Claire Edwardes (marimba) Tall Poppies TP215
NISHAT KHAN Yeh Saali Zindagi (DVD) T Series TSDVD-3213s
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Gabriel Prokofiev: ‘Concerto for Turntables’ at the Proms The most-discussed event thus far of the 2011 BBC Proms season has surely been the concert on 6th August that featured the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Prior to the event TV, radio and broadsheet journalists had jostled to interview composer Gabriel Prokofiev and soloist DJ Switch with regard to the former’s Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra. Prokofiev was commissioned by NYOGB to expand his original chamber orchestra version of his 2007 Concerto. The result, a version for DJ and large orchestra with which the evening commenced. A packed auditorium thrilled to DJ Switch’s virtuosity as he sampled, mixed and improvised orchestral sounds, with conductor Vladimir Jurowski steering the committed young performers through the electronica-infused soundscape:
‘… while the title of Gabriel Prokofiev’s 2007 Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra might suggest something gimmicky, the reality is a lot more rewarding. Each of the five movements highlights a different turntabling technique; in the fourth, the varied speeds of a single sampled flute note finds the turntables becoming a melodic instrument. With all the samples coming from the orchestra, the DJ is an organic part of the ensemble, whether supporting it or subverting it. … Stravinsky’s influence looms large, and the second movement sounds like The Rite of Spring squeezed into a slow hip-hop beat - in a good way. But what Prokofiev does with it is intriguing, serious yet just witty enough, and easily sufficient to sustain a 20-minute work. Relishing his role as concerto soloist, DJ Switch’s takes on the classical show-off cadenza were breathtaking in their dexterity.’
‘… groundbreaking and mind-blowing… This was new ground for many of the listeners, smiling and trying to get a grip on what they were hearing: a DJ sampling, mixing, distorting electronically with sounds from heavy stomping to eerie oriental. Our youngsters took this all in their stride to create five movements of extraordinary sounds many to be recycled, passed back and forth, foot-tapping and totally fascinating.’ Birmingham Post (Maggie Cotton), 12 August 2011
‘groundbreaking and mindblowing…’ ‘… the real surprise here was the realisation that what was on his discs was also in the hall and that the funky interplay between the two was like flicking a time-switch between the 20th and 21st centuries. The speed-slurring of flute samples in the meditative fourth movement emerged like a cosmic message from Olivier Messiaen (via ondes martenot, what else) and there was even a cadenza for the main man…’
The Guardian (Erica Jeal), 7 August 2011
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PHOTO: (above) Gabriel Prokofiev, (top centre) dj switch, gabriel prokofiev & vladimir jurowski © BBC / Chris Christodoulou, (background) dj switch, vladimir jurowsk & nyogb © BBC / Chris Christodoulou
The Independent (Edward Seckerson), 7 August 2011
Cathy Marston to choreograph ‘Turntables Concerto’ for Bern Ballett Meanwhile, the Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra is to form the main thrust of a new full-evening ballet (with live orchestra) being choreographed by Cathy Marston for Bern:Ballett. Ein Winternachtstraum will also include newly-commissioned music by Prokofiev, together with incidental music from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The ballet receives 12 performances and launches on 3rd November.
Gabriel Prokofiev: ‘Beethoven 9 Orchestral Remix’ premiered in France French audiences thrilled to Prokofiev’s latest orchestral commission at its recent premiere performances in Angers and Nantes by Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and John Axelrod. The new work remixes all four movements of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony into a dramatic 22-minute orchestral work, enhanced by an electronic web of sampled and looped extracts of Beethoven’s original choral lines. The work was also recorded for future CD release.
Howard Goodall: new oratorio‘Every Purpose Under the Heaven’ This winter sees the premiere of a new 40-minute oratorio by Howard Goodall, Every Purpose Under the Heaven. It’s a commission from United Church Schools Trust/United Learning Trust to mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. Scored for soprano and tenor soloists, SAB choir, piano, harp, acoustic guitar, cornet and strings, it sets some of the Bible’s best-loved passages. The premiere will be conducted by the composer, and takes place in Westminster Abbey on 13 November. The work will be available for general performance from 2012 onwards. Meanwhile, Goodall’s Eternal Light: A Requiem continues to gain admirers around the globe with over 150 performances to date. Recent months have seen concert dates as far afield as Houston, Nashville, Stockholm, Calgary, Utrecht, Florida, Toronto, Maine, Belfast and Texas, as well as a host in the UK.
‘Come and Sing Eternal Light’ Day
Selected Christmas Repertoire for 2011 UPPER VOICES Anthony Bolton
A Garland of Carols (upper voices and harp), 45 mins
On 28th January 2012, The Addison Singers in West London will stage a “Come and Sing Eternal Light Day”. Rehearsals during the day will lead to an evening performance. All are welcome to attend. More details on the choir’s website, addison-singers.org.uk.
Carol Ann Duffy & Sasha Johnson Manning
London production for Howard Goodall’s musical ‘Girlfriends’
The Angel Gabriel (upper voices and orchestra, or ensemble), 4 mins
Girlfriends was Howard Goodall’s second musical, following on from his hit The Hired Man. Set on a UK Royal Air Force base during the Second World War its premiere production starred Maria Friedman and it has since enjoyed productions in the UK, USA and the Netherlands. It recently enjoyed a month’s run at one of London’s best theatre pubs, Ye Olde Rose and Crown in Walthamstow:
‘The most inspiring musical revival of the year.’ The Stage (Mark Shenton)
The Manchester Carols (SSA voices with optional childrens’ voices, orchestra, chamber ensemble or piano), 70 mins including narration and encore Vladimír Godár
Dormi Jesu (SSA voices and piano/harp/harpsichord), 4 mins Howard Goodall
Enchanted Carols (SSA and piano/organ), 3-4 mins each Gaudete (upper voices and orchestra, or ensemble), 3 mins Stella quam viderant Magi (upper voices and orchestra, or ensemble), 4 mins Veni, veni Emmanuel (upper voices and orchestra, or ensemble), 5 mins
MIXED VOICES Carol Ann Duffy & Sasha Johnson Manning
The Manchester Carols (SATB voices with optional childrens’ voices, orchestra, chamber ensemble or piano), 70 mins including narration and encore Mirabile Dictu (from ‘The Manchester Carols’) (SATB and piano), 3 mins Vladimír Godár
Dormi Jesu (SATB and piano/harp/harpsichord), 4 mins Alexander L’Estrange
Lute-Book Lullaby (SATB and organ), 5 mins Matthew Martin
Adam Lay Ybounden (SATB unaccompanied), 3 mins Margaret Rizza
Veni Jesu (SATB, solo cello and organ), 3 mins
ORCHESTRAL Howard Goodall
Christmas overture from Gordon Thornett New for Christmas 2011 is a seasonal medley by Birmingham-based composer, Gordon Thornett. Festive Overture: The Joy of Christmas was written in 2010 for Simon Halsey and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra who launched it in Symphony Hall. It lasts 8 minutes and is scored for orchestra with optional SATB chorus. A host of wellknown melodies interweave before the chorus brings the work to its climax with a grandiose chorale. PHOTO: (right) howard goodall © Patrick rowe, (left) gordon thornett
Winter from ‘The Seasons’ (cello & orchestra, as featured in Alan Titchmarsh’s ITV series ‘The Seasons’), 17 mins Kenneth Hesketh
Rumpole and Father Christmas (narrator & orchestra, after the short story by John Mortimer versions available for male and female narrator), 10 mins Nigel Hess
A Christmas Overture (orchestra, also now available for wind band), 8 mins Gordon Thornett
Festive Overture - The Joy of Christmas (orchestra, with optional chorus), 8 mins
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publishing news Choral Signature Series The Choral Signature Series is the home of classic pieces by giants of the choral repertoire, such as Jonathan Harvey, Julian Anderson, Howard Goodall and Morten Lauridsen. The series continues to forge new paths and in recent years they’ve been joined by the brightest new voices of choral music. This Autumn we’re celebrating the wealth of talent of Faber Music’s established composers by adding several new titles to the series. Many of them will be familiar to you as some of the biggest names in the orchestral world - but you might be unfamiliar with their choral music, and these new publications present a golden opportunity to discover what these composers have to offer as they turn their hand to the choral idiom. Enter the unmistakeable sound-world of Julian Anderson, one of the UK’s most exciting composers. I Saw Eternity is a thrilling evocation of the eternal, with words by the metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan. Julian uses extremes of volume to tremendous effect in this challenging piece, with cycles of climaxes falling one after another. My Beloved Spake is a lilting setting of those divine words from the Song of Songs. We’re delighted to unveil a hidden gem by the well-loved composer Jonathan Harvey. A beautiful setting of a Wilfred Owen poem, Song of June was composed in 1960 and somehow got lost in the mists of time… until now, when Jonathan presented it to Martin Neary for his 70th birthday. For something completely different, try The Royal Banners Forward Go - a slow march to Calvary which powerfully evokes the victory of Jesus on the cross. Three pieces from David Matthews offer some exquisite musical experiences. Christ is Born of Maiden Fair is a gentle, melodious carol. Psalm 23 is incredibly accessible for choirs and well worth investing in as an anthem that will be rolled out time and time again. A real highlight of this
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year’s publications is the unusual Moments of Vision: a collection of six miniatures, setting the words of celebrated wordsmiths including Keats, Gerald Manley Hopkins, and DH Lawrence. Perfect for concerts, performed either as a set, or individually. Peter Sculthorpe is no stranger to the Signature Series, and we’re delighted to present his Lullaby, based on an indigenous Australian melody. The words lovingly entreat children victimised by war to embrace sleep as night falls. A quiet coda suggests the calmness of sleep and the beauteousness of paradise. Another lullaby comes in the form of Far from Home by John Woolrich. Written in the folk idiom, the piece is a rocking lament overlain with gentle whispering. Incredibly atmospheric, the work shows off Woolrich’s masterful choral writing. We’re launching two new works by talented composer Alexander L’Estrange: My Song is Love Unknown, a stunning anthem based on John Ireland’s well-loved hymn, and Let All the World, a rousing piece for all occasions. In his usual inimitable style, Alexander has crafted both vocal parts and accompaniment to show off the performers to greatest effect within an accessible framework. Alexander is a musician of outstanding versatility. As a musician who enjoys collaborating with acappella groups, choirs and choral societies, L’Estrange has worked on a number of pieces with the likes of Tenebrae, The Swingle Singers, National Youth Music Theatre, countless cathedral choirs, school and community choirs and choral societies worldwide. Finally we’re thrilled to announce a brand new choral publishing agreement with Matthew Martin, who has fast been developing a reputation for his beautifully honed choral music. Matthew is fast becoming a noted voice on the British choral scene and has written works for a number of the UK’s leading ensembles including the BBC Singers, The Cardinall’s Musick and the choirs of Westminster Abbey and St John’s College, Cambridge. Anyone who hasn’t already discovered his Adam Lay Ybounden and Ecce Concipies is missing a treat, and hot off the press this season are O Magnum Mysterium and A Song of the New Jerusalem. We’re confident that Matthew is destined for great things, and we hope you enjoy discovering his music.
faber music on the web Fabermusic.com
Fabermusicstore.com
Visitors to Fabermusic.com will have noticed that the website has received a significant face-lift in recent months. The ‘new-look’ Fabermusic.com has been specially designed to make it easier for users to search and navigate through thousands of pages of information about Faber Music, our diverse range of composers and their works.
This new online store contains thousands of printed publications by Faber Music and third party music publishers including Trinity College London, Barenreiter, Edition Peters, Boosey & Hawkes and ABRSM.
The site contains up-todate biographies, work lists, discographies and programme notes (where available) for over 100 composers, arrangers and artists associated with Faber Music. It offers regular news reports as well as reviews of recent performances, recordings and publications. The Company section gives an overview of Faber Music’s publishing and distribution services as well as details of our hire agents overseas. New features include previously unseen video interviews with Faber’s most significant composers, a special score-perusal facility and Editor’s Blog. There are now many more ways on the website to experience our composers’ music for yourself. A good way to become immersed is to listen to some of the sound clips available for most of our composers, including all of the prestigious House Composers. We have also made perusal scores (of up to 20 pages) available for select pieces.
Our digital sheet music library is growing fast and now contains over 10,000 items which can be printed to your home computer in an instant. In most cases we are able to guarantee delivery of items within 48 hours of the transaction taking place via our state-of-the-art fulfilment technology.
Choralstore.com Finally, keep an eye out for www.choralstore.com, a new website which promises to revolutionise the way you peruse, choose and purchase your choral music online. We can’t say too much just yet, but rest assured that this is a site you’ll be returning to again and again. If you’d like to be among the first to hear more about choralstore.com, and receive news and exclusive special offers, pre-register your interest by sending an email to choral@fabermusic.com with the words ‘choralstore - tell me more!’ in the subject line.
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MEDIA MUSIC NEWS Multiple awards for Dan Jones
Head Office
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Many congratulations are due to Dan, who has won a flurry of awards and nominations for his original music for Any Human Heart, Channel 4’s dramatization of William Boyd’s bestselling novel. A BAFTA Craft Award in April was followed by an Ivor Novello Award in May; and Dan has now been nominated for Emmy Awards in two categories - “Original Dramatic Score” and “Main Title Theme”. To cap all this, in June Dan won an award for “Excellence in Sound Design” at the Prague Quadrennial Awards for his work on the Sound and Fury theatre production Kursk. During June and July Dan composed the music for Appropriate Adult, an ITV drama written by Neil McKay and directed by Julian Jarrold, based on the events surrounding the arrest of the serial killer Fred West. And in July, Dan’s Sky Orchestra took to the skies above London. This ‘installation’, developed with installation artist Luke Jerram, involves broadcasting Dan’s music from hot air balloon as they float across cities, to the delight of the citizens below. On this occasion Sky Orchestra was publicizing the Cultural Olympiad, but has previously entranced the citizens of Bristol, Stratford-upon-Avon and elsewhere, and later in the year travels to Sydney.
Philip Sheppard’s music in space 12th April marked the fiftieth anniversary of mankind’s first flight into space: Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth aboard Vostok 1 in 1961. To celebrate the anniversary, a group of filmmakers teamed together with astronauts on the International Space Station to create a film, First Orbit, commemorating this event. It shows what Gagarin would have seen from his craft - and the music for the film was specially composed by Philip Sheppard. In fact the astronauts on the space station were listening to Philip’s music as they made the
film - almost certainly the first time that Fabercontrolled music has been heard in space. The film was made available as a free download via YouTube and elsewhere, and can be found at http://www.firstorbit.org/ Documentaries about space have become something of a specialty for Philip, whose other ‘space’ credits include In the Shadow of the Moon and Inside the Milky Way. A recent ‘earth-bound’ credit, however, is Liz Garbus’s film Bobby Fischer: Madman Genius - a study of the chess champion which was released in the UK in April.
Media Music Academy Philip Sheppard took time out of his immensely busy schedule in June and July to act as course leader of the inaugural Media Music Academy. Twenty two students enrolled for the course and were taught by Philip and a variety of visiting industry professionals and composers at the Bloomsbury House events space, over five weeks during June and July. Over the duration of the course, each of the students composed a score for a short film clip, the scores being recorded by graduate musicians at the Royal Academy of Music. By any objective criteria, the quality of the work was of an extremely high order! And the student feedback indicates that the course was deemed a great success. This was the first of what will become, in time, a full programme of courses that seeks to emulate the success of Faber & Faber’s Faber Academy.
(left) Media Music Academy (right) ‘Any Human’ Heart’ publicity photo © Carnival Films Written and designed by Sonia Stevenson With additional designs by Lis Lomas
www.fabermusic.com