News from our members

New album from The Girls in the Magnesium Dress

What do Japanese anime, harp, double bass and contemporary classical music have in common? So far, little or nothing. Since April 2022, however, a full album by The Girls in the Magnesium Dress (Anna Astesano harp, Valentina Ciardelli double bass), entitled Ru¯tsu, has redefined these bonds.

Ru¯tsu (ルーツ, Japanese katakana alphabet) means ‘roots’. The recording explores the deep connections between the influences of Japanese art on Western culture and vice versa.

Taking the Japanese composer Miyagi (1900) as a starting point, the album travels around the worlds of Ravel, Stravinsky and Puccini to land on contemporary compositions, notably Mr Hirano’s Elegy, dedicated to and composed for the duo. Ru¯tsu represents a turning point in the contemporary chamber music world, taking inspiration from the cultural revolution, and the string quartet experienced during the 18th century, especially for the figure of Luigi Boccherini. anna.astesano.com

ruutsu. thegirlsinthemagnesiumdress.com Belfast Heart

A new piano-based musical experience will help you escape to a world of jigs, reels, sweeping mountains, winding roads, sunrises and magical kingdoms. g g

Belfast Heart is an album of relaxing and uplifting piano music. There are 12 tracks, consisting of five beautifully reimagined Northern Irish folk songs alongside seven captivating original solos, all arranged, composed and performed by ISM member, teacher and Trinity examiner Darren Day. The track list includes ‘The Star of the County Down’, Belfast Heart’, ‘The Mountains of Mourne’, ‘She moved through the fair’, ‘A wee Irish Spring’, ‘Kingdom of Mourne’ and ‘Danny Boy’. You can buy and download Belfast Heart from iTunes and Bandcamp.

London premiere for Constellations

Members of the London Sinfonietta and the London Sinfonietta Academy 2022 will give the London premiere of Param Vir’s Constellations on Thursday 14 July 2022 in London [venue tbc] conducted by Geoffrey Paterson. Constellations comprises a ritornello (The Milky Way) punctuated by three soloistic constellations (Orion – Jewel of the Night Sky; The Plough – Tilling the Field; Pegasus – Dancing Horse) which require the performers to perform solo fragments freely, in spontaneous juxtaposition with one another, like mobiles. Constellations was commissioned by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and premiered in 2010. paramvir.net londonsinfonietta.org.uk/ whats-on/musicians-tomorrow-4

Nettle & Markham piano duo celebration at St Martin-in-the-Fields

David Nettle & Richard Markham will celebrate the 45th anniversary of their piano duo at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London on Thursday 7 July at 7.30pm. They will perform Ravel’s Introduction & Allegro for two pianos, followed by the original version of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with Edward Batting (harmonium), four distinguished soloists, The London Chorus and conductor Ronald Corp. Rossini had a close association with Pleyel pianos and the 2.9-metre 1928 double piano to be used in the performance, one of only a handful manufactured, is ideally suited to the work, which Nettle & Markham have performed in many parts of the world. They were involved in creating the Urtext OUP edition and their recording with the CBSO Chorus under Simon Halsey received critical acclaim. Among the duo’s other recordings are Holst’s two-piano