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PROGRAMME NOTES
Matt London Born 1985 There Must Be More Nature World Premiere
Inspired by the artist and eco-warrior Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928–2000), there must be more nature is a reflection upon his work and life. Dazzled by his use of luminous colour and organic form, paired with a constant message of deep respect and love for all nature, I have attempted to channel his unique visual language and important guiding beliefs into the orchestra.
Developed upon my own abstract language scoring approach, the orchestra is challenged to conjure and create through simple improvisatory techniques an ecosystem of flora and fauna, with the alto flute as a guiding elemental spirit. As this spirit develops, it begins to contemplate the impact and conflict of man towards a point of no return, before a reconciliation and catharsis washed away by the elements.
ML
‘The tree is the best investment for the future. Anyplace where the tree is removed from the centre of life and thought, so too have people’s lives perished. Anyplace where the tree lives with us as people’s partner, so too are people’s lives improved.’
FRIEDENSREICH HUNDERTWASSER
MATT LONDON is a free-improvising saxophonist and composer. As a creative music practitioner he aspires to channel the spirit of the impromptu through promoting the creative voices of others into a collaborative experience. His group Ensemble Entropy explores the space between the free and composed, with guests that include the improvising piano maverick Matthew Bourne and the fearless avant-garde mezzo-soprano Loré Lixenberg. His piece elemental utterances for Lixenberg was shortlisted for a 2020 Ivors Composer Award, and his extended work Rituals, for Orchestra Entropy, was shortlisted for a 2018 BASCA British Composer Award in the Jazz Composition for Large Ensemble category. Rituals was later recorded and released on the Discus Music label supported by LSO Soundhub.
Matt recently completed his PhD – ‘Points for Departures: Composing for Improvisers’ – at Brunel University London under the supervision of Colin Riley and Christopher Fox. He is also a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music (MMus Distinction, Saxophone).
