London Sinfonietta: 2014/15 SEASON BROCHURE by London Sinfonietta

(UN)EASY LISTENING?

2014/15 SEASON @Ldn_Sinfonietta facebook.com/londonsinfonietta londonsinfonietta.wordpress.com londonsinfonietta.org.uk

NEW MUSIC IS NOT ALWAYS EASY LISTENING

New music is not always easy listening. It can be exciting, unsettling and yes, sometimes difficult. You don’t have to like it all. The best new music will make you reassess what you thought you knew about sound and, like all great art, that’s why it’s important. It challenges us not to settle for what we already know but to embrace ambiguity, be curious and discover new possibilities for what music can mean to us individually. Come to the London Sinfonietta’s events this season and be enthralled by some of the great music of our time.

Events range from an inventive set of concerts and staged works to our expanding series of Blue Touch Paper performances where we light the fuse of new work, with different art forms in alternative spaces. New Music commissioned by the London Sinfonietta includes additions to a series of duets by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, five solo works by emerging composers, a string piece by Mica Levi plus a range of new concert works and songs timed to coincide with the General Election of 2015 as messages to the new government. Take Part in concerts for primary and secondary schools, and our annual London Sinfonietta Academy which trains the next generation of performers. Then there are open calls for the public (thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s you!) to join us and make new music.

ROMITELLI: AN INDEX OF METALS A TRANCE OF LIGHT AND SOUND In the final months before his death at the age of just 41, Romitelli fulfilled a lifetime ambition: to create ‘an experience of total perception, plunging the spectator into a magma of sounds, shapes and colours’. Like the light shows of the 1960s or today’s rave-culture, Romitelli’s work thrusts you into a psychedelic new landscape where your every sense is heightened. Combining an ensemble and singer with electronic distortion, three video screens, a light show and surround sound, this is opera as you’ve never known it. #indexofmetals

Wednesday 8 October 2014 at 8pm Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre Tickets £15 (+ concessions) Unreserved seating Transaction fees apply (see back cover) Fausto Romitelli An Index of Metals (London premiere) André de Ridder conductor Hila Plitmann mezzo soprano Paolo Pachini video art Leonardo Romoli video art Tony Simpson lighting Sound Intermedia sound projection Images: stills from An Index of Metals video art. © Paolo Pachini & Leonardo Romoli

BIRTWISTLE: A CELEBRATION WHAT DO YOU HEAR?

Haas’ in vain and the @Ldn_Sinfonietta: like nothing I’ve heard before. Jumped out of my skin when that gong was struck in the dark. @ey0k1

Interesting discussions with @tomservice and performances from @Ldn_Sinfonietta yesterday. The future of “new music” v bright indeed. @stephenupshaw

The London Sinfonietta’s commitment to contemporary repertoire continues to pay off; where other ensembles focus heavily on meeting the technical challenges, London Sinfonietta go much further, getting to the heart of the music. **** Bachtrack

Tell us in a tweet: @Ldn_Sinfonietta Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/londonsinfonietta Comment on our blog: londonsinfonietta.wordpress.com

Follow Jonathan Morton Principal Violin @jon_morton Andrew Burke Chief Executive @ab2102 Elizabeth Davies General Manager Friday 5 December 2014 at 7.30pm@ElizabethRD123 JamesElizabeth Joslin Administration & Recordings Queen Hall, Southbank Centre Officer @james_joslin Tickets £28 premium seats*, £20, £15, £8 (views expressed are personal, not those of the London Sinfonietta)

Birtwistle’s extraordinary output has transformed Good practice. @JannetDuijndam him into a contemporary icon. Now in his 80th In Broken Images is a London Sinfonietta commission supported by the London Sinfonietta Pioneers. We’d particularly like to thank Robert Clark & Susan Costello, year, this is a chance to get under the skin I loved seeing how instruments Mr & Mrs Jeremy Clarke, Dennis Davis, Frank & Linda Jeffs, Anthony Mackintosh of one of music’s most challenging minds as were used to make unusual and Stephen Williamson. The London Sinfonietta and the noises and how things like we relive his 21st century commissions and Royal Academy of Music’s Manson Parta of Southbank hoover parts and saw were Centre’s festival premiere new additions to his series of duets. a note is wasted, every In Broken Images: The Music of Not Sir Harrison Birtwistle. used to make music! Ensemble…pulled off a remarkable feat of ensemble, precision and #birtwistlebirthday sheer virtuoso performing skills. **** The Times

Secondary school pupil

moment matters; the effect was

Image: a silk shawl created by Halcyon Days featuring a portrait of Sir Harrison sensuous and melancholic. Birtwistle by his son, artist Adamboth Birtwistle.

**** The Evening Standard

TAKE PART

(+ concessions) Transaction fees applyThe (seeLondon back cover) Sinfonietta, under the *Premium tickets include a new recording of the London Sinfonietta performing great EmilioinPomàrico, played Birtwistle due to be released by NMC Recordings spring 2015. Not only willwith you an get the best seats in the house, but also save and £5 on conviction the full price CDscarcely and receive less intensity it in the post the moment it’s released. Follow the instructions on your ticket stub A LIFETIME astonishing than the music itself. I felt opened up to a whole new to claim your copy. ON THE EDGE ***** The Guardian musical experience and it was not a Sir Harrison Birtwistle Virelai bit how I imagined. Black Box Music by Few other composers have playedLondonist such an blog readerIn Broken Images^* Isadora, @Ldn_Sinfonietta was integral role in the London Sinfonietta’s growth Theseus Game^ potentially the most mental as Sir Harrison Birtwistle, whose music has & brilliant thing I’ve seen in a Good vibrations afterdefiantly @vanderaanet’s David Atherton conductor always remained uncategorisable. while. Especially the finale. clarinet concerto Hysteresis. Commissioned Geoffrey Paterson conductor^ Once considered the bad boy of British music, with support of @Ldn_Sinfonietta Pioneers. @antonia_berg Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble*

NEW MUSIC

ROMITELLI: AN INDEX OF METALS A TRANCE OF LIGHT AND SOUND

In the final months before his death at the age of just 41, Romitelli fulfilled a lifetime ambition: CURIOUS? to create ‘an experience of total perception, plunging the spectator into a magma of sounds, Students: be inquisitive and discover new music for £5. shapes and colours’. Like the light shows of the 1960s or today’s rave-culture, Romitelli’s work Join the London Sinfonietta’s Curious? student scheme and thrusts youmusic into with a psychedelic new get landscape experience new open ears. You’ll bargain £5 every Centre senseevents, is heightened. ticketswhere to ouryour Southbank access toCombining exclusive an ensemble and electronic distortion, post-concert bars and thesinger chancewith to meet composers throughout season. Plus we’ll keep you and up tosurround date in our three the video screens, a light show Curious? e-newsletter. sound, this is opera as you’ve never known it. Sign up for free at londonsinfonietta.org.uk/curious? #indexofmetals P.S. If you’re not at university there are also £6.50 under-26 tickets available to all our Southbank Centre events.

BIRTWISTLE: A CELEBRATION Friday 5 December 2014 at 7.30pm Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre Tickets £28 premium seats*, £20, £15, £8 (+ concessions) Transaction fees apply (see back cover)

A LIFETIME ON THE EDGE Few other composers have played such an integral role in the London Sinfonietta’s growth as Sir Harrison Birtwistle, whose music has always remained defiantly uncategorisable. Once considered the bad boy of British music, Birtwistle’s extraordinary output has transformed him into a contemporary icon. Now in his 80th year, this is a chance to get under the skin of one of music’s most challenging minds as we relive his 21st century commissions and premiere new additions to his series of duets. #birtwistlebirthday

*Premium tickets include a new recording of the London Sinfonietta performing Birtwistle due to be released by NMC Recordings in spring 2015. Not only will you get the best seats in the house, but also save £5 on the full price CD and receive it in the post the moment it’s released. Follow the instructions on your ticket stub to claim your copy.

Sir Harrison Birtwistle Virelai In Broken Images^* Theseus Game^ David Atherton conductor Geoffrey Paterson conductor^ Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble* In Broken Images is a London Sinfonietta commission supported by the London Sinfonietta Pioneers. We’d particularly like to thank Robert Clark & Susan Costello, Mr & Mrs Jeremy Clarke, Dennis Davis, Frank & Linda Jeffs, Anthony Mackintosh and Stephen Williamson. Part of Southbank Centre’s festival In Broken Images: The Music of Sir Harrison Birtwistle. Image: a silk shawl created by Halcyon Days featuring a portrait of Sir Harrison Birtwistle by his son, artist Adam Birtwistle.

ALTERNATIVE VISIONS

A BLUE TOUCH PAPER EVENT The BFI’s major season, Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder, plays host to a meeting of music and film. Five solo voyages have been specially written by emerging composers for double bass, cello, tuba, viola and flute, each brought to the screen by artists at Central Saint Martins. All five films will be premiered over an hour-long screening, accompanied live by the world-renowned London Sinfonietta players. #bluetouchpaper

Wednesday 10 December 2014 at 6.30pm NFT3, BFI Southbank Tickets £10.45 (+ concessions) On sale Tuesday 4 November 2014 Transaction fees apply (see back cover) New solo instrument compositions by Luke Styles, Christopher Mayo, Benjamin Oliver, Jacob ThompsonBell and Deborah Pritchard. New films created by students on the Performance Design and Practice course led by Michael Spencer at Central Saint Martins. Blue Touch Paper is where we light the fuse of new work, with different art forms in alternative spaces. Part of BFI Southbank’s Sonic Cinema strand.

A POWERFUL SETTING OF SUFFERING One of the most celebrated but under performed composers in the UK, James Dillon has described his music as like ‘stepping into the magic circle.’ In this, the London premiere of his new work for choir, ensemble and electronics, Dillon explores the myth surrounding one of the most important texts in religious history: the Stabat Mater Dolorosa. Combining the original Latin text with excerpts from an essay by radical feminist writer Julie Kristeva, John Donne’s A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning and even a letter to Picasso from his mother, this contemporary rendering of Mary’s lamentation at the foot of the cross will have a powerful, expressive impact. #dillon

NEW MUSIC

DILLON: STABAT MATER DOLOROSA UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS This year we’re continuing creative partnerships with a multitude of higher education institutions:

London College of Communication: capturing the life of the London Sinfonietta with photojournalism students. Wednesday 21 January 2015 at 7.30pm Kingston University: building Post-concert composer talkan innovative digital platformElizabeth where audiences can co-curate our work. Queen Hall, Southbank Centre Tickets £15 (+ concessions) Central Saint Martins: pairing composers with Unreserved seating Performancefees Design Practice students to create Transaction applyand (see back cover) a series of films that will premiere at the BFI. James Dillon Stabat Mater Dolorosa Royal Academy (London premiere)of Music: performing Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s In Broken Images side-by-side with their Volkov Mansonconductor Ensemble at Southbank Centre. Ilan BBC Singers Southampton University: working with Music Department Commissioned BBC Radio 3, hcmf// andFinnissy’s Casa da Música Porto. students tobyperform Michael Remembrance, and co-hosting a PhD studentship researching optical motion tracking devices in live music performance.

ALTERNATIVE VISIONS

STEVE REICH CLAPPING APP

With the award-winning Touch Press and Queen Mary University of London, we are developing a new way of bringing participatory music education to children and adults. An iPhone and iPad app will turn Steve Reich’s Clapping Music into a compelling game and introduce more of his music to a wider audience. The project is one of 12 pioneering partnerships that will share £2million from the last round of the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts, to support research and development in the sector.

A BLUE TOUCH PAPER EVENT

TAKE PART

The BFI’s major season, Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder, plays host to a meeting of music and film. Five solo voyages have been specially written by emerging composers for double bass, cello, tuba, viola and flute, each brought to the screen by artists at Central Saint Martins. All five films will be premiered over an hour-long screening, accompanied live by the world-renowned London Sinfonietta players. #bluetouchpaper

DILLON: STABAT MATER DOLOROSA A POWERFUL SETTING OF SUFFERING One of the most celebrated but under performed composers in the UK, James Dillon has described his music as like ‘stepping into the magic circle.’ In this, the London premiere of his new work for choir, ensemble and electronics, Dillon explores the myth surrounding one of the most important texts in religious history: the Stabat Mater Dolorosa. Combining the original Latin text with excerpts from an essay by radical feminist writer Julie Kristeva, John Donne’s A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning and even a letter to Picasso from his mother, this contemporary rendering of Mary’s lamentation at the foot of the cross will have a powerful, expressive impact. #dillon

Wednesday 21 January 2015 at 7.30pm Post-concert composer talk Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre Tickets £15 (+ concessions) Unreserved seating Transaction fees apply (see back cover) James Dillon Stabat Mater Dolorosa (London premiere) Ilan Volkov conductor BBC Singers Commissioned by BBC Radio 3, hcmf// and Casa da Música Porto.

MINIMALISM UNWRAPPED RILEY: IN C Saturday 10 January 2015 at 7.30pm Hall One, Kings Place Tickets £34.50-£14.50 (+ concessions) Transaction fees apply (see back cover) Michael Nyman In C Interlude + other works made in celebration of In C Terry Riley In C

REPEATING ENERGY As John Adams once described it, minimalism is to music what spring cleaning is to our environment. What better way to start the new year afresh than two concerts of minimalism’s most celebrated composers, whose music holds listeners in a joyous, hypnotic soundworld. As part of the year-long series at Kings Place, Terry Riley’s In C is followed one month later by a stack of must-see Steve Reich pieces including Clapping Music, performed by Reich himself. #minimalismunwrapped

REICH: IN PERSON Saturday 14 February 2015 at 8pm Hall One, Kings Place Tickets £39.50-£19.50 (+ concessions) Transaction fees apply (see back cover) Steve Reich Clapping Music* Four Organs Mallet Quartet Sextet Steve Reich solo performer* Sound Intermedia sound projection Part of Kings Place’s Minimalism Unwrapped festival. Image: a visual representation of Terry Riley’s In C. © Moira Gill/Kings Place

CHRISTIAN MARCLAY EXHIBITION

CONCERTS FOR SCHOOLS “One of the most valuable trips I have attended with our students. They were buzzing about it on the train home and even treated the commuters to a rendition of Clapping Music!” Claire Marris, Thamesmead School (Steve Reich Secondary Schools Concert, March 2013) Secondary Schools Concert for Key Stages 3 and 4 Friday 13 February 2015 at 11am and 1pm Hall One, Kings Place Primary Schools Concert for Key Stage 2 Monday 9 March 2015 at 10.30am and 12pm Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre

Collagist, sculptor, composer and turntablist, Christian Marclay is one of the most remarkable artists of his generation, whose fusion of fine art and audio cultures finds him as readily at home in a gallery as a concert hall. Using found material including vinyl records, gramophones, album covers and film, Marclay transforms intangible musical ideas into visible, physical forms. On Sunday afternoons during his solo exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey short concerts will include the London Sinfonietta, performing new works commissioned by Marclay’s collaborators. #bluetouchpaper

Two brand new schools concerts will inspire pupils and teachers with the music of today. Secondary schools will experience the work of minimalist composer Steve Reich through curriculum set works Electric Counterpoint and New York Counterpoint. Primary schools will explore the relationship between music and maths, animated by vibrant live performance and audience participation.

TEACHER TRAINING Wednesday 28 January – Sunday 12 April 2015 Led by composer and educationalist Fraser Trainer alongside White Cube Bermondsey London Sinfonietta players, workshops for secondary school Entry to the gallery and concerts is free teachers will take place in partnership with the Institute Full details published in November 2014 of Education and Islington Council. These sessions will focus on teaching composition and include practical exercises and Blue Touch Paper is where we light the fuse of new tools. work, with different art forms in alternative spaces. Contact takepart@londonsinfonietta.org.uk or visit Image: Christian Marclay 2014. © The artist londonsinfonietta.org.uk/schools-concerts

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A BLUE TOUCH PAPER EVENT

NEW MUSIC

REPEATING ENERGY As John Adams once described it, minimalism is to music what spring cleaning is to our COMMISSIONS environment. What better way to start the new year afresh thancontinues two concerts of minimalism’s The London Sinfonietta to commission new most celebrated composers, whose music for different events through the 2014/15music season.holds listeners in a joyous, hypnotic soundworld. Sir Harrison Birtwistle is celebrated as we perform newAs parttoofhisthe year-long at Kings additions duet series in series December plus aPlace, new Terry chamber opera, at Aldeburgh Festival and Riley’s In The C isCure, followed one month later bythe a Royal stack Opera of House in June.Steve Many Reich other composers feature must-see pieces including throughout the season new works by from solo to ensemble. Clapping Music,inperformed Reich himself. Make new music happen by supporting #minimalismunwrapped commissions as a member of the Pioneers. Visit londonsinfonietta.org.uk/pioneers

CHRISTIAN MARCLAY EXHIBITION A BLUE TOUCH PAPER EVENT Collagist, sculptor, composer and turntablist, Christian Marclay is one of the most remarkable artists of his generation, whose fusion of fine art and audio cultures finds him as readily at home in a gallery as a concert hall. Using found material including vinyl records, gramophones, album covers and film, Marclay transforms intangible musical ideas into visible, physical forms. On Sunday afternoons during his solo exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey short concerts will include the London Sinfonietta, performing new works commissioned by Marclay’s collaborators. #bluetouchpaper

Wednesday 28 January – Sunday 12 April 2015 White Cube Bermondsey Entry to the gallery and concerts is free Full details published in November 2014 Blue Touch Paper is where we light the fuse of new work, with different art forms in alternative spaces. Image: Christian Marclay 2014. © The artist

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS

Michael Cox flute (supported by Michael & Patricia McLaren-Turner) Gareth Hulse oboe Mark van de Wiel clarinet John Orford bassoon Simon Haram saxophone Michael Thompson horn (supported by Belinda Matthews) Byron Fulcher trombone Alistair Mackie trumpet Jonathan Morton violin 1 (supported by Paul & Sybella Zisman) Joan Atherton violin 2

Paul Silverthorne viola (supported by Nick & Claire Prettejohn) Tim Gill cello (supported by Sir Stephen Oliver QC) Enno Senft double bass (supported by Anthony Mackintosh) Helen Tunstall harp David Hockings percussion John Constable piano Ian Dearden Sound Intermedia (supported by Penny Jonas) David Sheppard Sound Intermedia (supported by Penny Jonas)

EMERGING ARTISTS Joshua Batty flute Scott Lygate clarinet Nicolas Fleury horn Christian Barraclough trumpet Geoffrey Paterson conductor Brilliant musicians at the start of promising careers are selected by our Principal Players and given professional opportunities alongside them on stage over a two-year period.

Support one of our Principal Players or Emerging Artists for a season and enjoy a close connection with the ensemble. Visit londonsinfonietta.org.uk/pioneers

The Emerging Artists Programme is supported by Goldsmiths Company Charity, Dunard Fund, the Stanley Picker Trust, EsmĂŠe Fairbairn Foundation and Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation. Image: Eric Richmond photography.

SPECTRUM OF SOUND THE MUSIC BETWEEN THE NOTES This two-part series explores the extraordinary advances in sonic manipulation over recent years, from the maverick pioneers of the second half of the 20th century to spectral music of the 21st. Using quarter-tones to destabilise harmony and pulsing rhythms to obscure a sense of meter, yesterday’s composers opened up the possibilities for new directions in tuning and texture, a baton now passed to the mixed-media, computer-led, electronic composers of today. #spectrumofsound SPECTRUM OF SOUND: PART 1 Friday 27 February 2015 at 7.45pm Purcell Room, Southbank Centre Tickets £12 (+ concessions) Unreserved seating Transaction fees apply (see back cover) Iannis Xenakis Aroura Claude Vivier Zipangu Georg Friedrich Haas Open Spaces (UK premiere) Mica Levi New work (world premiere) André de Ridder conductor

SPECTRUM OF SOUND: PART 2 Saturday 28 March 2015 from 6pm Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre Tickets £15 (+ concessions) Unreserved seating Transaction fees apply (see back cover) 6pm Pre-concert talk Professor Jonathan Cross explores the use of texture, timbre, microtones and overtones as compositional techniques in the 20th and 21st centuries. 7.30pm Concert Giacinto Scelsi Kya* György Ligeti Chamber Concerto Tristian Murail La Chambre des cartes Georg Friedrich Haas “Ich suchte, aber ich fand ihn nicht.” (UK premiere) Thierry Fischer conductor Mark van de Wiel solo clarinet* 9.30pm Late night lounge Expanding the sonic journey into the electronic and electroacoustic. Mica Levi’s new work is a London Sinfonietta commission.

HAAS: ATTHIS

READ MORE The London Sinfonietta blog is a space to discover more about the new music we’re playing this season, whether you want to get under the skin of a composer before hearing their work or have a nose at what our players get up to on tour. LONDON SINFONIETTA TRAVELS Globetrot with our players by following their diaries and photos of international tours. (UN)EASY LISTENING?

Written more than two and a half thousand years ago, the beauty of Sappho’s lyric love poetry continues to cast a spell over composers. With Atthis, a setting of Sappho’s fragments, Haas said he wanted to write ‘a modern Winterreise with a happy ending’. Although the texts evoke the same expressive spirit of Schubert’s masterpiece, Haas’ rich use of overtones – seamlessly blended here with lighting and video created by Netia Jones – will lure you into a brilliantly intense 21st century soundworld. #atthis

THIS IS _ Wednesday 22, Friday 24 and Saturday April 2015 7.45pm Their highs,25 their lows and at their best musical joke. Discover the The Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera HouseQ&As. people behindStudio the music in our quick-fire composer On sale Monday 20 October 2014 Read our blog at londonsinfonietta.wordpress.com Georg Friedrich Haas Atthis (UK premiere) String Quartet No. 2 (UK premiere) Pierre-André Valade conductor Claire Booth soprano Netia Jones director and video artist Co-production between the Royal Opera House and London Sinfonietta.

TAKE PART

A MODERN WINTERREISE

Gain an insight into the unique, and sometimes challenging, style that characterises the composers we’re working with this year. Audio-illustrated articles will come courtesy of Philip Cashian (composer and Head of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music) before each event.

SPECTRUM OF SOUND

WATCH MORE

We take a video camera into their studio/living room/garden shed for an afternoon, and they write: catch a glimpse into the working life of the emerging composers we’ve THE MUSIC BETWEEN THE commissioned this season. Most recently we NOTES stopped by Tom Coult’s flat in Peckham, whose solo Etudes 3 & 4 were premiered our Principal Jonthan in July 2014. This by two-part seriesViolin explores theMorton extraordinary

advances in sonic manipulation over recent

Watchyears, our videos youtube.com/londonsinfonietta/videos fromatthe maverick pioneers of the second

half of the 20th century to spectral music of the

HEAR MORE 21st. Using quarter-tones to destabilise harmony and pulsing rhythms to obscure a sense of

Hear what is in the head of composers writing today as we meter, yesterday’s composers opened up the share their iPod playlists. Samantha Fernando is currently possibilities for work, new directions in tuning composing a new solo to be performed in theand near a batonFlute nowMichael passedCox. to the mixed-media, futuretexture, by our Principal Here’s our pick electronic composers of today. of her computer-led, playlist: Dutilleux Ainsi La Nuit #spectrumofsound My favourite string quartet. SPECTRUM OF SOUND: PART 1 Jeff Buckley Grace Friday 27 February 2015 at 7.45pm My all-time favourite I can only listen to it every now Purcell Room,album. Southbank Centre and again...it’s one (+ of those! Tickets £12 concessions) Unreserved seating Debussy Beau Soir, Anne-Sophie Transaction feesplayed applyby (see back cover)Mutter The most perfect way to say goodnight.

TAKE PART

Iannis Xenakis Aroura Hear our playlists at londonsinfonietta.wordpress.com Claude Vivier Zipangu

Georg Friedrich Haas Open Spaces (UK premiere) Mica Levi New work (world premiere)

9.30pm Late night lounge Expanding the sonic journey into the electronic and electroacoustic.

André de Ridder conductor

Mica Levi’s new work is a London Sinfonietta commission.

HAAS: ATTHIS A MODERN WINTERREISE Written more than two and a half thousand years ago, the beauty of Sappho’s lyric love poetry continues to cast a spell over composers. With Atthis, a setting of Sappho’s fragments, Haas said he wanted to write ‘a modern Winterreise with a happy ending’. Although the texts evoke the same expressive spirit of Schubert’s masterpiece, Haas’ rich use of overtones – seamlessly blended here with lighting and video created by Netia Jones – will lure you into a brilliantly intense 21st century soundworld. #atthis

Wednesday 22, Friday 24 and Saturday 25 April 2015 at 7.45pm The Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House On sale Monday 20 October 2014 Georg Friedrich Haas Atthis (UK premiere) String Quartet No. 2 (UK premiere) Pierre-André Valade conductor Claire Booth soprano Netia Jones director and video artist Co-production between the Royal Opera House and London Sinfonietta.

NOTES TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT SONGS OF PROTEST SONGS OF HOPE What will the General Election of 2015 bring? The weekend after polling day, we perform two sets of newly commissioned works. Co-curated by Matthew Herbert and the Royal Philharmonic Society, a group of composers consider the society before them – and the society they hope to influence and help create. From songs of protest to songs of hope, music has always played a pivotal role at times of social change and this concert launches a new era of impassioned political expression. #ihavehope

Saturday 9 May 2015 from 6pm Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre Tickets £15 (+ concessions) Unreserved seating Transaction fees apply (see back cover) 6pm Purcell Room set Short ensemble works by emerging composers commissioned in partnership with the Royal Philharmonic Society. 8pm Queen Elizabeth Hall set Songs of protest and hope by an eclectic range of composers carrying messages to the next government. Andrew Gourlay conductor Matthew Herbert co-curator Part of Southbank Centre’s festival History of Now.

A PAIRING OF LOVE AND LOSS

This music theatre double bill begins with a ‘photographic blow-up’ of one of the most heartrending moments of classical mythology: the fatal instant when Orpheus, glancing back along the corridor to the Underworld, inadvertently condemns Eurydice to an eternity in Hell. Now, Birtwistle returns with The Corridor’s ‘second half’: the restorative tale of Ovid’s Medea, who uses her powers to give new life to her lover’s ageing father, Aeson. The world premiere of The Cure will open the 2015 Aldeburgh Festival in a double bill with The Corridor, followed by further performances at Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio Theatre. With introspective narratives that are as austere and compelling as Birtwistle’s music, this intimate chamber opera pairing is theatre in close-up. #birtwistledoublebill

NEW MUSIC

BIRTWISTLE: THE CORRIDOR / THE CURE Friday 12, Sunday 14 and Monday 15 June 2015 Britten Studio, Aldeburgh Festival On sale January 2015 Thursday 18, Saturday 20, Monday 22, Wednesday 24, Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June 2015 The Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House Tickets £40, £35, £25, £24, £12.50 On sale Tuesday 27 January 2015

PIONEERS

Sir Harrison Birtwistle The Corridor We make new premiere) music. You make new music happen. The Cure (world From famous namesconductor to emerging composers, new music Geoffrey Paterson is waiting toAtherton be written and you can be the catalyst to Elizabeth soprano realising it. Pioneers Mark Padmore tenorare vital to the success of the London Sinfonietta and enjoy a close relationship with the ensemble. David Harsent librettist Put yourself at thedirector forefront of new music and help fund Martin Duncan new works. Alison Chitty set & costume designer Paul Pyant lighting designer Annual membership starts from just £35, Co-commissioned less than £3 and perco-produced month. by the Aldeburgh Festival and

Royal Opera House, with additional support from the London Sinfonietta.

Contact pioneers@londonsinfonietta.org.uk or visit londonsinfonietta.org.uk/pioneers

NEW MUSIC

NOTES TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT

ENTREPRENEURS In the lead up to our 50th birthday in 2018, we are building SONGS PROTEST partnerships withOF passionate individuals who share our vision for making new music and can help us by supporting and SONGS OF HOPE shaping future projects.

What will the General Election of 2015 bring?

Entrepreneurs enjoy an open dialogue involvement The weekend after polling day,and weclose perform two with the ensemble through the area they choose to support, sets of newly commissioned works. Co-curated including:

by Matthew Herbert and the Royal Philharmonic Society, group of composers consider the Performance &atouring society before them – and the society they Commissioning Younghope talentto& influence communityand help create. From songs to songs of hope, music has always Digitalof&protest audiences Foundation costs playedsupporting a pivotalcore rolerunning at times of social change and this concert launches a new era of Individual Entrepreneur memberships start at £10,000 impassioned political expression. payable over a maximum of five years (£2,000 per year) and we also welcome corporate and syndicate members.

#ihavehope

Contact elizabeth.davies@londonsinfonietta.org.uk or visit londonsinfonietta.org.uk/entrepreneurs

BIRTWISTLE: THE CORRIDOR / THE CURE A PAIRING OF LOVE AND LOSS

Friday 12, Sunday 14 and Monday 15 June 2015 Britten Studio, Aldeburgh Festival On sale January 2015 Thursday 18, Saturday 20, Monday 22, Wednesday 24, Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June 2015 The Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House Tickets £40, £35, £25, £24, £12.50 On sale Tuesday 27 January 2015 Sir Harrison Birtwistle The Corridor The Cure (world premiere) Geoffrey Paterson conductor Elizabeth Atherton soprano Mark Padmore tenor David Harsent librettist Martin Duncan director Alison Chitty set & costume designer Paul Pyant lighting designer Co-commissioned and co-produced by the Aldeburgh Festival and Royal Opera House, with additional support from the London Sinfonietta.

MUSICIANS OF TOMORROW

LONDON SINFONIETTA ACADEMY FINAL PERFORMANCE An end-of-season celebration as some of the best young musicians of their generation – auditioned from colleges across the world – form an ensemble. Coached by our Principal Players over an intensive week of rehearsals, workshops and masterclasses, the Academy culminates in an exciting, visceral performance of the music of today by these musicians of tomorrow. #LSAcademy

Sunday 12 July 2015 The Platform Theatre, Central Saint Martins On sale early 2015 via Eventbrite

The London Sinfonietta’s touring work continues with appearances at important national and international festivals and venues, including:

SEPTEMBER 2014

SINGAPORE Four-day residency at the International Festival of the Arts, charting the history of 20th century music ITALY Performance at the annual Florence Arts Music Event

POLAND With our celebrated Warp Works programme at the Sacrum Profanum Festival in Kraków

NOVEMBER 2014

UK Side-by-side performance of Michael Finnissy’s Remembrance with Southampton University students at Turner Sims RUSSIA New British and Russian music conducted by Vladimir Jurowski at The Other Space Festival in Moscow UK World premiere of James Dillon’s Stabat Mater Dolorosa at hcmf//, repeated at Southbank Centre in January 2015

The London Sinfonietta Academy is a unique opportunity for talented players at the start of their professional careers to perform new music with the guidance of London Sinfonietta Principal Players. The week-long course starts on Monday 6 July 2015 and culminates in a public performance on Sunday 12 July 2015.

MARCH 2015

Auditions place in early 2015.and Spanish SPAIN A take programme of British Contact academy@londonsinfonietta.org.uk or visit contemporary music in Bilbao at the BBVA londonsinfonietta.org.uk/london-sinfonietta-academy Foundation The London Sinfonietta Academy is generously supported by Dunard Fund,

the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Help Musicians UK and Leverhulme Trust’s Arts APRIL 2015 Scholarships Grant.

HUNGARY Steve Reich’s Radio Rewrite at the Budapest Spring Festival

MAY 2015

POLAND Two-concert residency in Katowice, including a symphonic programme featuring Henryk Górecki’s Third Symphony

JUNE 2015

UK World premiere performances of Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s The Cure in a double bill with The Corridor, at Aldeburgh Festival and the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio Theatre

AUGUST 2015

AUSTRIA A repeat of the Sir Harrison Birtwistle double bill at Bregenz Opera Festival

TAKE PART

ON TOUR

LONDON SINFONIETTA ACADEMY

NEW MUSIC

MUSICIANS OF TOMORROW

ON RECORD Our recordings continue to offer world-class performances on disc and digital download, in partnership with different labels. Releases in the near future will include:ACADEMY LONDON SINFONIETTA

FINAL PERFORMANCE

Next Wave | NMC Recordings New works by emerging composers commissioned by An end-of-season celebration as some of the Sound and Music’s Higher Education Programme 2013-14

best young musicians of their generation – auditioned from colleges across the world – form Sir Harrison Birtwistle | NMC Recordings an ensemble. Coached ourFighter Principal Players Including In Broken Images and by Angel over an intensive week of rehearsals, workshops George | Nimbus andBenjamin masterclasses, theRecords Academy culminates in Into the Hill conducted the composerof the music anLittle exciting, visceral by performance of today by these musicians of tomorrow. Sinfonietta Shorts | NMC Recordings Ongoing series of downloads

#LSAcademy

To see our past releases visit londonsinfonietta.org.uk/recordings

Sunday 12 July 2015 The Platform Theatre, Central Saint Martins On sale early 2015 via Eventbrite

ON TOUR

The London Sinfonietta’s touring work continues with appearances at important national and international festivals and venues, including:

SEPTEMBER 2014

SINGAPORE Four-day residency at the International Festival of the Arts, charting the history of 20th century music ITALY Performance at the annual Florence Arts Music Event

POLAND With our celebrated Warp Works programme at the Sacrum Profanum Festival in Kraków

NOVEMBER 2014

MARCH 2015

SPAIN A programme of British and Spanish contemporary music in Bilbao at the BBVA Foundation

APRIL 2015

HUNGARY Steve Reich’s Radio Rewrite at the Budapest Spring Festival

MAY 2015

POLAND Two-concert residency in Katowice, including a symphonic programme featuring Henryk Górecki’s Third Symphony

JUNE 2015

UK World premiere performances of Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s The Cure in a double bill with The Corridor, at Aldeburgh Festival and the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio Theatre

AUGUST 2015

AUSTRIA A repeat of the Sir Harrison Birtwistle double bill at Bregenz Opera Festival

London Sinfonietta would like to thank the following organisations for their support over the last year: TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS Ammodo Foundation The Angus Allnatt Charitable Trust Arts Council England Austrian Cultural Forum The Boltini Trust British Council The Derek Butler Trust The City of London Corporation’s City Bridge Trust Cochemé Charitable Trust The John S Cohen Foundation Columbia Foundation Fund of the London Community Foundation The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Danish Arts Council Committee for Music Danish Composers Society The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The John Ellerman Foundation Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Esmée Fairbairn Foundation The Garrick Charitable Trust Goethe Institute Help Musicians UK Lord Harewood Trust The Hepner Foundation The Holst Foundation Jerwood Charitable Foundation The Leche Trust The Leverhulme Trust The Stanley Picker Trust PRS for Music Foundation The RVW Trust Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation Royal Philharmonic Society

LONDON SINFONIETTA HONORARY PATRONS John Bird Sir Harrison Birtwistle Alfred Brendel KBE ENTREPRENEURS Anthony Bolton Annabel Graham Paul Penny Jonas Nicholas Lyons Robert McFarland Michael & Patricia McLaren-Turner Anthony Mackintosh Sir Stephen Oliver QC Nick & Claire Prettejohn Richard Thomas Paul & Sybella Zisman LEAD PIONEERS Sir Richard Arnold Trevor Cook Susan Grollet in memory of Mark Grollet Leo & Regina Hepner Penny Jonas Anthony Mackintosh Belinda Matthews Andrew Mitchell Sir Stephen Oliver QC Nick & Claire Prettejohn Andrew Rosner Paul & Sybella Zisman

CREATIVE PIONEERS Ian Baker Andrew Burke Robert Clark & Susan Costello Jeremy & Yvonne Clarke Rachel Coldicutt Anton Cox Dennis Davis Patrick Hall Nicholas Hodgson Andrew Hunt Frank & Linda Jeffs Alana Petraske Walter A. Marlowe Julie Nicholls Simon Osborne Patricia O’Sullivan Ruth Rattenbury Iain Stewart Anne Stoddart Barry Tennison Antonia Till David & Jenni Wake Walker Fenella Warden Estela Welldon John Wheatley Jane Williams Stephen Williamson Michelle Wright Paul & Sybella Zisman Plus those generous Lead and Creative Pioneers who prefer to remain anonymous

LONDON SINFONIETTA COUNCIL Paul Zisman chairman Andrew Burke Ian Dearden David Hockings Penny Jonas Alana Petraske Belinda Matthews Philip Meaden Matthew Pike Paul Silverthorne Sally Taylor Elizabeth Davies company secretary LONDON SINFONIETTA STAFF Andrew Burke Chief Executive Elizabeth Davies General Manager Sarah Tennant Head of Concert Production Natalie Marchant Concerts & Touring Administrator Tina Speed Participation & Learning Manager Shoubhik Bandopadhyay Participation & Learning Assistant Claire Barton Development Manager Amy Forshaw Marketing Manager Claire Lampon Marketing & Development Officer James Joslin Administration & Recordings Officer Viktória Márk Finance Assistant Jack Hill Projects Intern (Surrey University Professional Training Placement) FREELANCE AND CONSULTANT STAFF Hal Hutchison Concerts Manager Lesley Wynne Orchestra Personnel Manager Tony Simpson Lighting Designer Michelle Wright for Cause4 Fundraising Consultant Julie Nicholls Consultant Accountant sounduk Public Relations London Sinfonietta is grateful to its accountants Martin Greene Ravden LLP and its auditors MGR Audit Limited for their ongoing support. The London Sinfonietta is proud to be supported and broadcast by BBC Radio 3. For full details of programmes and broadcasts visit bbc.co.uk/radio3

2014/15 EVENTS ROMITELLI: AN INDEX OF METALS Wednesday 8 October, Queen Elizabeth Hall

BIRTWISTLE: A CELEBRATION

Friday 5 December, Queen Elizabeth Hall

ALTERNATIVE VISIONS

Wednesday 10 December, BFI Southbank

RILEY: IN C

Saturday 10 January, Kings Place

DILLON: STABAT MATER DOLOROSA Wednesday 21 January, Queen Elizabeth Hall

CHRISTIAN MARCLAY EXHIBITION Wednesday 28 January – Sunday 12 April, White Cube Bermondsey

REICH: IN PERSON

Saturday 14 February, Kings Place

SPECTRUM OF SOUND: PART 1

Friday 27 February, Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall

SPECTRUM OF SOUND: PART 2

Saturday 28 March, Queen Elizabeth Hall

HAAS: ATTHIS

Wednesday 22, Friday 24 and Saturday 25 April, Linbury Studio Theatre at Royal Opera House

NOTES TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT Saturday 9 May, Queen Elizabeth Hall

BIRTWISTLE: THE CORRIDOR / THE CURE

Friday 12, Sunday 14 and Monday 15 June, Aldeburgh Festival Thursday 18, Saturday 20, Monday 22, Wednesday 24, Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June, The Linbury Studio Theatre at Royal Opera House

MUSICIANS OF TOMORROW

Sunday 12 July, Platform Theatre at Central Saint Martins All information was correct at time of going to press. The London Sinfonietta reserves the right to make changes where necessary. Design harrison-agency.com

BOOKING INFORMATION Southbank Centre 0844 847 9940 southbankcentre.co.uk No transaction fees for Southbank Centre Members and Supporters, or in-person bookings. For online bookings: £1.75. For phone bookings: £2.75. Kings Place 020 7520 1490 kingsplace.co.uk No transaction fees for online bookings. For in-person or phone bookings: £2 per ticket. Royal Opera House 020 7304 4000 roh.org.uk BFI Southbank 020 7928 3232 bfi.org.uk Transaction fee for non-member bookings: £1 per ticket. Aldeburgh Festival 01728 687110 aldeburgh.co.uk White Cube Bermondsey 020 7930 5373 whitecube.com Central Saint Martins Tickets sold via Eventbrite on the London Sinfonietta website.

CONTACT US London Sinfonietta Kings Place, 90 York Way London, N1 9AG info@londonsinfonietta.org.uk T 020 7239 9340 F 020 7239 9369 Sinfonietta Productions Ltd Registered in England No. 926551 Registered Charity No. 255095 VAT Registered No. GB 229 658918 Headquarters at