THE BOULEZ/CAGE LETTERS
24/25 SEASON
The London Sinfonietta acknowledges Arts Council England for its support of the ensemble, as well as many other trusts and individuals who enable us to realise our ambitions. This concert is produced by London Sinfonietta. The broader work of the London Sinfonietta is significantly supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation, the John Ellerman Foundation and with the friendly support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.
THE BOULEZ/ CAGE LETTERS
7pm Evening Concert
John Cage Six Melodies (17’)
Pierre Boulez Pour Dr Kalmus (4’)
John Cage Credo in US (12’)
Pierre Boulez Dérive 1 (6’)
INTERVAL
Pierre Boulez Domaines (14’)
John Cage Variations I (10’)
Readings taken from The Boulez-Cage Correspondence edited by Jean-Jacques Nattiez, translated and edited by Robert Samuels, Cambridge University Press
SUNDAY 9 MARCH
PURCELL ROOM AT QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL
Mark van de Wiel clarinet
Thomas Kemp conductor
Michael McCarthy director
Francesca Amewudah-Rivers actor
Sarah Nicolls prepared piano London Sinfonietta
This concert was co-curated by Andrew Burke & Michael McCarthy.
Tell us what you think:
We would be very grateful if you filled in this short questionnaire. It helps us and Southbank Centre know more about people who are coming and for you to let us know your opinions so we can reflect on them for future projects. Thank you very much.
Joost Evers
© Rex Rystedt
WELCOME
A MOMENT IN TIME
Welcome to tonight’s concert.
It’s been a fascinating journey putting this event together, delving into the correspondence between Pierre Boulez and John Cage from a time when so much in the world was beginning to change. Looking back from today, we have been able to draw conclusions from different compositions and create threads of developments in the evolution of the post-war music scene. Of course, at the time, each composer evolved piece by piece – and the letters give a very clear sense of that discovery.
I’m grateful to Michael McCarthy for adding stage craft to this project. It’s really easy with music to very quickly sink into the language of terminology and techniques (and quickly talk over the heads of many curious listeners), and we have tried to avoid this and make the people involved come to life. It’s good also to partner with conductor Thomas Kemp and we aim to take this project to his festival in Malling in September.
We continue to work hard on the future of the London Sinfonietta. The funding challenges which all arts organisations face at the moment have been intensified for us, yet we believe we are finding a way through. The sell-out success of the first half of our season has been a huge boost, giving us confidence
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in the audience interest for this repertoire – thanks to those of you who have attended. We hope that tonight is an exciting exploration of this world of music which we have been passionate about for decades. We continue to be grateful for our Residency at the Southbank Centre, where we can bring our projects such as tonight, and also collaborate with the venue itself on their festivals and initiatives. We share with them the passion to find new audiences with new formats, which may entice people to come on the journey of exploration with us.
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Andrew Burke Chief Executive & Artistic Director
London Sinfonietta
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The very idea of an excited correspondence between Boulez and Cage – the two seemingly polarised opposites of mid twentieth-century western composition – seems highly unlikely. How could the ultimate master of discipline and control see eye to eye with the leading instigator of chance and happenings? What was it that drew them together and generated such an enthusiastic relationship? What happened when Cage knocked on Boulez’s door in 1949 that led to such a striking friendship? What did they get from each other?
The meeting of these two exceptional minds happened at a moment in time. Just 4 years after the end of WWII the distance between Europe and America had diminished, but there were still huge cultural differences. The only way to communicate and exchange ideas and music was by post and both men felt starved of musical debate in their own countries. Both set out to free themselves of the overpowering ego of the composer-artist and the limitations of the inherited musical systems and hierarchy of tonality. Both of them wanted to re-think how music was made.
It would seem that at this very moment, they needed each other to be able to move their own ideas forward. Cage had already made a major breakthrough with the prepared piano, and Boulez loved it for the way it created new sound possibilities which did not seem possible with the instruments at his disposal. Cage had also attempted to establish a centre for experimental music where technicians and musicians would collaborate in acoustic research, including the field of electronics. Meanwhile, Boulez was exploring ever more rigorous systems which seemed to remove conventional responsibilities from the composer, pushing serial processes to the very limit.
Exploring this correspondence has given us a sense of the people behind the received impressions we have of them, revealing their humanity, shared mission, mutual support and challenge, and their enjoyment of each others searching minds. Our aim is to share this exploration with you by drawing you into their shared world, glimpsing the nature of their animated exchanges. To do this, we have created the role of the Researcher who will read extracts from the letters with her own sense of discovery. The ultimate aim is to listen to the music Boulez and Cage created with fresh ears, uncluttered by historic associations and assumptions, and to generate the sense of excitement and creativity Cage and Boulez experienced as they set about re-imagining how to create music in the new world they found themselves in.
Andrew Burke & Michael McCarthy, 2025
2025: OUR NEW MUSIC STORIES
EXPANDING AUDIENCES
The first half of our 24/25 season saw sold-out venues, with 2079 tickets sold and up to 60% first-time contemporary classical attendees.
“I think more classical music events should be willing to push boundaries... I can tell serious thought went into every aspect of the evening and it was wonderful.”
Schoenberg Reshaping Tradition attendee, Southbank Centre, Oct 24
Our YouTube films reach tens of thousands of views worldwide each month. In 2024, we released 29 new pieces viewed by 211,900 people across over 50 countries.
NEW MUSIC SHEDS A LIGHT ON STORIES OF OUR LIVES TODAY
Join us for three new commissions this Spring/Summer:
3 April: ‘Hidden Voices’ we have been awarded one of only ten exceptional £100,000 Cockayne - Grants for the Arts awards, and Laurence Osborn’s world premiere is the first in a series of eight major new Cockayne Commissions. Mute is inspired by voices in history who are ignored, unknown or suppressed.
12 June: ‘Humans’ includes Pablo Martinez’s work based on his mother’s life and Sun Keting’s exploration of technology’s impact on relationships.
SCHOOLS JOIN LONDON SINFONIETTA FOR UK TOUR
Our Sound Out! Schools Concert received an Arts Council grant to tour the UK, featuring new works by school children. The tour includes 13 performances across Enfield, Isle of Wight, Southampton, Rushmoor, and Bristol, and young instrumentalists will join the London Sinfonietta ensemble on stage alongside world premieres of their music. In March 2024, 2,098 children attended the Sound Out Concert at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.
Composition Challenges won the Music & Drama Education Award for progressive music education. An initiative to provide inspiring ideas for young people to creatively compose in the classroom, during our 2023/24 season over 58 schools participated, with 76 teachers and 11,000+ young people watching online.
“I felt confident about taking on the challenge of making my very own composition.”
Gloria, Year 5
SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES
We continue our place-making work in Enfield and Camden. In Enfield, we’ve engaged over 2,296 people in creative music making, with 53 young composers having their works performed by the London Sinfonietta.
TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION
We’re working with emerging composers through our Writing the Future composers programme and collaborating with the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatoire musicians for mentorship and performances.
FUNDING SUCCESS
We have secured significant funding, including a £100,000 Cockayne Grant, core funding from the John Ellerman Foundation, support from the Garfield Weston Foundation, Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants, Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, Karlsson Játiva Charitable Foundation, and Simon Gibson Charitable Trust. This funding supports our work in new music commissions and performances, schools and community projects.
This is in addition to existing grants from the Jerwood Foundation and many other trusts, foundations and individuals who have responded to the London Sinfonietta’s programme of commissions, performances, school and community work.
SIX MELODIES (15’)
IMPROVISÉ - POUR LE
Six Melodies (1950) is a serene and introspective work for violin and keyboard, written as a postscript to Cage’s String Quartet in Four Parts. In a letter to Pierre Boulez, Cage himself referred to it as an epilogue, drawing from the same gamut of sounds. The piece explores melodic lines without accompaniment, using single tones and intervals that require one or both instruments for their production.
The work is built on a rhythmic structure that creates an understated but deliberate sense of balance and form. Despite its simplicity, Six Melodies evokes a remarkable range of moods from a limited palette, with notes arranged in ever-changing permutations.
Listening to Six Melodies is like watching a glass mobile spin gently overhead – each fragment orbits the others, occasionally brushing past but mostly existing independently, suspended in delicate harmony. The work’s quiet, meditative atmosphere exemplifies the indeterminate techniques that would later define Cage’s compositional voice, offering a glimpse of the creative philosophy that would reshape 20th century music.
Pierre Boulez composed Improvisé - pour le Dr. Kalmus as a tribute to Alfred A. Kalmus, the head of the London office of Universal Edition, on his 80th birthday. Kalmus had been instrumental in editing the first works by Boulez published by the London branch of the company. Later in life, Boulez revised the piece to mark his own milestone – entering his ninth decade.
The work, doubtlessly crafted with Boulez’s hallmark precision, combines crystalline organisation with a sense of unpredictability, evoking a delicate balance between structure and spontaneity. On first hearing, its complexity might feel chaotic, but closer listening reveals the intricate artistry for which Boulez is celebrated.
CREDO IN US (12’)
DOMAINES
(14’)
Credo in US was originally composed as music for the eponymous choreographed piece by Merce Cunningham and Jean Erdman, following the metric phrasing of the dance. It marked the first time Cage incorporated records or radios into his work and included the music of other composers – he suggested Dvořák, Beethoven, Sibelius or Shostakovich. Described by Cage as a suite with a satirical character, the piece combines a diverse array of instruments and sounds, including muted gongs, electric buzzers, tin cans, tom toms, and prepared piano, whose strings are muted or played percussively.
The inclusion of a turntable or radio, used not just to sustain tones but to introduce pre-existing music, was groundbreaking. This allowed the musical languages of the past to enter Cage’s sonic landscape, creating ever-renewable possibilities for interpretation. With different recordings chosen for each performance, Credo in US offers infinite potential for variation, making every rendition a unique exploration of sound and meaning.
DÉRIVE I (6’)
Boulez’s Domaines is extraordinary, brilliant and dramatic. It probably started life in 1959 as a single page sketch on a sheet of hotel room notepaper, under the title Labyrinthe. This seems to plan a spatial work with a solo and groups of instruments. The work developed during the 1960s as a spatial solo clarinet piece, consisting of 12 cahiers (notebooks), each of which is a single page containing 6 musical fragments. The first 6 cahiers are marked “original”, the other 6 “miroir”, which transform and reorder the material of the “original”. As the piece developed, Boulez returned to the concept of different instrumental groups playing between the solo clarinet cahiers, and the planned premiere of Domaines in December 1968 was of this version, but Boulez needed to replace an unfinished piece for a concert in Ulm three months earlier, so the solo clarinet version was hurriedly finished, and was premiered by Hans Deinzer. It’s apt that for this piece, with its intriguing mixture of strict control and choice, the choice of version for the premiere was a matter of chance.
Dérive translates roughly as “derivative”; the piece is derived from two of Boulez’s other compositions Répons (1981) and Messagesquisse (1976/77). The “derivative” is also a sequence of variations “on the name Sacher”. Six chords build a circular rotation, which mimic the structure of the piece, but also soften it.
The piece was premiered in 1985 by the London Sinfonietta, conducted by the late Oliver Knussen.
The clarinet part for the solo version and the ensemble version is the same, as is the spatial separation into domaines, or areas. Each of the 6 cahiers original and the 6 miroirs contains 6 musical fragments, ranging from a single note to several lines of complex music. The performer must play the 6 originals first, in any order, then the 6 miroirs, again in any order. Within each cahier there is a choice whether to read the order of fragments horizontally or vertically, and within each fragment there are many choices of dynamic, colour effect, normal or multiphonic. Boulez specifies that whichever choices are made in the original, different, often opposite, choices must be made for the miroir. The huge number of possible combinations for a resulting performance, and the mixture of choice and rule, may sound academic, but the drama of Boulez’s writing, exploring the range of the clarinet through atmospheric and virtuoso writing including contemporary clarinet techniques which were being developed alongside the composition of Domaines, makes for an exhilarating experience. The simple instruction “play in any order” challenges the performer’s imagination. I’ve tried to make choices which help to clarify this brilliant and pioneering composition while at the same time taking both myself and the listener on an exciting and dramatic journey.
© Mark van de Wiel
VARIATIONS I (10’)
For David Tudor, on his birthday, January 1958.
Variations I is derived from notation BV (a system of musical notation using dots and lines) from the Solo for piano (from Concert for piano and orchestra). Five different transparencies contain randomly arranged sets of five lines. One or more of these transparencies is to be superimposed on the points from the BV notation to create a program for the performance.
TONIGHT’S ARTISTS
van
Mark van de Wiel is a leading British clarinettist, serving as principal with the London Sinfonietta, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, and Endymion. He performs worldwide as a soloist and has premiered works by renowned composers. Van de Wiel studied at Oxford and the Royal College of Music, and is now a professor at the Royal Academy of Music. Recently, he premiered a new clarinet quintet by Phibbs at Kings Place with the Brodsky Quartet. He has also commissioned a clarinet concerto by Jonathan Dove, set to premiere in 2026 with the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall. Several recordings featuring Van de Wiel are scheduled for release on the Signum label in 2025 and 2026, including works by Peter Maxwell Davies with the London Sinfonietta.
Thomas Kemp is an acclaimed conductor and artistic director known for innovative programming that contextualizes contemporary music. He frequently guest conducts in the UK and Europe and directs Chamber Domaine, an ensemble focused on 20th and 21st century music. In 2022, they received five-star reviews for premiering new works alongside Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. Kemp founded Music@ Malling, bringing world-class music to West Malling, Kent through an annual festival, summer series, and year-round outreach. The festival, praised for promoting contemporary, classical, and jazz music, was featured in The Guardian’s 10 Best Concerts and Operas. Thomas has an award-winning discography featuring contemporary composers. He has also had a successful career as a soloist, concertmaster, and chamber musician, praised by The Strad for his “lyrical yet assertive” playing and “glowing interpretations”.
© John Cage Trust
Mark
de Wiel clarinet
Thomas Kemp conductor
photo credit: Edmund Choo
TONIGHT’S PLAYERS
Philippa Davies flute
Mark van de Wiel* clarinet
Clio Gould violin
Paul Silverthorne* viola
Tim Gill* cello
David Hockings* percussion
Jess Wood percussion
Elizabeth Burley piano/percussion
*London Sinfonietta Principal Player
LONDON SINFONIETTA
The London Sinfonietta is one of the world’s leading contemporary music ensembles. Formed in 1968, our commitment to making new music has seen us commission over 470 works and premiere many hundreds more. Resident at the Southbank Centre and Artistic Associate at Kings Place, with a busy touring schedule across the UK and abroad, London Sinfonietta’s Principal Players are some of the finest musicians in the world.
Our ethos is to experiment constantly with the art form, working with the world’s best composers, performers, and artists to produce projects often involving film, theatre, dance and art. We challenge audience perceptions by commissioning work which addresses issues in today’s society, and we work closely with our audience as creators, performers and curators of the events we stage. We support and encourage musical creativity and the skills of composition in schools and communities across the UK as well as working in partnership with Higher Education Institutions to give emerging musicians the opportunity to experience specialist training in understanding and playing contemporary classical music.
The London Sinfonietta has also broken new ground by launching its own digital channel, featuring video programmes and podcasts about new music. We created Steve Reich’s Clapping Music App, a participatory rhythm game that has been downloaded over 600,000 times worldwide, while our back catalogue of recordings has helped cement our world-wide reputation.
“I am full of admiration for the way in which you are working and especially for the way in which you have generalised the concept of the series, and in your Etude for a single sound, made the correspondence between frequency and duration. I am fascinated by the correspondences between rows of different numbers. I am afraid this is a very sketchy letter and scarcely worth sending to you. However, you must realise that I spend a great deal of time tossing coins and the emptiness of head that that induces begins to penetrate the rest of my time as well. The best, I keep thinking, is that we will meet again soon.”
~ John Cage to Pierre Boulez, Summer 1952
THURSDAY 3
APRIL, 7.30PM
QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL
HIDDEN VOICES
HUMANS
THURSDAY 12 JUNE, 7PM
PURCELL ROOM AT QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL
EXPLORING VOICES
IGNORED, SUPPRESSED OR LOST
NARRATED BY POET
BELINDA ZHAWI
BERIO O KING; CHEMINS II
HANNAH KENDALL
SHOUTING FOREVER INTO THE RECEIVER
(UK PREMIERE)
LAURENCE OSBORN MUTE
(WORLD PREMIERE)
BERIO FOLK SONGS
SUN KETING CONDUIT
PABLO MARTINEZ
JUST FOR TODAY
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Principal Players
Michael Cox flute (supported by Michael and Patricia McLaren-Turner)
Gareth Hulse oboe (supported by John Hodgson)
Mark van de Wiel clarinet
Simon Haram saxophone
Byron Fulcher trombone
Jonathan Morton violin (supported by Paul & Sybella Zisman)
Paul Silverthorne viola
Tim Gill cello
Enno Senft double bass (supported by Anthony Mackintosh)
Helen Tunstall harp
David Hockings percussion (supported by Andy Spiceley)
London Sinfonietta Council
Fiona Thompson Chair
Andrew Burke
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Mark van de Wiel (principal player)
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Sud Basu
Tim Gill (principal player)
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© Monika Jakubowska
COMING SOON
HIDDEN VOICES
Themed around the world premiere of a new Laurence Osborn composition come works by Hannah Kendall and Luciano Berio exploring lost, hidden, obscured and suppressed voices from history.
Thurs 3 Apr 2025, 7.30pm
Queen Elizabeth Hall
For full details and to book visit londonsinfonietta.org.uk or southbankcentre. co.uk and join our e-list to receive further details of workshops and open rehearsals throughout the year.
MAYA DUNIETZ & FRIENDS: EMAHOY TSEGUÉ-MARYAM GUÈBROU
Hear treasures from Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou’s unique song collection in Amharic, French and English, composed between 1940 and 1980, and arrangements for string ensemble and piano by Dunietz.
Sun 4 May 2025, 6pm Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall
IN C
London Sinfonietta and dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests join forces to present their vision of Terry Riley’s In C, trailblazing piece of musical minimalism.
Tues 29 & Wed 30 Apr 2025
Queen Elizabeth Hall
HUMANS
Two exclusive premieres from rising stars of contemporary classical music. Sun Keting will collaborate with visual designer Ke Peng and dancer Lico Kehua Li to combine traditional and electronic music with dance, whilst Pablo Martinez will show you society through the eyes of a drug addict.
Thurs 12 Jun 2025, 7pm Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall
WRITING THE FUTURE: OMRI KOCHAVI
This exclusive world premiere is inspired by Fiona Davison’s An Almost Impossible Thing. Omri Kochavi will bring life to the stories of early female professional gardeners. An ensemble of instrumentalists, singers and on-stage gardeners join forces to celebrate the entangled lives of these exceptional women.
Sun 14 Sept 2025, 6pm
The Story Garden, British Library
