FABER MUSIC NEWS AUTUMN 2005 fortissimo! Benjamin premiered by Barenboim and the Chicago SO Colin Matthews commission reopens Dresden’s Frauenkirche ‘Sophie’s Choice’ staged in Berlin and Vienna ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ - Carl Davis commission from David Bintley Wider representation for Derek Bermel Harvey’s new opera takes shape Faber Music buys IMP Tuning In New Works from the Performance Department New Publications New Recordings Books on Music from Faber & Faber Media Spotlight CREDIT: MICHIHARU OKUBO FABER MUSIC 40 YEARS 1965 - 2005
Transcript
FA B E R M U S I C N E W S A U T U M N 2 0 0 5
fortissimo!Benjamin premiered by Barenboimand the Chicago SOColin Matthews commission reopens Dresden’s Frauenkirche
‘Sophie’s Choice’ staged in Berlin and Vienna
‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ - Carl Davis commission from David Bintley
Wider representation for Derek Bermel
Harvey’s new opera takes shape
Faber Music buys IMP
Tuning In
New Works from the Performance Department
New Publications
New Recordings
Books on Music from Faber & Faber
Media Spotlight
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Barenboim premieres Benjamin with Chicago SO
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George Benjamin’s new orchestral Dance Figures has been
premiered to much acclaim in Chicago by Daniel Barenboim
and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
The 17-minute work is a three-way co-commission
between the CSO, Strasbourg Musica and the Théâtre de la
Monnaie, Brussels. It receives its European concert premiere
on 23 September as part of Benjamin’s extended residency at
this year’s Strasbourg Musica festival (see p.11 for further
details). Dance Figures will then be premiered as a ballet, with
choreography by Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker, in Brussels in
May 2006. The US press were full of praise for the new work:
‘It’s nine, mostly brief sections were vibrantly coloured.Separate voices within the large orchestra were clearlyetched, from the slightly Middle Eastern flavour of the secondsection’s nasal winds to the whiff of honky-tonk in the fifthsection’s muted trumpets.
Benjamin’s music grabs our attention from all directions,but he makes sure that we feel a sense of underlying logic…The CSO sounded like a band of individual virtuosos in hislively, intricate textures.’Chicago Sun Times (Wynne Delecoma), 21 May 2005
‘Contrasts abound. In the fourth scene, a lone oboe tries unsuccessfully toassert itself over bellicose blasts of brass. No 6 is a menacing noisemachine, all growling brasses and eruptive percussion, a metrical tug ofwar for full orchestra that is the most arresting music in the piece. As everthe fastidious ear for detail and clarity of texture that have led Britishcritics to rhapsodize over Benjamin were much to be admired.’
Chicago Tribune (John von Rhein), 21 May 2005
The amount of interest already generated by the score
suggests that it will enter the standard repertory - as have so
many of Benjamin’s scores.
Strasbourg Musica - Featured ComposerGeorge Benjamin is to be Featured Composer at Strasbourg’s
prestigious Musica festival, in September and October 2005.
This will be the largest focus on his music ever mounted in
France with eleven of his works being performed, including
the European premiere of Dance Figures (see above) and the
French premiere of Palimpsests. Other major works to be
Sometime Voices1.10.05, James Bobby/SWR Vokalensemble/Stuttgart Radio Symphony/Heinz Holliger
At First Light & Three Inventions for Chamber Orchestra6.10.05, Ensemble Contrechamps/George Benjamin
Berlin residency ends on a highBenjamin’s residency with the Deutsches Symphonie-
Orchester Berlin came to an end in May 2005, with two
performances of his Palimpsests, conducted by the composer:
‘Er dirigierte seine Palimpsests, einen Zweiteiler von 20minütiger Dauer,ein energisches, intelligentes, zündendes Stück… Danach haute Benjaminnachdrücklich auf den musikalischen Putz, fischte mit seinen Palimpsestsnicht im Reich des Flüsterns, sondern artikulierte hart und eindrucksvollseine Gedanken, die auf starke Resonanz stiessen.’
Berliner Morgenpost, 11 May 2005
‘Perfekt komponierte Konzertabende sind eine Seltenheit - leider. Nur zugern suchen die Stars des Klassikbetriebs nach einsamer Größe und findendabei oft nur große Einsamkeit. George Benjamin zeigt mit seinemAbschiedskonzert als composer in residence beim DSO, wie groß dieklingende Summe eines mit Übersicht und Abenteuerlust gestaltetenProgramms sein kann. Den sanften Briten und das DSO verbindet in derPhilharmonie ein feiner Sinn für intellektuell kontrolliertes und dabeiklangsinnlich waches Musizieren… In Benjamins Palimpsests überlagernsich die vorangegangenen Höreindrücke effektvoll: dunkle Linien undperkussive Schlaglichter.’
Der Tagespiegel (Ulrich Amling), 8 May 2005
DANCE FIGURES (2004)
Nine choreographic scenes for orchestra
Duration: 17 minutes
Instrumentation: 2 (II=picc2).picc(=fl3).3.Ebcl.2 cl(I=Eb,II=Bb, A & bcl).bcl.2.cbsn - 4231 - timp - perc(4) - harp -cel - strings (min 12.12.10.8.6)
Commissioned by: La Monnaie de Munt, (for a work tobe choreographed by Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker), TheChicago Symphony Orchestra and Strasbourg Musica.
First performance: 19.5.05, Orchestra Hall, SymphonyCenter, Chicago, USA: Chicago SO/Daniel Barenboim.European premiere: 23.9.05, Strasbourg Musica Festival,France: Sudwestrundfunk Orchester/George Benjamin
Theatrical premiere: May 2006, La Monnaie de Munt,Brussels, Belgium: Rosas Dance Company/Orchestra ofThéâtre de la Monnaie/Kazushi Ono
‘Benjamin’s music grabsour attention from alldirections… The CSOsounded like a band ofindividual virtuosos in
his lively, intricatetextures.’
Colin Matthews’s ‘Berceuse for Dresden’
HIGHLIGHTS
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For the inaugural concert of the symbolic and newly-rebuilt
Dresden Frauenkirche, Colin Matthews was invited to write
a work for cello and orchestra.
The commission has come from the Friends of Dresden
Music Foundation, who sought a suitable occasion to mark
the church so tragically destroyed by Allied bombing in
February 13-14, 1945. The concert, on 17 November this
year, has special poignancy - with the combination of a
British composer, a German cellist (Jan Vogler) and an
American orchestra (New York Philharmonic under its music
director Lorin Maazel).
Matthews's Berceuse for Dresden lasts 10 minutes, and it
will be repeated in New York on 25 and 26 November.
Matthews has a special affinity for the cello, having
written two earlier works for cello and orchestra, and a host
of works for cello and piano.
Rattle and Berlin Phil take up ‘Pluto’Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra are
to take up Pluto, Matthews’s addition to Holst’s The Planets.
They give three performances from 16 March 2006 in
Berlin’s Philharmonie, which are followed by a recording for
EMI Classics.
The same forces recently recorded three of Matthews’s
orchestrations of Debussy Préludes, also for future release
on EMI.
Concertgebouw orchestral commissionMatthews has been commissioned by The Concertgebouw
Orchestra to write an orchestral work for them to perform in
A Quick Start(Belgian premiere)20.9.05, Klara Festival, Brussels, Belgium: Fine Arts Brass Ensemble
Debussy: Préludes (Ce qu'a vu le Vent d'Ouest; La danse de Puck; Minstrels)(Belgian premiere)21.9.05, Klara Festival, Brussels, Belgium: Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder
Pluto the Renewer(Belgian premiere)23.9.05, Klara Festival, Brussels, Belgium: Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder16-18.03.06, Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany: Berlin PO/Sir Simon Rattle
Berceuse for Dresden(world premiere performances by Jan Vogler (cello), New York Philharmonic Orchestra & Lorin Maazel)17.11.05, Frauenkirche, Dresden, Germany; 25 & 26.11.05, Carnegie Hall, New York, USA
Debussy: Préludes (Brouillards, Le vent dans la plaine, Lessons et les parfums)(world premiere)3.11.05, The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK: Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder
Two Tributes14.1.06, Barbican Centre, London, UK: London Sinfonietta
Continuum23.1.06, Chicago, IL, USA:Janice Felty/Chicago SO/Esa-Pekka Salonen
Hidden Variables11.2.06, Vancouver, Canada: Vancouver SO/Alain Trudel
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4
Nicholas Maw’s opera Sophie’s Choice makes its way to
Continental Europe in September and October 2005 in a
brand-new co-production between Deutsche Oper Berlin
and the Vienna Volksoper.
The cast is headed by Angelika Kirschlager, reprising her
role from the Covent Garden premiere, as the haunted and
tragic figure of Sophie. Conducted by Leopold Hager, and
directed by Markus Bothe, the production will be given three
performances in Berlin between 23 and 30 September, before
transferring to Vienna for 8 dates from 26 October until 23
November.
The US premiere of the opera will be given by The
Washington Opera in Autumn 2006.
‘… my feeling is that what we have here is aninstant classic, a piece that will immediately
touch and move people…’ Sir Simon Rattle
'For me, Sophie’s Choice is a masterly operatic achievement which embodiesthe most haunting and sheerly beautiful new music I’ve heard in an operahouse for a very long time.’
Oliver Knussen
‘Sophie’s Choice’ in Europe
CREDIT: CATHERINE ASHMORE
Carl Davis awarded CBE
HIGHLIGHTS
Carl Davis has been awarded a CBE (Hon.) for his services to
music. This is just recognition for a major talent who,
although a US citizen, has lived in the UK since the 1960s.
There can be few music-lovers in the UK who have not been
touched by his music and personality, whether by the wealth
of film and TV scores, the ballet music, or by the lively and
varied concerts he conducts up and down the country.
‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ - new ballet for David BintleyCarl Davis has been commissioned by David Bintley to write
the music for a full-evening ballet, Cyrano de Bergerac. The
work will be premiered by the Birmingham Royal Ballet in
Birmingham in the 2006/7 season, before going on tour.
Bintley has admired Davis’s music since he first heard his
score for the television series, The World at War in 1974. But
it was not until mid-2004 that he had the idea of
approaching Carl as the ideal collaborator and composer for
the Cyrano de Bergerac project.
Coincidentally, Davis has loved the Rostand play from
his earliest days, and nothing could have been a more natural
subject for him. Thus the new Cyrano should have a special
resonance: created as it is by the UK’s master of narrative
dance, David Bintley, collaborating here for the first time
with Carl Davis - famous for his narrative ballet scores, as
well of course, as for the grippingly pictorial music he has
written for a host of silent films.
The Davis score, of entirely new material, has evolved
over a long period as he and Bintley have held regular
meetings to discuss the scenario, shape, character and pacing
of the new work.
Davis’s experience as a composer of ballet music is second
to none. Earlier full-evening scores have included A Simple
Man (Northern Ballet Theatre, 1987), and A Christmas Carol
(NBT, 1992). More recently there has been Alice in
Wonderland (English National Ballet, 1995) and Aladdin
(Scottish Ballet, 2001). He has also worked with London
Contemporary Dance Theatre, Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet -
and choreographers such as Gillian Lynne, Derek
Deane, Robert Cohan, Wayne Sleep, Robert North and
Cathy Marston.
Davis’s musical ‘Alice in Wonderland’ inrep at West Yorkshire PlayhouseDavis’s musical, Alice in Wonderland, co-written with the late
John Wells was originally produced to tremendous acclaim at
the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. It is new being revived in
a new production by Ian Brown. Artistic Director of the West
Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, one of the UK’s leading
repertory theatres. It will be the WYP’s family show for the
entire Christmas season. It opens on 28 November and runs
there until 4 February 2006. More at www.wyplayhouse.com
Tied Shifts(US tour by Eighth Blackbird)20.10.05, La Jolla, CA; 21.10, Walt Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA; 23.10, Stanford, CA; 25.10, Univ of California at Davis; 27.10, Iowa City, IA; 29.10, South Bend, IN; 30.10, Cleveland, OH
Slides27-29.10.05, Bowling GreenNew Music & Art Festival, OH, USA: cond. Emily Freeman Brown
Three Rivers16.2.06, Zankel Hall, CarnegieHall, NY, USA: Alarm WillSound/Alan Pierson
Soul Garden;Twin Trio &ThracianSketches(UK premieres)4.4.06, ‘Music of Today’,Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, UK: members of the Philharmonia Orchestra/Derek Bermel (cl)
‘Composer Derek Bermel may not be a household name yet, but if there isany justice in the music world, he soon will be…’
Chicago Tribune (Michael Cameron), January 2005
Faber Music is delighted to announce extended representation
of the American composer, Derek Bermel, in Europe,
Australia and New Zealand. We have previously represented
Bermel for the UK and Eire through our agency agreement
with his publisher, Peermusic Classical in New York. They
continue to represent him for all other territories.
Derek Bermel (b.1967, USA) first came to our attention
when he was nominated by Nicholas Maw for the Faber
Music Millennium Series (for which he wrote his Natural
Selection for baritone and ensemble). He has been hailed by
colleagues, critics, and audiences across the globe as a
composer of chamber, symphonic, dance, theatre, and pop
works, and his versatility and virtuosity as a clarinettist,
conductor, and jazz and rock musician.
His hands-on experience with music of cultures around
the world has become part of the fabric and force of his
compositional language. He studied ethnomusicology and
orchestration in Jerusalem, and later travelled to Bulgaria to
study the Thracian folk style, Dublin to study uillean pipes,
and Ghana to study the Lobi xylophone. He trained at Yale
University, at the University of Michigan with William
Bolcom, in Amsterdam with Louis Andriessen and in
Tanglewood with Henri Dutilleux.
His music has featured regularly at major festivals in the
USA and Europe. He has been
commissioned widely by organisations such
as the National Symphony, St. Louis SO,
New Jersey SO, Chamber Music Society of
Lincoln Center, Aspen Festival, Gilmore
Festival, Eighth Blackbird, Tanglewood Music
Center, American Composers Orchestra,
Albany SO, De Ereprijs (Netherlands),
Birmingham Royal Ballet, Pittsburgh New
Music Ensemble, Jazz Xchange (chor. Sheron
Wray), and cellist Fred Sherry.
A portrait CD of his chamber music, “Soul Garden”, was
released on the CRI (now New World Records) label in 2002,
and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project will release an
orchestral disc in 2006.
In the UK, the Philharmonia Orchestra present an all-
Bermel concert as part of their ‘Music of Today’ series on 4
April 2006. It will include the UK premieres of his Soul
Garden, Twin Trio and Thracian Sketches for solo clarinet.
Bermel himself will perform the latter. In 2002 he performed
his clarinet concerto, Voices, with the BBC SO, a
performance later broadcast twice on BBC Radio 3. The
BBC SO also gave the UK premiere of his Dust Dances in
March 2005.
As clarinettist, Bermel has performed his Voices with the
American Composers Orchestra, the BBC SO and Los
Angeles PO (conducted by John Adams), amongst others. He
has also premiered dozens of new works in appearances as
soloist throughout the USA and Europe. Bermel is co-artistic
director and co-founder of the Dutch-American
interdisciplinary ensemble TONK. He is also the founding
clarinettist of Music from Copland House, a creative centre
for American Music. As an educator Bermel founded the
New York Youth Symphony’s “Making Score” series of
seminars for young composers.
Works in progress include a musical Loving Family with
librettist Wendy S. Walters, produced by Music Theatre
Group, and directed by Kelly Robinson; Turning Variations
for piano and orchestra (Indianapolis SO at the American
Pianists Association National Conference – April 2006) and
For perusal materials and a list of works please contact thePromotion Department in the first instance,[email protected].
CREDIT: KEVIN JEROME EVERSON
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Faber composers at Brussels’s Klara Festival
Faber composers are much in evidence at the second
ever Klara Festival, taking place in Brussels in
September 2005. This year includes a special focus on
British music. Highlights include first Belgian
performances of works by Colin Matthews, Nicholas
Maw, David Matthews and John Woolrich, in addition
to works by Thomas Adès, Oliver Knussen, George
Benjamin and Benjamin Britten. All performances will
be broadcast on Belgian Radio and, paying homage to
the UK, the festival culminates with a full-blown Proms
concert:
KLARA FESTIVAL, BRUSSELS(September 2005)
Thomas Adès: Still Sorrowing - 22.9.05, Sarah Nicolls; Catch - 23.9.05, ReVerb
George Benjamin: Meditation on Haydn’s Name -22.9.05, Sarah Nicolls; Purcell: Fantazia VII - 23.9.05,ReVerb
Benjamin Britten: Suite for Harp - 12.9.05, SionedWilliams
Oliver Knussen: Prayer Bell Sketch - 22.9.05, SarahNicolls; … upon one note - 22.9.05, ReVerb
Colin Matthews: 23 Frames - 13.9.05, Nash Ensemble; AQuick Start - 20.9.05, Fine Arts Brass; Pluto the Renewer -23.9.05, Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder; Debussy: Ce qu'a vule Vent d'Ouest - 23.9.05, Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder;Purcell: Fantazia XIII - 23.9.05, ReVerb
David Matthews: String Trio No 2 - 13.9.05, NashEnsemble; Fuga - 16.9.05, Matthew Trusler
Nicholas Maw: Stanza - 16.9.05, Matthew Trusler
John Woolrich: Favola in Musica I - 14.9.05, NicholasDaniel/Joy Farrall/Julius Drake; A Presence of Departed Acts- 23.9.05, ReVerb
n Harvey’s new opera
HIGHLIGHTS
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‘Wagner Dream’ takes shapeHarvey is now hard at work on his forthcoming opera,
Wagner Dream, a co-commission from Netherlands Opera,
the Holland Festival and the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg.
The libretto has been written by French author Jean-Claude
Carrière and the opera will be co-produced by IRCAM.
The plot surrounds the final hours of Wagner’s death, in
which he experiences Buddhist visions whilst in the throes of
a heart-attack. The opera will be scored for five actors, six
singers, a six-strong chorus, large ensemble and live
electronics. It will be premiered in 2007.
EIC launch new ‘Scene, for an Opera’ in ParisBy way of preparation for the opera, Ensemble
Intercontemporain (under their new Music Director, Susanna
Mälkki) premiere Scene, for an Opera, in the Pompidou
Centre, Paris on 25 March 2006. Scored for ensemble and live
electronics it will be performed alongside the Two Interludes
for an Opera, premiered in March 2004 by the London
Sinfonietta and, itself, a study for the opera-in-progress.
Faber Music has released a new choral disc of fresh,
contemporary repertoire by many of today’s leading choral
composers, all part of the widely-adopted Faber New Choral
Works. Entitled ‘Adoro Te’, the disc includes works by
household names such as Jonathan Harvey (Remember, O
Lord), Peter Sculthorpe (Morning Song for the Christ Child),
Howard Goodall (Jubilate Deo, Love Divine and The Lord is
My Shepherd), Colin Matthews (The Angel’s Carol), Morten
Lauridsen (O Nata Lux and O Magnum Mysterium), John
Woolrich (Spring in Winter) and Julian Anderson (I’m a
Pilgrim), as well as music by the
Latvian Maija Einfelde (Ave Maria),
Antony Pitts (Adoro Te), Alexander
L’Estrange (Lute-Book Lullaby),
Andrew Keeling (Ave Verum Corpus)
and Daniel Rouwkema (A Celtic
Prayer).
The recording was made by the
Faber Singers, Iain Farrington
(organ), conducted by Simon
Halsey (Chief Conductor of the
Berlin Radio Choir, Chief
Conductor of the Netherlands
Radio Choir, Chorus Director to the City of Birmingham
SO, and Artistic Director and founder of European Voices,
all in addition to being Consultant Editor of Faber Music’s
choral catalogue).
The disc is available on sale from the Faber website,
www.fabermusic.com, ISBN 0-571-52423-0.
New Faber choral disc
Polyphony return to Lauridsen
Following the enormous success of the Hyperion disc
of Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna and other choral
works, Polyphony, the Britten Sinfonia and Stephen
Layton are to record a further Lauridsen release for the
same label.
Included will be new works such as the Three
Nocturnes, Ave dulcissima Maria and the earlier Mid-
Winter Songs (settings of Robert Graves), in their
choral/ orchestral guise. A short tour will take place
immediately prior to the sessions, visiting Norwich
Cathedral (31 March 2006) and Ely Cathedral (1
April). The composer will travel from his Californian
home to attend.
The first disc has been immensely popular, a
regular on Classic FM, it caused one US critic to say:
‘no committed choral fan or singer will ever regret
letting Lauridsen into his life.’
‘Violin Concerto’ premiered in Berlinand London
Adès’s new Violin Concerto is to be heard for the first
time in Berlin and London in September 2005.
Long-time Adès devotee Anthony Marwood is the
soloist, whilst the composer himself makes his conducting
debut with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The work
premieres as part of the Berlin Festspiele on 4 September,
before travelling to London’s Royal Albert Hall for
performance at the BBC Proms, on 6 September.
The 17-minute work is a commission from the Berlin
Festspiele and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
Los Angeles Philharmonic residencyThe US premiere of the Violin Concerto forms the high
point of a residency Adès will enjoy with the Los Angeles PO
in February 2006. Other focal points include the world
premiere of Scenes from ‘The Tempest’ (concert extracts from
the opera), plus several chamber performances.
‘Piano Quintet’ released on EMIOne of the most exciting disc releases of the year features
Adès as both composer and pianist and has been lauded by
the musical press. The Arditti Quartet join him in the first
recording of his own rhythmically complex Piano Quintet,
and the disc is completed by Adès, members of the Belcea
Quartet, and bass Corin Long, in Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet:
‘… one can only heap up the praise after listening to this disc…commands attention… Restlessly inventive, tonally fascinating but nottonal, the work embodies a new concept of the avant-garde.’
The Sunday Times (Paul Driver), 17 July 2005
‘Nothing quite like the thrill of discovering a new piece that reallyworks… It’s the “familiar” element - the sense of home territory surreallyrelocated - that’s such an instant draw… the Quintet is a dizzying tour deforce, with motives flying in all directions, at different tempos, timesignatures, dynamics; a disorienting torrent that is both cerebrallystimulating (the music is extremely well built) and atmospheric.
Adès doubles as composer and pianist, sorting through the intricaciesof his own writing like a lepidopterist netting a storm of butterflies…’
The Independent (Rob Cowan), 28 June 2005
‘… a highly enjoyable listen, and a piece that… conveys the authenticgive and take of the best chamber music.’
The Daily Telegraph (Matthew Rye), 11 June 2005
Awards showered on ‘The Tempest’The Covent Garden production of Adès’s three act opera The
Tempest has scooped two major awards in recent months.
Firstly, the Olivier Award for the Outstanding
Achievement in Opera category.
It later received the Large-Scale Composition Award at
the annual Royal Philharmonic Society Awards dinner on 11
May. This is the second time Adès has won this Award - in
1997 his Asyla also triumphed.
Meanwhile, The Tempest receives its Danish premiere in
Copenhagen’s glamorous new opera house in a run of 6
performances commencing 12 November this year. The
composer conducts the Royal Danish Opera, in a revival of
Tom Cairns’s Royal Opera House production.
Plans are already in place for the US premiere, to be given
by Santa Fe Opera in July 2006.
Composer-in-Residence in TrondheimAdès travels to Norway in
September 2005 where he is
Composer-in-Residence at
the Trondheim Chamber
Music Festival. He conducts
the Trondheim SO in the
Norwegian premiere of
Asyla and performs the
Piano Quintet with the
Belcea Quartet. There will
also be performances of
Arcadiana and Life Story and
a seminar on his music.
Berlin PO tour ‘Asyla’Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin PO are featuring Adès’s Asyla
in their Far Eastern tour programme commencing 5
November and visiting China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan
and Hong Kong. They give two performances in Berlin in
October and give the New York premiere in Carnegie Hall,
New York on 28 January 2006.
Aldeburgh FestivalAdès’s performances provided many of the high points of the
2005 Aldeburgh Festival which commenced on 10 June.
Artistic Director since 1999, Adès was at the fore as
composer, conductor and pianist. A new 8-minute work,
Court Studies, for clarinet, violin, cello and piano was unveiled
as part of a Composers Ensemble ‘Purcell Cabaret’ concert on
16 June, whilst Catch was part of an concert by the newly
formed Ulysses Ensemble. Rising star Gweneth-Ann Jeffers
was soloist in Adès’s Tennessee Williams setting Life Story on
11 June. As pianist, Adès accompanied Ian Bostridge in a full-
evening recital of Beethoven, Wolf, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and
Schubert, as well as making a duo with Anthony Marwood in
a Stravinsky/Dushkin programme. Adès also conducted two
orchestral programmes. The first with the Northern Sinfonia
(Beethoven’s 4th Symphony, Ives’ Three Places in NewEngland, and a Gerald Barry premiere as well as his own
Chamber Symphony) and the other a blockbuster finale to the
festival with the City of Birmingham SO in Stravinsky’s Riteof Spring and Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony.
8
SelectedForthcomingPerformances
Violin Concerto(perfs by Anthony Marwood, ChamberOrchestra of Europe & Thomas Adès)(world premiere)4.9.05, Berlin Festspiele, Germany(UK premiere)6.9.05, BBC Proms, RAH, London, UK
Court Studies &Catch(US premiere of Court Studies)15.9.05, Charlottesville ChamberMusic Festival, VA, USA: MatthewHunt/Timothy Summers/RaphaelBell/Ana-Maria Vera
Court Studies(London premiere)19.9.05, Royal College of Music,London, UK: Contemporary Consort4.11.05, Poole, UK: Composers Ens
Still Sorrowing22.9.05, Klara Festival, Brussels,Belgium: Sarah Nicolls
Traced Overhead(Netherlands tour - Imogen Cooper)3.10.05, Wageningen; 5.10.05,Deventer; 7.10.05, Doorn30.4.06, Queen Elizabeth Hall,London, UK: Imogen Cooper
Asyla(perfs by Berlin PO/Sir Simon Rattle)27 & 29.10.05, Berlin, Germany;(Chinese premiere) 5.11.05, Peking,China; (South Korean premiere)8.11.05, Seoul, S Korea; 11.11.05,Shanghai, China; 14.11.05, HongKong; (Taiwan premiere) 18.11.05,Taipei; (Japanese premiere)21.11.05, Tokyo; 28.1.06, CarnegieHall, New York, USA
… but all shall bewell5-7.11.05, Portland, OR, USA:Oregon SO/Carlos Kalmar25 & 26.3.06, Cincinnati, OH, USA:Cincinnati SO/Carlos Kalmar30.3.06, Aarhus, Denmark: AarhusSO/Jutland Acad of Music/Takuo Yuasa
The Tempest(Danish premiere)12.11-1.12.05 (6 perfs),Copenhagen, Denmark: Royal DanishOpera/ Thomas Adès
Residency withLos Angeles PO
Violin Concerto (US premiere) &Scenes from TheTempest (worldpremiere)10.2.06, Los Angeles, CA, USA:Anthony Marwood/Various soloists/LAPO/Thomas Adès
Thomas Adès
CREDIT: TRONDHEIMCHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVALLOGO
TUNING IN
Musica Viva portraitsPeter Sculthorpe was Featured Composer for Musica Viva
Australia in 2004-5. Artistic Director Carl Vine decided to
focus on Sculthorpe’s impressive canon of string quartets and
to end the season with a commissioned quartet. Before that,
though, the Goldner and the Kronos Quartets have been
touring Australia’s cities with major Sculthorpe works,
attracting praise wherever they have gone.
William Barton joins Goldner Quartet A five-city tour in May saw didjeridu player William Barton
join forces with the Goldner Quartet in performances of
String Quartet No 12 (From Ubirr) and the world premiere of
a new version of Quartet No 15, conceived and rehearsed in
a workshop on the day of the premiere itself:
‘… the almost ritualistic unfolding of the work and the dominant timbres -cello and viola are the heart of this work - welcome the additional growlof a didjeridu. The central movement, A Song for Mourning, is particularlyeffective, its constant, wave-like obbligato challenged by the dark,drooping comments of cello and didj, sound decomposing as we listen.’
The Sydney Morning Herald (Harriet Cunningham), 4 May 2005
The Petersen Quartet tour Sculthorpe’s String Quartet
No 9 in September, taking it to New Zealand for several
performances beforehand.
Tokyo Quartet premiere ‘String Quartet No 16’Sculthorpe’s latest quartet will be premiered in a November
tour by the Tokyo String Quartet. The 6-city tour
commences on 5 November in Melbourne.
Premiere on Gallipoli Beach marks 90thanniversary commemorationsA short new work for didjeridu and string quartet, In
Memoriam, was the centrepiece of the 90th anniversary
commemorations of the disastrous 1915 Australian and New
Zealand invasion of Gallipoli Beach, Turkey. A dawn service
at Anzac Cove was attended by representatives from around
the world, including the Prime Ministers of Australia and
New Zealand, and the Prince of Wales, plus a 20,000-strong
pilgrimage. Sculthorpe’s plangent and haunting music was
broadcast live around the world.
‘Requiem’ travelsSculthorpe’s 40-minute Requiem for didjeridu solo, SATB
chorus and orchesta is gradually assuming repertoire status in
his native Australia. In recent months performances have
taken place in Hobart, Melbourne and Brisbane. The Sydney
premiere is scheduled for 2006. In Brisbane, the performance
formed the thrilling climax of a 6-day Australian Music
conference at Griffith University, “Encounters”, curated by
composer Vincent Plush.
In Hobart and Melbourne, too, the Requiem was lauded:
‘Sculthorpe’s sometimes deceptively simple style hides real depths ofemotion. His music has become increasingly recognised for its uniquequality in conveying the vastness and spirit of the Australian ladnscape…
The Requiem is a masterwork which blends the various elements ofhis distinctive style with a return to European roots in the use of the Latintext and plainchant.’
The Mercury (Peter Donnelly), 7 April 2005
Quartet premieres on the Great Barrier ReefWilliam Barton joined the Goldner Quartet once more on 1
July, to give the world premiere of a new version for didjeridu
and quartet of Peter Sculthorpe’s String Quartet No 14. This
formed one of the high points of the Townsville-based
Australian Festival of Chamber Music, on one of the most
beautiful parts of Queensland’s coastline.
On 4 July Barton, the Fyra Quartet and others premiered
another Sculthorpe work, a new version of his Songs of Sea
and Sky, together with a performance of the composer’s
reworked version of his Third Sonata for Strings. Then
mezzo-soprano Kirsti Harms joined the Goldner Quartet to
perform Sculthorpe’s rhapsodic String Quartet No 13 (Island
Dreaming) on 9 July.
Further praise for Naxos releaseThe first Sculthorpe release on the best-selling Naxos label
continues to garner praise:
Peter Sculthorpe is, at 76, the grand old man of Australian music, acomposer of mysterious soundscapes that blaze with the unforgiving sun ofthe Fifth Continent… Sculthorpe’s music is bold, sharing the palettes ofRussell Drysdale and Sydney Nolan, and he looks withinthe country’s very soul, and beyond Australia aswell, to enrich his language. Expect to hear theBalinese gamelan in some works and thethrob of the didjeridu in others… Anexperience not to be missed.’
The New Zealand Herald (William
Dart), 30 March 2005
9
SelectedForthcomingPerformances
Djilile2.9.05, Vale of Glamorgan Festival,Ewenny Priory, UK; Okeanos
Night Song4.9.05, Elde Hall, Adelaide, Australia:Macquarie Trio
String Quartet No 9(New Zealand perfs by the PetersenQuartet)9.9.05, Auckland; 10.9.05,Wellington; 12.9.05, Christchurch(Musica Viva Australia tour byPetersen Quartet)14.9.05, Brisbane; 16.9.05, Adelaide;17.9.05, Sydney; 19.9.05,Melbourne; 22.9.05, Perth; 26.9.05,Sydney; 28.9.05, Newcastle; 29.9.05,Canberra
From Uluru10.9.05, Penrith, Australia: PenrithSO/Henryk Pisarek18.9.05, Adelaide, Australia: AdelaideSO/David Sharp
String Quartet No16(world premiere perfs by Tokyo StringQuartet as part of Musica VivaAustralia tour)5.11.05, Melbourne; 7.11.05, Perth;9.11.05, Canberra; 10.11.05, Sydney;12.11.05, Adelaide; 14.11.05,Sydney
New Norcia10 & 11.11.05, Sydney, Australia:Sydney SO/Richard Gill
BeethovenVariations(world premiere of new version)11 & 12.11.05, Brisbane, Australia:William Barton (didjeridu)/TheQueensland Orchestra/Michael Christie
Lament for Celloand Strings17-19.11.05, Griffith, NSW (17);Wagga Wagga, NSW (18); Illawarra,NSW (19): Sydney SO/Nicholas Milton
Peter Sculthorpe
CREDIT: MAURICE FOXALL
Nicholas Maw Carl VineAndrew Litton conducts ‘Odyssey’ inBerlin & LondonTwo orchestras in the UK and Germany are to perform
Maw’s monumental Odyssey in his 70th birthday year. The
BBC SO are joined by US conductor Andrew Litton on 9
December whilst the same conductor performs it with the
orchestra of Deutsche Oper, Berlin on 2 October,
concurrently with their German premiere run of Maw’s
opera, Sophie’s Choice. (see p.4)
70th birthday - 5 November 2005Maw’s 70th birthday will be marked by a concert of his
chamber music in London’s Wigmore Hall, led by tenor
Philip Langridge and guitarist Stephen Marchionda.
Repertoire includes the Third Quartet (Zivioni Quartet),
Flute Quartet (Emanuel Ensemble) and Music of Memory.
The concert takes place on the birthday itself, 5 November.
A couple of days earlier, on 3 November, Tasmin Little
will perform the sumptuous Violin Concerto in London’s
Cadogan Hall. She is joined by the Orchestra of St John’s and
John Lubbock. This is the first time she will have performed
the work in the UK; she has previously performed it with the
Minnesota Orchestra and the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra.
‘Cor Anglais Concerto’ premiered byPhiladelphia OrchestraMaw’s 20-minute Concerto for Cor Anglais, the result of a
commission from The Philadelphia Orchestra, was premiered
by them on 27 April in the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia,
with soloist Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia and the Bulgarian
conductor Rossen Milanov:
‘The compositional voice one has come to love from Maw’s Violin Concertoand the opera Sophie’s Choice was there in full… compelling eventsgrew out of one another with improvisational spontaneity… Maw is a major composer…’
Philadelphia Inquirer (David Patrick Stearns), 29 April 2005
‘Fourth Quartet’ commissionMaw is now working on his String Quartet No 4, a
commission from Philadelphia Chamber Music, for the
Emerson Quartet. The Emersons launch the work in
Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center as part of a US tour from 10
February 2006.
Award for ‘Cello Concerto’Vine’s Cello Concerto (2004) collected the award for Best
Performance of an Australian Composition at the recent
2005 Classical Music Awards (presented by the Australian
Performing Rights Association and the Australian Music
Centre). The work was premiered to great acclaim by Steven
Isserlis, the Sydney SO and Jiri Bilohlavek, at the Sydney
Opera House in June 2004.
All-Vine ballet production at Bayerische StaatsballetAustralia’s leading choreographer, Graeme Murphy, is
choreographing a full-evening ballet to a selection of Vine’s
orchestral music. The Silver Rose receives its premiere in
Munich’s Nationaltheater in December this year and runs for
8 performances. Murphy has worked closely with Vine on the
project and will employ excerpts from works such as the
Piano Concerto, Smith’s Alchemy, Descent, Celebrare
Celeberrime, V, Prologue & Canzona and Pipe Dreams.
Murphy is no stranger to Vine’s music - he has used it in a
number of productions with his own Sydney Dance
Company, including Poppy (1978), Beauty and the Beast
(1993) and Mythologia (2000).
Goldners champion ‘Third Quartet’ in EuropeVine’s Third Quartet has long been admired by quartets
around the world. One of its chief exponents has been the
Goldner Quartet. This summer they toured the work to three
leading Australian and European festivals.
On 7 July they presented it at the Australian Festival of
Chamber Music in Townsville, Queensland. They then
appeared at the Lichfield Festival, performing in the
Cathedral on 16 July. Then, on 23 July, they gave the Finnish
premiere as part of the Kuhmo Festival of Chamber Music.
ACO bring ‘Smith’s Alchemy’ toTanglewoodVine has also prepared a version of the Third Quartet for
string orchestra, under the title of Smith’s Alchemy (the Smith
Quartet premiered the original). It was created at the behest of
the Australian CO and has since been toured widely by them.
It was also recorded by the Tasmanian SO in 2004.
This summer they present the US premiere of the work,
giving it the best possible outing at the prestigious
Tanglewood Festival. The ACO also travel with the work to
Interlochen, Ravinia Festival, Orange County and to Quebec.
Selected Forthcoming Performances
‘The Silver Rose’(world premiere of new full-evening ballet including extracts from Piano Concerto, Smith’s Alchemy, Descent,Celebrare Celeberrime, V, Prologue & Canzona and Pipe Dreams10.12.05-23.4.06 (8 perfs), Nationaltheater, Munich, Germany: Bayerisches Staatsballet/chor. Graeme Murphy
Meditation onHaydn's Name22.9.05, Klara Festival,Brussels, Belgium: Sarah Nicolls
FeaturedComposer atStrasbourgMusica(see feature on p.2 for fulllisting)Dance Figures(Europeanpremiere),Palimpsests(Frenchpremiere) &Sudden Time23.9.05, Strasbourg Musica,France: SWR Orchester/GeorgeBenjamin
Sonata for Violinand PianoOctober 2005, CheltenhamContemporary Concerts, UK:Ruth Rogers/Sarah Nicolls
Three Inventionsfor ChamberOrchestra & AtFirst Light4.10.05, Geneva, Switzerland:Ensemble Contrechamps/GeorgeBenjamin(also perfsame performers atStrasbourg Musica, see p.2)
ComposerPortrait,Madrid, Spain:At First Light &Viola, Viola22.11.05, ONE Actual/GeorgeBenjamin
Ringed by theFlat Horizon24-26.11.05, OrquestaNacional d’Espana/Ilan Volkov
Upon Silence29.11.05, Susan Bickley/Fretwork/George Benjamin
Sometime Voices& Palimpsests(Spanish premieres)2-4.12.05, William Dazeley/BBC Singers ONE/GeorgeBenjamin
Palimpsests(Paris premiere)13.1.06, Radio France, Paris,France: OrchestrePhilharmonique de RadioFrance/George Benjamin
Ringed by theFlat Horizon3 & 4.2.06, Raleigh, NC, USA:North Carolina SO/GrantLlewellyn28.4.06, London, UK: GuildhallSchool of Music & DramaOrchestra/George Benjamin
Salonen to take up ‘Continuum’ with Chicago SOFresh from his success with Matthews’s Continuum with the
Los Angeles PO, Esa-Pekka Salonen will conduct the work in
a concert with the Chicago SO on 23 January 2006.
BBC SO unveil new orchestral work atAldeburgh FestivalA 6-minute opener for orchestra, Fanfare and Flourish with
Fireflies, was premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival on 19 June.
The work was written for Oliver Knussen who was prevented
from conducting the concert by illness. Edward Gardner
deputised with the BBC SO:
‘The music had a flighty, filigree energy, but was haunted by dark string melodies, as if the embers of far-off fireworks were suspended overa churning sea.’
The Guardian (Tom Service), 22 June 2005
European premiere for ‘ReflectedImages’As part of Matthews’s ongoing residency with the Hallé
Orchestra, the orchestra presented the European premiere of
Matthews’s latest orchestral work, Reflected Images (a San
Francisco SO commission), in Manchester and elsewhere,
recently, under the baton of Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki:
‘At first the work seemed to be unfurling under water, notes bubblingupwards like a fish’s breath, timbres muffled, with edges dulled, and thevague contours of a fast waltz… On, without a break, to the second, withheavy footfalls marching slowly on the ocean floor (double-basses, piano,a ghostly side-drum). The third of these fleeting, cryptic impressions gaveus impassioned strings. And finally the fourth, quavers whirring, reachingup to a fine blaze of brass.’
The Times (Geoff Brown), 3 May 2005
‘A Voice to Wake’ - Nash anniversary premiereCommissioned by BBC Radio 3 for the Nash Ensemble’s
40th anniversary season, A Voice to Wake for soprano and
ensemble sets poetry by John Davidson. It was premiered in
London’s Purcell Room on 16 March by Claron McFadden
(who has also championed Matthews’s large-scale
Continuum), with the Nash Ensemble conducted by Lionel
Friend:
‘The piece teems with all this composer’s usual instrumental ingenuity…’The Independent (Keith Potter), 21 March 2005
‘… engagingly direct.’The Daily Telegraph (Ivan Hewett), 18 March 2005
Orquesta Nacional present Madrid portraitBenjamin will be in Madrid in November and December
2005, for a series of concerts with the Orquesta Nacional
d’Espana, that will highlight a number of his works. The
performances will be conducted by Benjamin himself, and by
Ilan Volkov. Programmes include the Spanish premieres of
Sometime Voices and Palimpsests, together with Ringed by the
Flat Horizon, and At First Light. Several key chamber works
will also be heard, including Upon Silence and Viola, Viola.
The concerts run from 18 November-4 December.
London Sinfonietta residencyBenjamin curated a London Sinfonietta festival of three
concerts, “International Benjamin”, on London’s South Bank
in May 2005.
Highlights included Benjamin’s own performance of
Shadowlines, Carolin Widmann’s sparkling rendition of the
composer’s Three Miniatures for Solo Violin, premieres by
Unsuk Chin and Beat Furrer, and works by Boulez,
Abrahamsen, Grisey and Wood:
(Three Miniatures) ‘Brimful of character, these little pieces are a real gemfor the repertoire…’
The Independent (Keith Potter), 31 May 2005
(Shadowlines) ‘… the striking thing was how free they felt, almost as ifBenjamin were improvising them on the spot. But there was a gravity, too,especially in the fifth piece. The way Benjamin maintained a repeatingbass at a rock-steady pianissimo, while unleashing a fortissimo tumult allaround it, was the most spellbinding part of the evening.’
The Daily Telegraph (Ivan Hewett), 25 May 2005
The third concert in the mini-festival featured the Arditti
Quartet performing works by Harvey, Carter and Kyburz.
Tanglewood & Marlboro Festival visitsBenjamin visited the USA once again in July, when he was
featured at both the Tanglewood and Marlboro festivals.
In Tanglewood Benjamin coached the New Fromm
Players in his Viola, Viola (later performed by them on 5
August) and gave a performance/lecture on Shadowlines.
In Marlboro (Vermont) he attended a performance of
Viola, Viola and conducted his own At First Light.
George Benjamin
CREDIT: MICHIHARU OKUBO
Jonathan HarveyDeSingel festival focus in AntwerpHarvey’s music enjoys an enormously high profile in
Belgium; it is regularly programmed at the Ars Musica festival
in Brussels, his opera Inquest of Love was staged by Théâtre de
la Monnaie, and he enjoys a close relationship with Belgium’s
leading new music ensemble, Ictus.
Belgian attention turns to Antwerp in October this year when
he is featured composer at the music@venture festival at
DeSingel. Highpoints include the premiere of a revised version
of his Cello Concerto, plus the Second Quartet, String Trio,
Song Offerings and the Serenade (in Homage to Mozart).
Cheltenham Festival featureThe composer visited the Cheltenham Festival in July, where
Martyn Brabbins featured Harvey’s music in a number of
concerts. Highlights included the ravishing Tranquil Abiding
(Bournemouth SO/ Alexander Polianichko), Praise Ye
the Lord (Gloucester Cathedral Choir), The Riot and Curve
with Plateaux.
Jonathan Harvey Tage, ZurichHarvey attended a mini-festival of his music in Zurich from
7-10 June. Students from the Musikhochschule gave
performances of such works as Lotuses, Song Offerings,
Moving Trees, and several instrumental and electronic works.
Palestrina meets the mixing desk!A fascinating musical experiment took place in Royaumont
Abbey in France in June 2005. Harvey joined the French
choir Les jeunes solistes and their director Rachid Safir to do
a live re-mix of a performance of Palestrina’s Stabat Mater.
The recording will form a section of a ballet to be
choreographed by Susan Buirge for her own company. The
stage premiere takes place on 9 March in Lyons.
Aldeburgh portrait concertLes jeunes solistes were due to give an all-Harvey choral
concert at the 2005 Aldeburgh Festival, an event which was
cancelled due to illness. At short notice, the Trio Fibonacci
stepped in and gave a Harvey chamber concert in Blythburgh
Church on 25 June. Works included Flight Elegy, Vers,
Tombeau de Messiaen and two electronic works, Mythic Figures
and Mortuos Plango Vivos Voco. The event was later described
in The Times as ‘the most memorable of the festival.’
‘Time of Music’ - ViitasaariHarvey was invited to Finland in July for a number of
performances of his music at the Time of Music festival in
Viitasaari. Works heard included Scena, Death of Light, Light
of Death, the new String Trio, You and Ricercare una Melodia.
Philharmonia portraitHarvey's music will be the subject of a Philharmonia
Orchestra 'Music of Today' concert on 6 October. David
Porcelijn conducts a programme that includes the UK
premiere of Jubilus for viola and ensemble.
Witten New Chamber Music DaysA new 15-minute String Trio, commissioned by WDR, was
premiered by Trio Recherche as part of the Witten New
Chamber Music Days on 24 April. It was preceded on 23
April by a performance of the virtuosic Death of Light, Light
of Death, by Ensemble Intercontemporain.
Ardittis premiere ‘Fourth Quartet’ in LondonHarvey’s String Quartet No 4 received its London premiere
on 22 May in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, once again in the
virtusoic hands of the Arditti Quartet:
‘… defined a different kind of transcendence, making the players soar ona magic carpet of sound. Harvey’s electronic transformations produced astrange musical alchemy, turning tiny sounds - such as the shush of bowsbrushing the surfaces of the instruments - into vivid material. The musiccreated a continuum between grainy acoustic sounds and voluptuous,electronic swoops and slides, and the end of the piece fused both sonicworlds together: the Ardittis’ ethereal musical lines were supported by acounterpoint of dazzling electronic noises, creating a blinding sonic brightness.’
The Guardian (Tom Service), 24 May 2005
Lichfield Festival premiereA short work for solo cello was commissioned by the Lichfield
Festival and was premiered there on 12 July by Jean-Guihen
Queyras. Pre-echo for Jean-Guihen is designed to be precede
Bach’s D Minor Suite. Jeffrey Skidmore and Ex Cathedra also
gave Come Holy Ghost and Remember O Lord on 14 July.
Harvey opens Amsterdam venueHarvey’s Scena for violin and ensemble was chosen to be
performed at the Royal opening of the Musiekgebouw in
Amsterdam on June 15, by Irvine Arditti, the Nieuw
Ensemble and Ed Spanjaard - the original performers.
Scelsi Centenary Festival focusThe Scelsi Centenary Festival 2005 in Rome includes three
Harvey works in November, including Advaya.
Rampal Flute CompetitionHarvey has recently completed an 8-minute piece for flute
and piano, Run Before Lightning, commissioned by Musique
Nouvelle en Liberté for the distinguished Jean-Pierre Rampal
Flute Competition 2005. It will be premiered in Paris by
Nataraja(performances by CherylGobbetti Hoffman & JacobGreenberg25.9.05, Vassar College,Poughkeepsie, NY, USA;12.11.05, Carnegie Hall, NewYork, USA; 26.2.06, SUNYFredonia, NY, USA
Jubilus & SongOfferings(UK premiere of Jubilus)6.10.05, ‘Music of Today’,Queen Elizabeth Hall, London,UK: members of PhilharmoniaOrchestra/David Porcelijn
… Towards aPure Land(world premiere)19 & 20.1.06, Glasgow &Aberdeen, UK: BBC SSO/IlanVolkov
One Evening…11.2.06, Eclat Neue MusikFestival, Stuttgart, Germany:Neue Vokal Ensemble/EnsembleIntercontemporain/Peter Rundel
Scene for anOpera (worldpremiere) &Two Interludesfor an Opera(Frenchpremiere)25.3.06, Pompidou Centre,Paris, France: EnsembleIntercontemporain/SusannaMälkki
TUNING IN
Isserlis and CBSOtravel with‘Concerto inAzzurro’
Steven Isserlis gave two
performances of Matthews’s
lyrical Concerto in Azzurro
in Symphony Hall, Birmingham and The Sage Gateshead in
May this year. He was joined by the City of Birmingham SO
and Sakari Oramo in a programme that also included works
by Julian Anderson, and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast:
‘… a powerful gift for communicating passion and evoking atmosphere.’The Times (Richard Morrison), 30 May 2005
‘Movement of Autumn’ - new song-cycle
A 20-minute commission from the Presteigne Festival has
resulted in Movement of Autumn, a song-cycle setting the
poetry of Vernon Watkins (1906-1967).
The work will be premiered on 30 August by soprano
Rachel Nicholls, the Festival Orchestra and George Vass.
Matthews has enjoyed a close relationship with the
festival in recent years - in 2000 six of his works were played
there, including his Fourth Symphony, whilst the 2003 and
2004 Festivals also featured his compositions.
Hampstead & Highgate Festival residency
Matthews was the first ever Composer-in-Residence at the
Hampstead & Highgate Festival in May 2005.
The first concert included a 10-minute festival
commission for Ralph Kirshbaum, Journeying Songs, for solo
cello, inspired by a walk on the Suffolk coastline. Also
included was the London premiere of Matthews’s Dionysus
Dithyramb for piano (Helen Reid), and performances of
String Quartet No 6 (Dante Quartet) and The Sleeping Lord.
The festival ended with his orchestral, Aubade, inspired by
the calls of four birds found in the Australian outback:
‘As with Messiaen, Matthews has matched his musical language to thecharacter of each bird’s distinctive call… It is an entertaining work that,from the opening with muted violins, develops a rich plumage of sonoritiesthat evokes multi-coloured and multi-talented fauna of the bush.’
Ham & High Gazette (David Sonin), 27 May 2005
Chamber premieres in Brussels
The Klara Festival in Brussels will play host to two Matthews
works in September this year.
The Nash Ensemble will play the String Trio No 2 on 13
September, and then violinist Mathew Trusler will perform
the Fuga for solo violin on 16 September. Both works will be
Variations forPiano13.10.05, St John's SmithSquare, London, UK: MarkBebbington
Torsten Rasch
David Matthews
Following the signing of Torsten Rasch to Faber Music,
there has been a surge of interest in his music from all
sides and many exciting projects are now under
discussion. In the UK, the London Philharmonic
Orchestra commission is now set for the 2006/7 season.C
REDIT: PA
UL TREVO
R
CREDIT: AN EXTRACT FROM TORSTEN RASCH’S PIANO TRIO (2005)
Carl DavisChaplin’s ‘The Fireman’ premiered in MalaysiaDavis joined forces with the Malaysian Philharmonic
Orchestra once again on 17 and 18 September, when he
launches his new score to Charlie Chaplin’s short film, The
Fireman. This is the second of two visits Davis has made to
Kuala Lumpur this year. He was also there in March to
premiere another new Chaplin score, The Floorwalker.
Davis and White tour the UK with new spiritualsCarl Davis and Willard White, long-time collaborators are
touring many of the UK’s leading festivals this summer and
autumn, presenting a programme that includes new
orchestral arrangements of spirituals prepared for White by
Davis. Venues include Lichfield Festival, Bridgewater Hall
(Manchester), Millennium Centre (Cardiff ), Powderham
Castle, Llangollen, Perth and Edinburgh’s Usher Hall.
These include a sumptuous reworking of ‘Swing Low
Sweet Chariot’, as well as the light-hearted ‘This Little Light’.
The latter was performed by White and Davis, in a voice and
piano version, on Sir David Frost’s last ever Sunday morning
‘The David Frost Show’ on BBC 1 TV in May.
Four of the spirituals will be included on a Willard White
portrait disc, ‘My Way’, just released on Sony Classical,
performances conducted by Davis with the BBC Concert
Orchestra.
New rugby anthem for Leeds RhinosDavis has been commissioned to write a symphonic work
for the Leeds Rhinos, current Rugby League world champions.
Leeds Rhinos and Leeds City Council have
commissioned a triumphal fanfare and march from Davis as
the team theme for future seasons. It will be played at each
game as the team emerges onto the pitch. The commission is
part of a year-long project jointly being carried out
by the council, the strategic partnership group for
the city, Leeds Initiative, and the Rhinos, to
promote both club and city.
This striking and unusual venture
by a sports club into the world
of classical music is likely to
last up to seven minutes. It
will be premiered in a
concert at Leeds Town
Hall on 20 November.
85th birthday - October 2006Sir Malcolm Arnold will celebrate his 85th birthday on 21
October 2006. A number of performances are planned to
mark this event, including a new annual Arnold Festival in
Northampton (his birthplace), to be curated by his
biographers Paul Harris and Tony Meredith.
Overtures abound on ChandosLong-time champions of Arnold’s music, Chandos Records
have released an orchestral disc of his overtures in
performance by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and
Rumon Gamba. Included are The Fair Field, Peterloo,
Anniversary Overture and A Flourish for Orchestra:
‘… every one of these examples shows his orchestral personality at itsexuberant best… Arnold is not highly regarded by the musicalestablishment - he gets barely a page in The New Grove - but his day will come!’
The Gramophone (Ivan March), June 2005
(Peterloo) The opening and closing music evidences Arnold’s ability towrite a damn fine tune. In between, the splendidly pictorial depiction ofthe massacre itself is extremely vivid. (Is this a small-scale, Englishequivalent of Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony?) When the Big Tune isreprised quietly, after the tumult, it’s really quite moving in thisperformance… this a pretty unmissable disc. I urgently recommend it.’
MusicWeb (John Quinn), April 2005
Brace of new brass band worksFaber Music is delighted to announce
the imminent release of two new
Arnold works for brass band, both
arranged from orchestral originals by
Phillip Littlemore..
Hobson’s Brass is a suite derived
from Arnold’s celebrated 1953 score
to the film, ‘Hobson’s Choice’,
starring Charles Laughton, and
famously directed by David Lean.
Arnold’s Sweeney Todd. ballet score was written for John
Kranko’s 1959 Covent Garden production and shows the
composer at his most witty and biting. Littlemore has
extracted a suite of dances from the ballet.
Selected Forthcoming Performances
Concerto for Two Violins & String OrchestraOctober 2005, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico: Yucatan SO/tbc
Four Cornish Dances29.10.05, The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK: Hallé Orchestra/John Wilson
Peterloo23.11.05, Kasuga City Concert Hall, Japan: Seka-Gekuen High School Orchestra/Masanori Oyamada
Clarinet Concerto No 211.12.05, Arsenal de Metz, France: Conservatoire National de Region de Metz/Jean-Philippe Navarre
SelectedForthcomingPerformances
The Fireman(world premiere17 & 18.9.05, Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia: Malaysian PO/CarlDavis
Safety Last &One A.M.23-25.9.05, Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia: Malaysian PO/CarlDavis
One A.M.(Spanish premiere)30.9 & 1.10.05, Pamplona,Spain: Orquesta PabloSarasate/Carl Davis
Three Spirituals8 & 9.10.05, Perth &Edinburgh, UK: Willard White/Royal SNO/Carl Davis
Pride & Prejudice Theme15.10.05, Gävle, Sweden:Gävle SO/Carl Davis
The Iron Mask29 & 30.10.05, Mount HolyokeCollege, South Hadley, MA,USA: Mount Holyoke CollegeOrchestra/Mark Bartley
New work(world premiere)20.11.05, Leeds Town Hall, UK:cond Carl Davis
Alice inWonderland28.11.05-4.2.06, WestYorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, UK:WYP
The NativityStory from 'Ben-Hur'15 & 22.12.05, BridgewaterHall, Manchester, UK: FrancesMcCafferty/Hallé Orchestra/CarlDavis
One Week28.12.05, Liverpool, UK:RLPO/Carl Davis
ChampionsTheme & GrandNational28 & 29.12.05, Liverpool &Manchester, UK: RLPO & HalleOrch/Carl Davis
Keystone Kops Theme25.2.06, The Bridgewater Hall,Manchester, UK: HalléOrchestra/Carl Davis
One A.M., AnEasternWesterner &One Week(Netherlands premiere of One A.M.)3 & 4.3.06, Rotterdam,Netherlands: RotterdamPO/Carl Davis
The Pawnshop(world premiere)11 & 12.3.06, Luxembourg:Orchestre Philharmonique deLuxembourg/Carl Davis
14
Malcolm Arnold
CREDIT: A MEMBER OF THE LEEDS RHINOS IN ACTION
Julian Anderson
TUNING IN
15
SelectedForthcomingPerformances
Khorovod11.9.05, RSAMD Concert Hall,Glasgow, UK: National YouthOrchestra of Scotland/PaulMacAlindin
Book of Hours(US premiere)12.11.05, Miami, FL, USA:New World SO/Oliver Knussen(London premiere)5.12.05, Queen Elizabeth Hall,London, UK: LondonSinfonietta/Oliver Knussen(Netherlands premiere)14 & 15.2.06, Amsterdam &Den Haag, Netherlands: ASKOEnsemble/Oliver Knussen
O Sing Unto theLord12.12.05, Christchurch,Spitalfields, London, UK: Choirof New College, Oxford/EdwardHigginbottom
‘Eden’ premiered at Cheltenham FestivalA CBSO commission by Julian
Anderson launched the 2005
Cheltenham Festival on 1 July.
Eden lasts 10 minutes and is the
latest and final fruit to be borne out
of his 4-year relationship with the
City of Birmingham SO as their
Composer-in-Association. The work
is subtitled ‘Homage to Brancusi’ and takes its inspiration
from the work of the celebrated Romanian sculptor,
Constantin Brancusi (1876-1975).
New Festival Artistic Director, Martyn Brabbins, directed
the performance with the CBSO in the Town Hall. It was
broadcast live on BBC Radio 3:
‘… a fine piece… it evocatively contrasted sour non-temperedharmonics with colourful conventional sonorities.’
Evening Standard (Barry Millington), 5 July 2005
'It pays homage to Brancusi's sculpture The Kiss in two unusual ways: first,by structuring the piece as a series of rhythmically intricate instrumentaldialogues, entwined like lovers; and second, by requiring several instrumentsto be tuned a quarter-tone flat, thus setting up a weird, sweet-sour tensionin the harmonies. I was intrigued by the folky, Eastern European flavour ofthe twisting solo lines, and the sparky, pointillist scoring.'
The Times (Richard Morrison), 5 July 2005
'… Julian Anderson's new piece, Eden, with which the opening concertbegan, was a fine, if brief, inspiration: an attempt, by using natural aswell as tempered tuning, to render the stylistic "virginity" (his word) of aBrancusi sculpture, and for all its complexity, a kind of tabula rasa thatcould be taken as emblematic of the Cheltenham Festival's new phase.'
The Sunday Times (Paul Driver), 17 July 2005
‘Book of Hours’ moves onFollowing its premiere in January 2005, Anderson’s 22-
minute Book of Hours (for large ensemble and electronics),
was described as “a brilliant new piece” and “a vivid score
teeming with invention.” Other groups around the world are
now keen to take the work into their repertoire.
The New World SO gives the US premiere on 12
November in Miami, under the expert guidance of the work’s
original conductor, Oliver Knussen. Then Knussen directs
the first London performance, with the London Sinfonietta
on 5 December, in the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Book of Hours finally reaches mainland Europe in
February 2006, when Knussen conducts the ASKO
Ensemble in performances in Amsterdam and The Hague on
14 and 15 of that month.
Cleveland Orchestra take up ‘Diptych’as residency startsAnderson’s residency with The Cleveland Orchestra as Daniel
Lewis Young Composer Fellow 2005-7 begins with the US
premiere of his Diptych on 5 March 2006, to be conducted
by Franz Welser-Möst.
Musica Nova, HelsinkiFive of Anderson’s works were centre-stage at Helsinki’s
Musica Nova festival in March 2005. Highpoints included
the Finnish premiere of his Symphony (winner of the 2004
British Composer Award), given by the Finnish Radio SO
and Sakari Oramo on 9 March:
‘… it was impossible not to notice the fruit of the British connection withSibelius: the ability to make skilful tempo modulations with the aid ofdifferent rhythmic layers, so that a quick sense of movement leaves a slowone behind it, and vice versa… a successful synthesis of old and new: amature achievement.’
Helsingin Sanomat (Veijo Murtomäki), 11 March 2005
Also, Tapiola Sinfonietta performing The Bird Sings withits Fingers:
‘… impressed me with its gently beautiful prolonged diatonic sounds andfrolicking noisiness.’
Helsingin Sanomat (Veijo Murtomäki), 7 March 2005
In what was their farewell performance, the Finnish
Radio Chamber Choir under Nils Schwieckendiek
performed the Four American Choruses on Gospel Texts and ISaw Eternity:
‘… draws its strength from those collective feelings that religiouscommunities have stirred in the valley of earthly sorrows. Powerfulrhythmic impulses and gospel-like cries ignite strongly human, burningemotions amid the smooth, carefully balanced texture of the choral sound.’
Helsingin Sanomat (Hannu-Ilari Lampila), 10 March 2005
‘Four American Choruses’ tours UKThe UK premiere of Anderson’s Four American Choruses took
place in Symphony Hall, Birmingham on 26 May with a
subsequent performance in Gateshead. Simon Halsey
conducted the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus:
‘… multi-layered harmonies and free-floating rhythms… Andersondraws his texts from 19th-century gospel hymns, apparently to focus onthe “social ideal of collective hope and celebration”. But he allows not asnatch of their vigorous original tunes to colour his own sounds.
Quite the contrary, his music is rich in sftly dissonant clusters andpolychoral effects. I particularly liked Beautiful Valley of Eden, which putssopranos, altos, tenors and basses into entirely different metres andspeeds, like Charles Ives’s clashing brass bands. And I also admired At theFountain, in which solo voices are made to glow through the full texture,rather as if a camera is zooming in on individuals in a vast multitude.’
The Times (Richard Morrison), 30 May 2005
CRED
IT: BRAN
CU
SI’S ‘THE KISS’
Matthew HindsonEvelyn Glennie to premiere ‘Percussion Concerto’Evelyn Glennie will give the world premiere of Hindson’s
Percussion Concerto when she joins The Queensland
Orchestra in Brisbane on 4 March 2006. The work has been
commissioned by TQO in the context of Hindson’s role as
their Composer-in-Residence for the 2005/6 season.
Glennie will then join the Melbourne SO for a further
performance on 18 March, part of the Commonwealth Arts
Festival, in Melbourne.
Prior to this, The Queensland Orchestra perform five of
Hindson’s works in a portrait concert in Brisbane on 31
August. The orchestra’s Artist-in-Residence, virtuoso
didjeridu player William Barton, also participates. On 18
September the orchestra perform Speed with Guy Noble, and
again with Michael Christie on 1 and 2 November in their
education programme. Hindson’s opener Auto-Electric is also
included in education events on 5 and 6 October.
‘Didjeribluegrass’ launched onQueensland tourDidjeribluegrass, a new 8-minute work for didjeridu and
string quartet by Matthew Hindson, was premiered as part of
the Australian Festival of Chamber Music’s outback-based
Southern Tour in June and July. It was performed by William
Barton and the Fyra Quartet. The work received 6
performances between 25 and 27 June in a number of
unusual venues, before being presented in the festival’s home,
Townsville, on 4 July.
‘Waiting for Rain’ - Orff Schulwerk commissionOn 8 January 2006, Waiting for Rain, a new 8-minute
commission, will be premiered and choregraphed at the 14th
Annual ANCOS (Australian National Council of Orff
Schulwerk) Conference in Sydney. ANCOS is the Australian
branch of the internationally-renowned Orff Schulwerk
organisation, pioneering the educational teaching methods of
Carl Orff.
Hindson has written an 8-minute work that “evokes
images of aridity and vain hope: after a sparse opening and a
song to the heavens, a storm passes overhead promising much
but delivering little. Will the rain ever arrive?”
‘Rave-Elation’ encored in RigaSo successful was the Latvian premiere of Hindson’s Rave-
Elation in Riga on 2 April 2005, that it was immediately
encored by Normunds Sne and the Riga Festival Orchestra!
Superman meets Dracula - on the stage!In recent years, Daugherty’s music is finding a second home
away from the concert platform - on the stage. More and
more dance companies are being lured by the strong
rhythmic pulses and vibrant colour of his scores.
Latest to succumb to this music is Northern Ballet Theatre,
who feature his orchestral Red Cape Tango (from the
Superman-inspired Metropolis Symphony) in their
forthcoming production of Dracula, to choreography by their
Artistic Director David Nixon. Commencing 2 September it
tours to Leeds, Milton Keynes and Nottingham, finishing
there on 22 October. There are 21 performances in all.
De Frutos ballets travel to Spain & AustraliaTwo of Javier de Frutos’s all-Daugherty ballets have been
touring.
‘J Edna and Mother Tolson’, choreographed for
Gothenburg Ballet in Autumn 2004 was taken by them to
Madrid for three performances between 14 and 16 April. The
work comprises all four of Daugherty’s string quartets (Beat
Boxer, Paul Robeson Told Me, Sing Sing: J Edgar Hoover and
Elvis Everywhere).
The Royal New Zealand Ballet has revived its staging of
de Frutos’s ‘The Celebrated Soubrette’ - his choreography of
Daugherty’s Le Tombeau de Liberace (originally created for
Rambert Dance Company). The company have now taken it
to Australia where it was presented four times at the Sydney
Theatre from 3-12 June 2005.
Composer-in-Residence at Sydney’sinaugural Aurora FestivalDaugherty will be guest of honour at the inaugural Aurora
Festival in Sydney, in April and May 2006. The brainchild of
Faber composer Matthew Hindson, the festival consists
entirely of contemporary music and will feature many of
Daugherty’s works, including What’s That Spell?, Le Tombeau
de Liberace. For more details see Hindson’s website
www.hindson.com.au.
Selected Forthcoming Performances
Red Cape Tango(performances by Northern Ballet Theatre, as part of ‘Dracula’)2-10.9.05, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds; 27.9-1.10.05, Milton Keynes Theatre; 18-22.10.05, Theatre Royal, Nottingham
Paul Robeson Told Me & Elvis Everywhere(Latvian premieres)20.9.05, Railway Museum, Riga, Latvia: members of Rigas Kamermuziki
Mxyzptlk, Lex & Oh Lois! from Metropolis Symphony25.11.05, Muziekcentrum, Eindhoven, Netherlands: Het Brabants Orkest/John Axelrod
SelectedForthcomingPerformances
Rave-Elation;BalkanConnection;Spirit Song;Vietnam WarMemorial;Didjeribluegrass(world premiere of new versionof Didjeribluegrass; Australianpremiere of Rave-Elation)31.8.05, Ferry Road West End,Brisbane, Australia: WilliamBarton/members of TheQueensland Orchestra
Technologic 1-2(perfs by Presbyterian LadiesCollege & Susan Hamerton)16.9.05, Hong Kong; 19.9.05,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;23.9.05, Singapore; 26.9.05,Melbourne, Australia
Auto-Electric5 & 6.10.05, Brisbane,Australia: The QueenslandOrchestra/Peter Luff
Speed1 & 2.11.05, Brisbane,Australia: The QueenslandOrchestra/Michael Christie
Festival d’Automne hosts Third SymphonyKnussen’s Third Symphony is to be performed at the Festival
d’Automne in Paris, on 22 November. Knussen will conduct
the orchestra of the Opéra National de Paris at the Palais
Garnier.
Leila Josefowicz champions Violin ConcertoKnussen’s Violin Concerto is being championed by some of
the world’s finest violinists. Premiered by Pinchas Zukerman
in 2002 it has since been taken up by Clio Gould, Sakari
Oramo, Tamara Smirnova, William Preucil and, lately, Leila
Josefowicz.
The latter performs it with five different orchestras in the
next few months. Firstly in Cologne, she will be accompanied
by the Gürzenich Orchester Kölner Philarmoniker on 25
September. She then presents it in the USA with Esa-Pekka
Salonen and the Los Angeles PO from 13-16 October, before
joining Knussen himself for dates with the Atlanta SO from
20 October. In March 2006 she gives two performances with
the St Louis SO and Pascal Rophé, before travelling to
Germany once more for a performance with the Leipzig
Gewandhaus Orchestra, once again under Knussen’s baton,
on 28 April.
Josefowicz gave sparkling performances with Knussen
and the Scottish CO in May 2005:
‘Her oozing personality shone through every bar, which was just the ticket formusic that is supercharged and highly flammable. The composer likens thesoloist’s role to a tightrope walk, suspended between the same shimmeringchord that opens and closes the work. A confident Josefowicz captured thesearing virtuosity of the writing, as well as its mercurial fragility.’
The Scotsman (Kenneth Walton), 9 May 2005
‘… a work of extraordinary inner energy that already seems a classic.Leila Josefowicz and the SCO really made it sing.’
Financial Times (Andrew Clark), 11 May 2005
In the meantime, the concerto gains a new advocate in
Isabelle van Keulen, when it receives its Spanish premiere in
Madrid from 25-27 November 2005. Ilan Volkov conducts
the Orquesta Nacional d’Espana.
‘Whitman Settings’ at BBC PromsKnussen’s orchestral Whitman Settings made a welcome
return to the BBC Proms on 26 July (they were previously
heard there in 1994). Knussen was indisposed and so Claire
Booth and the BBC SO were conducted by John Storgards.
Tilson Thomas conducts San Francisco portraitKnussen’s music was the focal point of three concerts given by
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco SO in May
this year. Music for a Puppet Court and Flourish with Fireworks
were heard, before Pinchas Zukerman joined them for the
ubiquitous Violin Concerto:
‘… intricate, beautiful and notably concise… At 52, the Englishcomposer and conductor has been a fixture on the musical scene fordecades, ever since bursting to prominence as a teen prodigy… All threeare brilliant, instantly engaging pieces, and Thomas, whose associationwith Knussen goes back nearly to the beginning, shaped them with vitalityand flair… Knussen’s terseness is not the sort of hyper-compact densityyou find in the music of Webern, nor does he trade in aphorisms like theenigmatic Hungarian composer György Kurtág. Instead, he practices a sortof musical bonsai, turning out fully formed musical works that say whatthey have to say in less time than most composers require.
That distinctive brand of efficiency was best savored in the lusciousViolin Concerto… the soloist begins things with a series of free, sprawlingmonologues, darting here and there while the orchestra gives him plentyof breathing space. A slow, broad-breathed melody of extraordinarylyricism reels out against block chords in the central movement, and thecloser -an extended, occasionally off-kilter rhythmic dash - fulfils thetraditional finale role. Yet, for all its brevity, the concerto doesn’t coversignificantly less ground than, say, the familiar showpieces by Sibelius andTchaikovsky; it just packs the argument into less space…
(Flourish with Fireworks) … turned out to be the most tightlystuffed piece on the program, four minutes’ worth of everything happeningall at once - from Stravinsky quotations to full-orchestra swirls to arepeated six-note motif to a final snatch of gamelan. Personally, I loved itwithout understanding a note of it.’
The San Francisco Chronicle (Joshua Kosman), 28 May 2005
‘Wild Things’ in EuropeKnussen’s first Sendak opera, Where the Wild Things Are, is
enjoying a revival of late. The Italian premiere took place last
year and now new productions are set to open in Sweden,
Belgium, Germany and Canada.
The Swedish premiere will be given by Norrlands Operan
from 24 September to 29 October in Umea. There will be 36
performances in all.
Whilst the opera was premiered in Brussels, it has yet to
be heard in the east of Belgium. The opportuninty now
comes courtesy of Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège. Their
run of four performances commences on 22 November.
In Germany, Theater Hagen stage performances from 17
September whilst a Canadian production by Touring Players
Theatre opens in November and runs until June 2006.
17
SelectedForthcomingPerformances
Prayer BellSketch22.9.05, Klara Festival,Brussels, Belgium: Sarah Nicolls
Where the WildThings Are17.9.05, Theater Hagen,Germany: tbc/Antony Hermus(Swedish premiere)24.9-29.10.05, Umea,Sweden: Norrlands Operan/tbc22-25.11.05, Liège, Belgium:Opera Royal de Wallonie
… upon onenote22.9.05, Klara Festival,Brussels, Belgium: ReVerb4.11.05, Poole Arts Centre, UK:Composers Ensemble
A Presence ofDeparted Acts(Belgian premiere)23.9.05, Klara Festival,Brussels, Belgium: ReVerb
New work(world premiere)1.10.05, The Sage Gateshead,UK: Northern Sinfonia/Diego Masson
Far from home22.10.05, Cadogan Hall,London, UK: Crouch End FestivalChorus/David Temple
Stone Dances26.10.05, Malvern, UK: EnglishSO/William Boughton
A Presence ofDeparted Acts &Toward the blacksky4.11.05, Poole, UK: ComposersEnsemble
The Sea and itsShore8.11.05, CBSO Centre,Birmingham, UK: KatalynKarolyi/BCMG/DominicMuldowney9.11.05, The Sage Gateshead,UK: Katalyn Karolyi/BCMG/Dominic Muldowney
New work(world premiere)12.11.05, West Road ConcertHall, Cambridge, UK: BrittenSinfonia/Martyn Brabbins
Ulysses Awakes(UK performances by BrittenSinfonia)24.1.06, Queen Elizabeth Hall,London; 26.1.06, West RoadConcert Hall, Cambridge;27.1.06, St Andrew's Hall,Norwich; 5.2.06, Civic Theatre,Chelmsford
The TheatreRepresents aGarden: Night(Austrian premiere)1.2.06, Mozartwoche, GrosserSaal, Salzburg, Austria:Camerata Salzburg/ChristopherHogwood
Premiere at BBC PromsAfter the Clock is a 12-minute work for chamber ensemble,
commissioned by the BBC and premiered at the BBC Proms
on 1 August. Paul Watkins conducted the National Youth
Orchestra Sinfonietta in the lunchtime event in London’s
newest concert venue, Cadogan Hall.
The title comes from a poem by the surrealist artist Jean
(Hans) Arp. ‘It was in dreams that I learned how to write’,
Arp said. His poems are built from precisely described
images, juxtaposed in a dream-like structure. In them time
looms large: ‘the small red clock that grinds the minutes into
grey powder’.
Max Ernst inspires Snape PromscommissionA Max Ernst painting was the inspiration behind Woolrich’s
latest orchestral work, The Elephant from Celebes. The new
20-minute work was premiered at the Snape Proms in Snape
Maltings by Paul Daniel and the Britten-Pears Orchestra on
9 August. The composer first saw the Ernst painting ‘The
Elephant Celebes’ whilst visiting Tate Modern on London’s
South Bank. He writes:
‘In it a hulking creature, part machine and part elephant,
stands on a vast plain, gazing at a headless female nude. In the
cloudy sky two fish are swimming and trails of smoke suggest
that an aircraft has just been shot down.
Ernst partly derived the image from a photograph of a corn
storage bin used by a tribe in Sudan which reminded him of
a playground chant he remembered from school: “the
elephant from Celebes,/has sticky yellow bottom grease”.
Celebes is a large island in Indonesia next to Borneo.’
‘Blue Drowning’ at Aldeburgh FestivalAnother painting proved to be the stimulus for a string
ensemble work premiered at the 2005 Aldeburgh Festival,
where Woolrich is now installed as Associate Artistic
Director. Blue Drowning was commissioned by Ron and
Penny Howell to celebrate the lives of the painter Sir Terry
Frost and his wife, Kath. Woolrich’s title is an inversion of a
Frost canvas, ‘Drowning Blue’.
The work was performed by the Scottish Ensemble and
Clio Gould on 22 June, in a programme that also included
Woolrich’s haunting Ulysses Awakes.
‘(Ulysses Awakes) … a sensuous celebration of Monteverdi’s spirit…’The Times (Hilary Finch), 27 June 2005
‘It was a muted but intense celebration of a vibrant artist.’The Guardian (Rian Evans), 25 June 2005
BCMG tour song-cycle ‘The Sea and its Shore’The Sea and its Shore is a 35-minute song-cycle, setting texts
by various authors including Emily Bronte, Gérard de
Nerval, Robert Walser, Robert Schumann, William Cowper,
Stéphane Mallarmé, Thomas Lovell Beddoes and Paul
Eluard. It was originally premiered and staged at the Almeida
Theatre in 2004 and caused one critic to say that ‘the grief
and the intimations of mortality are unmistakable.’
The work is now being taken up by Birmingham
Contemporary Music Group and will be toured by them in
November this year. The original soprano, Katalyn Karolyi,
will join them, together with conductor Dominic
Muldowney. The tour visits Birmingham’s CBSO Centre (8
Nov) and The Sage Gateshead (9 Nov).
Belgian premieres at Klara FestivalTwo chamber works will feature in the Klara Festival in
Brussels in September this year. The haunting Monteverdi-
inspired Favola in Musica I will be give by Nicholas Daniel,
Joy Farrall and Julius Drake on 14 September, whilst new
music ensemble ReVerb give the Belgian premiere of A
Presence of Departed Acts on 23 September. Both concerts will
be broadcast on Belgian Radio.
Salzburg premiere during‘Mozartwoche’Woolrich has often taken inspiration from the works of
Mozart. He has even based entire compositions on Mozart
harmonic schemes, as with The Theatre Represent a Garden:
Night. The work takes as its basis the harmonic shape of the
last act of ‘The Marriage of Figaro’. Woolrich then takes
things one step further by using discarded Mozart fragments
as his actual musical material.
Now the work is to be performed in Salzburg, during
Mozartwoche (marking the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s
birth), on 1 February 2006. Christopher Hogwood will
conduct the Austrian premiere, with the Camerata Salzburg,
in the Mozarteum’s Grosser Saal.
CREDIT: ‘DROWNING BLUE’ (WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN – SIR TERRY FROSTR.A. REPRODUCED WITH KIND PERMISSION OF THE FAMILY)
TUNING IN
Acclaim for ‘Death in Venice’ onChandosA new CD release of Death in Venice on Chandos Records has
been referred to by many leading commentators as the
definitive recording of Britten’s final opera. Philip Langridge
sings the title role of Aschenbach, with Richard Hickox
conducting the City of London Sinfonia:
‘It’s a portrayal of breathtaking, searching honesty… one of Britten’smost richly imagined and resourceful instrumental scores…’
Evening Standard (Stephen Pettitt), 18 February 2005
‘Though Pears’s version preserves its special place, this is now the one to hear.’
The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 25 February 2005
‘It is as remarkable a last opera, in itsway, as Monteverdi’s I’incoronazione di
Poppea or Verdi’s Falstaff… a trulyhistoric performance… one of thememorable records of the year…’
‘It is as remarkable a last opera, in its way, as Monteverdi’sI’incoronazione di Poppea or Verdi’s Falstaff… It finds Britten embarkingon new musico-dramatic territory, while offering a retrospective of hisoperatic art… Langridge creates a masterly characterization of the ageingpoet… This is a truly historic performance of a great role, faultlessly sungand characterized with profound understanding and both musical andpoetic.
It is superbly recorded in Chandos’ most dazzlingly ‘present’ andrealistic sound and quite wonderfully conducted by Hickox, the mostconvinced and convincing of the second-generation Britten conductors, whogets world-class playing from the City of London Sinfonia (and especiallyits virtuoso wind and tuned-percussion soloists)… (He) maintains adramatic and atmospheric tension in the work which I had never suspectedbefore in such a relatively static and interiorized drama. A triumph forLangridge, Opie, Hickox and Chandos, without a doubt, and one of thetruly memorable records of the year, I think.’
International Record Review (Hugh Canning), April 2005
‘The performance is beautifully played and recorded… Hardly a page ofthe score passes by without his vivid delivery of the words seeming to openup some new dimension of the role.’
The Gramophone (Richard Fairman), May 2005
‘Death in Venice’on stageNew stage productions
of the opera abound too.
In his new role as Music
Director of Opera
Australia, Richard
Hickox conducts a
brand-new production
in Sydney’s famous
Opera House from 9 September.
Philip Langridge reprises his role as Aschenbach.
Stateside, this summer saw New York State’s
Glimmerglass Opera mount a nine-show run from 25 July.
Performances were conducted by Stewart Robertson.
February 2006 sees a new production by Städtische
Bühnen Frankfurt (9 performances), directed by Keith
Warner and conducted by Karen Kamensek.
Belcea Quartet lauded for EMI release
‘… bids fair to become the recording of choice… a deeply felt account ofthe valedictory No 3… The vivid recorded sound sets the seal on asuperlative issue.’
“Classical CD of the Week” The Sunday Times (Hugh Canning),
3 April 2005
‘What is so impressive about this playing is that every bar in each quartetseems totally convincing, celebrating the athleticism and compositionalbrilliance of the early music just as much as it plumbs the depths offeeling in the very late work too… for all three numbered quartets as wellas the Divertimenti, the Belcea’s is now the one to get.’
The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 1 April 2005
‘… commanding and imaginative performances.’The New York Times (Anthony Tommasini), 10 June 2005
‘… an exciting event… On the evidence of this new release the Belceashave matured into an ensemble that can vie with the very best…
The desolate and unsettling music of the String Quartet No 3 canleave one exhausted. The “I love you” motif, in particular, remainedlodged in my memory for several days afterwards…
I feel truly privileged to have this spectacular release from the Belceasin my collection. My advice is to obtain it immediately. A stunning set!’“Recording of the Month”, MusicWeb (Michael Cookson), May 2005
19
SelectedForthcomingPerformances
Death in Venice7-23.9.05 (6 perfs), SydneyOpera House, Australia: OperaAustralia/Richard Hickox25.2-24.3.06, Frankfurt,Germany: Städtische BühnenFrankfurt/KarenKamensek/Keith Warner
Young Apollo9.9.05, Singapore: StevenOsborne/Singapore SO/OkkoKamu21.9-5.10.05 (12 perfs),Australian Musica Viva tour(Newcastle; Wollongong;Canberra; Melbourne; Perth;Adelaide; Sydney; Brisbane):Steven Osborne/AustralianCO/Richard Tognetti
Suite for Harp12.9.05, Klara Festival,Brussels, Belgium: SionedWilliams
Suite on EnglishFolk Tunes10.10-15.10.05 (6 perfs) NewZealand tour (Dunedin;Oamaru; Gore; Invercargill;Queenstown; Lake Wanaka):New Zealand SO/Rumon Gamba24.1.06, The Bridgewater Hall,Manchester, UK: NorthernSinfonia/Thomas Zehetmair
Silent film score for 16/17 players. Producer/Director/Screenplay: Charles Chaplin. Duration 24minutes. 1121 - 2110 - perc(1): drum kit: ped BD/SD/TD//tom-t/susp.cym/splash cym/(hi-hat)/siz.cym/tgl/tamb/police whistle/bird whistle/alarm bell/phone effect/BD/tam-t - pno - strings(11111). FP: 17.9.05, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Malaysian PO/Carl Davis
OrchestralJULIAN ANDERSONEden (2005)
(Homage to Brancusi). Orchestra. Duration 7 minutes. 3(II=tuned ⁄-tone lower, III=picc tuned ⁄-tone lower).3(III=ca).3(II=tuned ⁄-tone lower). 3(II=tuned ⁄-tone lower) - 4.3(II=tuned ⁄-tonelower).3.1 - perc(3):vib/2 tgl/t.bells/tam-t/steel drum - hp - electronic keyboard tuned ⁄-tone lower- strings. Written for the CBSO as part of the composer’s residency with the orchestra (2001-2005).FP: 1.7.05: Cheltenham Festival, Cheltenham Town Hall, UK: CBSO/Martyn Brabbins
GEORGE BENJAMINDance Figures (2004)
Nine choreographic scenes for orchestra. Duration 17 minutes. 2 (II=picc2).picc(=fl3).2.Ebcl.2 cl(I=Eb, II=Bb, A &bcl).bcl.2.cbsn - 4231 - timp - perc(4): 15 tpl.bl(large-very small)/2 guiros(large & small)/tam-t/2 ratchet/BD/2SD(medium & very small)/glsp/cyms(small)/2 anvils/fishing-rod reel/ cencerros(middle C)/cencerros (low A) /vib/whip /vibraslap/tamb/2 log drums/alarm bell -harp - cel - strings (min 12.12.10.8.6 (3 with extensions to C). Commissioned by La Monnaie deMunt, (for a work to be choreographed by Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker), The Chicago SymphonyOrchestra and Strasbourg Musica. FP: 19.5.05, Orchestra Hall, Symphony Center, Chicago, USA:Chicago SO/Daniel Barenboim. European premiere: 23.9.05, Strasbourg Musica Festival, France:Sudwestrundfunk Orchestra/George Benjamin. Theatrical premiere: May 2006, La Monnaie deMunt, Brussels, Belgium: Rosas Dance Company/Orchestra of Théâtre de la Monnaie/Kazushi Ono
JONATHAN HARVEYCello Concerto (2005 version)
Cello and orchestra, with live electronics. Duration 19 minutes. 3(II+III=picc).3(III=ca).3(III=bcl).3(III=cbsn) - 4331 - perc(2) - cel - elec keyboard - harp - strings. FP: 23.10.05:‘music@venture’, deSingel, Antwerp, Belgium: Arne Deforce/de Filharmonie/Martyn Brabbins
COLIN MATTHEWSFanfare and Flourish (with fireflies) (2005)
Orchestra. An orchestration of the chamber piece Flourish with Fireflies (2002) with an addedfanfare. Flourish with Fireflies was written for Oliver Knussen’s 50th birthday. Duration 6 minutes.2.afl.2.2.bcl.2(II=cbsn) - 4331 - timp - perc(2): vib/glsp/2 susp.cym/6 tom-t/ tamb/sleighbells/siz.cym/tam-t/BD- hp - pno - strings. Written for the 2005 Aldeburgh Festival. FP: 19.6.05:Aldeburgh Festival, Snape Maltings Concert Hall, UK: BBC SO/Edward Gardner
JOHN WOOLRICHThe Elephant from Celebes (2005)
Orchestra. Duration 20 minutes. picc.2.2.ca.2.bcl.2.cbsn - 4331 - timp - perc(2): piccolo SD/xyl/hi-hat/2 sleigh bells/cyms/cabasa/ vibraslap/2 bongos/2 splash.cym/BD/tam-t/guero/ SD/PekingOpera gong/8 tom-toms (with a wide range of pitches)/sandblocks - strings. Commissioned by theBritten-Pears Orchestra with support from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. FP: 09/08/05: SnapeProms, Snape Maltings: Britten-Pears Orchestra/Paul Daniel
from The Tempest. Chamber ensemble of four players. Duration 8 minutes. Cl - pno - vln.vlc.Commissioned by Aldeburgh Productions for the Aldeburgh Festival 2005. FP: 16.06.05: JubileeHall, Aldeburgh Festival: Composers Ensemble
JONATHAN HARVEYPre-echo for Jean-Guihen (2005)
Solo cello. Duration 2-3 minutes. Written to precede Bach’s Suite in D minor for solo cello.Commissioned by the Lichfield Festival. FP: 12.7.05: Lichfield Festival, Lady Chapel, LichfieldCathedral, UK: Jean-Guihen Queyras
MATTHEW HINDSONDidjeribluegrass (2005)
Didjeridu and string quartet. Duration 8 minutes. Commissioned by the Australian Chamber MusicFestival for the Fyra Quartet and William Barton. FP: 25.6.05, Australian Festival of ChamberMusic, Townsville, Queensland, Australia: William Barton (didjeridu)/Fyra Quartet
MATTHEW HINDSON“A Duty Clear Before Us” (2005)
Chamber ensemble of 6 players. Duration 3fi minutes. Trumpet - perc(1): SD - string quartet.Commissioned by Definitive Events (artistic director Chris Latham) for the 90th anniversarycommemorations of the Australian landing at Gallipoli in World War I. FP: 25.4.05, Gallipoli,Turkey: Sculthorpe String Quartet and musicians from the Australian Army Band
MATTHEW HINDSONLament (2002)
Viola and piano. Duration 10 minutes. FP: 14.6.05, St John’s Smith Square, London, UK: MatthewJones/Michael Hampton
DAVID MATTHEWSFour Australian Birds (2001-4)
Solo violin. Duration 9fi minutes (can be performed separately). 1 Munro’s Song; 2 The TwoCuckoos; 3 Whipbird in the Rain Forest; 4 The Butcher Bird. 25.1.05: Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall,University of York: Peter Sheppard Skaerved
DAVID MATTHEWSPiano Trio No 3 Op 97 (2005)
Duration 15 minutes. Commissioned by the Leasowes Bank Festival. FP: 20.7.05: Leasowes BankFestival, Shropshire, UK: Chamber Music Company
JOHN WOOLRICHAfter the Clock (2005)
Chamber ensemble of 13 players (minimum). Duration 12 minutes. =1111 - 1110 - perc(1):marimba/BD/sleigh bells - pno - strings (either solo instruments or small section). Commissionedby the BBC for the 2005 series of Proms Chamber Music Concerts at Cadogan Hall. Firstperformance: 1.8.05: BBC Proms Chamber Music Series, Cadogan Hall, London, UK: NationalYouth Orchestra Sinfonietta/Paul Watkins
JOHN WOOLRICHBlue Drowning (2005)
string orchestra or solo strings (11111). Duration 8 minutes. Commissioned by Ron and PennyHowell to celebrate the lives of Terry and Kath Frost. FP: 22.6.05: Aldeburgh Festival, SnapeMaltings Concert Hall, UK: Scottish Ensemble/dir.Clio Gould
Voice and orchestra. Duration 4 minutes. 2.2.2.bcl.2.cbsn - 4231 - timp - perc(3): susp.cym/cyms/SD/tam-t/BD - harp - strings. FP: 2004, Sony Classical recording sessions: Willard White/BBC Concert Orchestra/Carl Davis
DAVID MATTHEWSMovement of Autumn Op 98 (2005)
Soprano and orchestra. Duration 22 minutes. Text: Vernon Watkins (Eng). 1(=picc).1(=ca).1.1 -1100 - perc(1): vib/2 timp/2 susp.cym/chinese cym/tam-t/antique cyms. in Bb above middle C -strings (min 44321). Commissioned by Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts. FP: 30.8.05:Presteigne Festival, Presteigne, UK: Rachel Nicholls/Presteigne Festival Orchestra/George Vass
DAVID MATTHEWSTwo Choruses from ‘For the Time Being’
Unaccompanied SATB chorus. Duration 6 minutes. Text: WH Auden (Eng). Commissioned by GavinHenderson for Dartington International Summer School with funds donated by Brighton College. FP:26.8.05: Dartington International Summer School: Great Hall, Dartington, Devon: Summer SchoolChoir/David Temple
DAVID MATTHEWSVoyages Op 96 (2005)
Baritone and piano quartet. Duration 20 minutes. Pno - vln.vla.vlc. Texts: Baudelaire & Hugo (Fr).L’invitation au voyage was commissioned by Association a tempo and first performed at the‘Consonances’ Festival, St Nazaire, France, on 16 September 2003. The remaining three songs ofVoyages were commissioned by the London Bridge Ensemble and first performed by them with thebaritone Ivan Ludlow at the Wigmore Hall, London, on 23 May 2005
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‘THE FIREM
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NEW PUBLICATIONS & RECORDINGS
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Plymouth TownScore. 0-571-52376-5 £24.95
MICHAEL DAUGHERTY
‘Lex’ from the MetropolisSymphonyScore PE2016814 £19.95
MAIJA EINFELDE
Ave MariaSATB/organ. 0-571-52425-7 (FNCW) £2.95
SARAH FRANCIS (ED.)
Unbeaten Tracks (oboe/pno)0-571-52374-9 £8.95
HOWARD GOODALL
The Lord is my ShepherdTTBarB. Score 0-571-52407-9 (FNCW) £2.50
JONATHAN HARVEY
Run Before LightningFlute and piano. 0-571-52418-4 £8.95 (after October 2005)
OLIVER KNUSSEN
Violin ConcertoViolin and orchestra. 0-571-52360-9 £24.95
