Kraftwerk’s music sounds as fresh and contemporary as ever
by guest reviewer Mike Holmes
Image ยฉ Mike Holmes
Between 1975 and June 2026, Kraftwerk have been infrequent visitors to London, with a total of 26 visits in 51 years (I am indebted to the meticulously curated website keepwerking.co.uk for its detailed and searchable database). Tickets for the three Royal Albert Hall gigs were in incredibly high demand, and I was happy to secure some after doing battle with the online ticketing portal (remember the good old days when paper tickets were sold in local record shops?!)
On the face of it, Kraftwerk should have disappeared from musical consciousness years ago. They were not prolific, having released eight studio albums between 1974 and 2003 (with a live album and a remix offering in 2005 and 2009 respectively). Of the four founding members, only Ralf Hรผtter remains active (impressively so, as he will soon be an octogenarian). Sadly, fellow founder Florian Schneider died in 2020. With no new music since 2003, it would be expected that this incarnation of the pioneers from Dรผsseldorf would be a sad karaoke pastiche of a once interesting and relevant band (we could all name pale imitation modern versions of ancient bands that are doomed to endless nostalgia tours. The really unlucky ones end up doing holiday camp weekenders).
ยฉ Mike Holmesยฉ Mike Holmes
So why are Kraftwerk different? Why were we all competing for tickets? I have been lucky enough to see them four previous times, and yet I was just as excited about this gig. So what is it about Kraftwerk? And even more importantly, did this latest visit to planet Earth by the Kraftwerk Spacelab live up to expectations?
To answer that question, letโs start with some history. Kraftwerk were founded in Dรผsseldorf in 1970. They were early adopters of the primitive synthesisers and drum machines that were being developed at the time. Although several early electronic music pioneers were experimenting around that time (the Doctor Who theme from 1963, written by Ron Gainer and brought to life by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, comes to mind), Kraftwerk took the technology to a new level. They combined simple pure melodies with stripped-down bass lines and drum patterns. They also developed a fascinating image (the classic Kraftwerk look: short, slicked back hair, red shirts and identical black ties) at a time of maximum hippy bell-bottom flares and massive hair. The first four albums had a huge influence. The style has been described as โrobot popโ, although there is far more to it than that.
ยฉ Mike Holmes
What is critical to their story is the massive influence they had on modern electronic music. Kraftwerk had a big impact on the Bellville Three, who invented Detroit techno. Afrika Bambaataa borrowed a drum rhythm from Numbers and a lead line from Trans-Europe Express as he kicked off the hip-hop revolution. Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys stated in 1990, โthey started it allโ (BBC News Obituary for Florian Schneider). Many articles about the impact of Kraftwerk refer to the band as โthe electronic Beatlesโ, which is entirely justified in my view. Even though the music is generated by a series of ones and zeros, there is something incredibly human, dare I say even beautiful, about this โrobot rockโ.
ยฉ Mike Holmes
So, the history is legendary, and the story has been told many times (certainly by me to any โwillingโ listener!) The question is, how was this latest live incarnation of Kraftwerk? The short answer is, as powerful and compelling as ever. Hรผtterโs voice may be a little less strong these days (but still remarkable for 79), but the ability to mesmerise and captivate an audience is as strong as ever. The visuals were stunning, with an almost hallucinogenic quality. The screen was huge and intense. The sound was as pure and deep as is demanded by the Kraftwerk aesthetic.
The set list was as predicted (with one exception, see below), and yet the music sounded as fresh and contemporary as ever. Itโs hard to pick out highlights from what is a near-perfect set list. Tour de France was as dynamic as ever. The Numbers/Computer World/Computer World 2 medley was a great way to engage the audience from the start. Hรผtter does not tend to talk to the audience except to say goodnight. He broke this rule when he announced an unexpected extra track. Kraftwerk were very close to composer/actor Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died aged 71 in 2023. Hรผtter explained that Sakamoto had translated the lyrics of Radioactivity into Japanese for them. There then followed a moving tribute in the form of a cover of the theme fromMerry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.
This was another incredible two hours of pure electronic music that combined a high-minded aesthetic with an ultimately human and uplifting experience. We all hope that Kraftwerk will land the Spacelab in London again very soon. โ
A final thought: Kraftwerk do play a lot of the synth lines live, despite what some cynics have suggested. I know every note of every song, and I hear subtle differences every time I see them live: โBy pressing down a special key, it plays a little melody.โ
A dramatic and deeply devotional performance, part concert, part religious ritual
The Bach Choir, London Youth Choir, Florilegium and conductor David Hill ยฉ Michael Whitefoot
The Bach Choir’s 150th Anniversary season, which opened last October with a superb performance of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, was marked on Sunday with Bach’s St Matthew Passion, part of the Choir’s repertoire since 1894. For nearly a century, the Choir has performed the work at least once a year, starting with the conductor Adrian Boult in 1930 at the Queen’s Hall, then moving to the Royal Albert Hall. For nearly 70 years, the Choir has performed the Passion annually at the Royal Festival Hall, with a short break during the Pandemic. Sunday’s performance was the 177th by the Choir.
According to Katharine Richman’sย very helpfulย programmeย note, the Choir has usually performed the work on the day of a significant Christian festival associated with the Passion of Christ, such as Passion Sunday, Palmย Sundayย or Good Friday. For the first time onย Sundayย it was performed on the Third Sunday of Lent, which is a less important day in the Christian calendar. But this still felt like a deeply religious occasion, partly due to the request that the audience reserve their applause until the very end of the work, and the fact that the soloists all woreย sombreย clothes. The concert had a devotional, ritualistic feel, enforced by the fact that it started at 11.00 on a Sunday, as Christian services often do;ย this in itself, togetherย with the long lunch break, has become a ritual for these concerts, dating back to at least 1935. The audience played its part, too, sitting in respectful and sometimes spellbound silence as this most moving of narratives gradually unfolded; there was a real sense of this being a special occasion.ย
Bach wrote the Passion in German, his native language (see Bach and Luther below for the importance of this), and it wasn’t until 1930 that the Choir began singing it in English. The composer was keen for his work to communicate in the language of his audience, even though, as Richman writes, it has been a challenge to find an English singing version that matches Bach’s rhythms.
On Sunday, Toby Spence told the story in English as the Evangelist, a superb and tireless communicator, with very clear diction. He sang with a light, lyrical tenor with a touch of vibrato, from within the orchestra, joining the continuo players.
David Hill ยฉ Michael Whitefoot
The Choir opened the concert after a short and stately instrumental introduction. Early Music performances of the Passion use much smaller forces, but the Choir’s decision to use its traditional large forces was completely vindicated by the precision with which they sang, and maintained a long and worthy tradition. The opening chorus, ‘Come, ye daughters, share my weeping’, illustrated the Choir’s excellent diction and conductor David Hill’s superb shaping of the vocal lines. Spread across the choir seats above the stage, the stereo effect created by the two choirs was an important part of the drama (again, see Bach and the acoustics of St Thomas Church below for the significance of this.) The London Youth Choir stood in the middle and often sang together with the adult singers. But the opening chorus was a chance to hear their soaring legato part, sung with great purity, brightness and precision, contrasting with the more staccato-sounding voices. It would be difficult to find choirs, including professional choirs, that could perform the work better than these.
BACH AND LUTHER
Bachโs St Matthew Passion was first performed in St Thomas’s Church nearly 300 years ago, on Good Friday, 11 April 1727, at the Lutheran Vespers. Around 200 years earlier, it’s thought that Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of All Saints’ Church, Wittenberg, Germany, widely considered the catalyst for the Reformation. Luther’s translation of The Bible into German is thought to have played a crucial role in making it more accessible to the laity. It’s important, therefore, that the text of Bach’s Matthew Passion used a German translation: St Matthew’s Gospel (Chapter 26 and 27) for the narrative, and the work of the German poet Christian Friedrich Henrici (known as Picander) for the reflective arias and choruses.
The bass-baritone Neal Davies played the role of Jesus. A seasoned veteran, Davies won the Lieder Prize at the 1991 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition – 35 years ago – and is still in superb voice. His interpretation was devotional, inward-looking, and thoughtful for much of the first half, reminding us that Christ is often a passive character in this story: the words passion and passive come from the same Latin root (pati to suffer; passivus suffered). His voice was often surrounded by a halo of strings, adding to the profundity of his utterances. As Richman points out, a notable exception to this is in Part Two, where he cried out ‘My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken me’, in an anguished, passionately lyrical voice. After Jesus ‘yielded up the ghost’, there was a profoundly moving silence.
Mezzo soprano Carolyn Dobbin shared Davies’ thoughtful approach: for instance, in her first aria,‘Grief for sin rends the guilty heart within’, with a lovely running accompaniment from woodwind and chamber organ. Her tone was gently conversational with expressive body movements.
We soon heard from soprano Lucy Crowe, who had excelled as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosรฌ fan tuttein Manchester a week earlier. In her aria ‘Break Open, Thou Loving Heart’, she sang with subtle passion, her creamy voice lovingly caressing the words as she immersed herself completely in the music.
There was more, luxury casting in the baritone Christopher Purves, who stunningly sang the title role in Bรฉla Bartรณk’s Bluebeardโs Castleso memorably in Manchester recently. As well as singing the bass arias (of which more later), he sang the smaller roles of Judas, a robust Peter, and an operatic High Priest, and Pilate, communicating urgently with the audience in these character roles.
A highlight of Part One was when the tenor Benjamin Hulett and the Choir sang ‘O grief! how throbs his heavy-laden breast’/’O saviour, why must all this ill befall me?’, the soft-grained warmth of the Choir contrasting with Hulett’s gently operatic voice.
And there was a moment of high drama when the two female soloists sang the lilting duet, ‘Behold, my Saviour now is taken’ while the Choir sang of ‘lightnings and thunders’, superbly articulated and powerful.
One of the balconies at St Thomas Church Leipzig ยฉ Dirk Brzoska and visitsaxony.com
BACH AND THE ACOUSTICS OF ST THOMAS CHURCH
According to Professor Trevor Cox of the University of Salford, in his book Sonic Wonderland: A Scientific Odyssey of Sound, the acoustics of St Thomas Church had a profound effect on the composition of Bach’s Passion, ‘Before the Reformation, the priest’s voice took 8 seconds to die away in the church… In the mid-16th century, galleries and drapes were added that muffled the reverberation, dropping the decay time to 1.6 seconds.’ According to Cox, Bach ‘exploited the reverberance to write more intricate music with a brisker tempo. Cox quotes the acoustician Hope Bagenal, the senior acoustician at the Royal Festival Hall, as stating that the insertion of galleries into Lutheran churches such as St Thomas Leipzig was ‘the most important single fact in the history of music because it leads directly to the St Matthew Passion and [Bach’s] B Minor Mass.’ The balconies that faced each other at St Thomas Church also allowed Bach to write for double choir and orchestra, exploiting the stereo effect to heighten the drama of his music.
In the second half, Hulett returned with the recitative ‘He holds his peace’, demonstrating the quality of his lower range, with lovely legato in contrast with the broken-up chords of the orchestra. Reiko Ichise on Viola da Gamba was stunningly virtuosic here.
Toby Spence, Evangelist and Reiko Ichise, Viola da Gamba ยฉ Michael Whitefoot
The orchestral leaders Huw Daniel and Gabriella Jones provided superb solos in the arias ‘Have Mercy, Lord, in me’ (the renowned aria, Erbarme Dich, mein Gott) for mezzo soprano and the bass aria ‘Give, O give me back my saviour.’
It felt as if the Earth had stopped turning and time was suspended as Lucy Crowe sang her intensely moving aria, ‘For love my Saviour now is dying’, accompanied by high woodwind solos. And there was a remarkable moment as Purves briefly broke down during his recitative describing the ‘evening hour of calm and rest’ after Jesus’ death. Conductor David Hill gently put a hand on Purves’ shoulder in a subtle gesture of humanity.
Lucy Crowe, soprano ยฉ Michael Whitefoot
But Part Two belonged to the Choir, often singing now without scores, adding to the drama as they faced the audience. Their interjections in the scene with Pilate were perfectly controlled. They sang their immensely complex running lines in the chorus ‘He saved others’ with accurate aplomb. Elsewhere, they were suitably mournful and tender, with excellent blend and dynamics. It was appropriate, therefore, that they brought the concert to an end with the final chorus, ‘We bow our heads in tears and sorrow.’ Hill let his hands drop slowly, and after the silence was broken, this spellbinding performance was honoured with a standing ovation.
Lucy Crowe, Carolyn Dobbin, Neal Davies, David Hill, Toby Spence, Christopher Purves, Benjamin Hulett, The Bach Choir, London Youth Choir, Florilegium ยฉ Michael Whitefoot
Repertoire
JS Bach St Matthew Passion
Performers
Toby Spence Evangelist Neal Davies Christ Lucy Crowe Soprano Carolyn Dobbin Mezzo soprano Benjamin Hulett Tenor Christopher Purves Baritone
The Bach Choir London Youth Choir Florilegium director Ashley Solomon Huw Daniel. Gabriella Jones leaders Philip Scriven Organ Continuo David Hill conductor
Sources
Cox, T., Sonic Wonderland: A Scientific Odyssey of Sound (The Bodley Head Ltd, 2014) Richman, K., The Bach Choir and the St Matthew Passion (Programme Note, 2026)
Soprano Ailish Tynan steals the show in a superb semi-staging of Mozart’s comic opera
Lucy Crowe as Fiordiligi, Ailish Tynan as Despina and Taylor Raven as Dorabella ยฉ Matthew Johnson Photographer
English National Opera is rapidly establishing a foothold in Manchester, with appearances at the Manchester Classical festival last summer, a production of Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring at Lowry, and a forthcoming production of the new opera Angel’s Bone by the Chinese composer Du Yun at Aviva Studios in May. Last weekend, ENO performed Mozart’s Cosรฌ fan tutte on Friday and Saturday in a semi-staged version at the Bridgewater Hall.
Alexander Joel conducted the orchestra, which was on stage throughout, in a stylish rendition of the overture, with well-controlled tempi, a fleetness of foot and a lovely lilting motion. The orchestra continued with precision and excellent ensemble throughout the evening.
Andrew Foster-Williams as Don Alfonso ยฉ Matthew Johnson Photographer
Andrew Foster-Williams, as Don Alfonso,ย the cynical schemer behind the opera’s partner-swapping shenanigans, was nattily dressed as a ‘spiv’ in a bright yellow suit and white-topped shoes. He sang with a rich, warm voice and excellent diction, relishing his role. Lucyย Crowe, asย Fiordiligi, wasย luxuryย casting, with a gorgeous,ย creamy soprano. Mezzo Taylor Raven was Dorabella, with a lovely edge to her voice and magnificent control. Her early duet with Crowe, where they proclaimed that without their lovers they would be in despair, wasย delightful,ย their voices perfectly matched.ย
Darwin Prakash sang Guglielmo with a substantial baritone voice, easily filling the Bridgewater Hall’s cavernous acoustic. Joshua Blue, as Ferrando, sang with great animation. Both singers clearly enjoyed the physical comedy their roles provided. They clearly relished their roles as the disguised lovers, overacting deliciouslyย as they declaredย their ‘love.’ But there was genuine emotion when Blue sang his ardentย aria, ‘I know she adores me’ and broke down. An early highlight was when all five of these singers sang together; Don Alfonso’sย commentย โWhat a performance’ seemedย appropriate here.ย
But the soprano Ailish Tynan, singing with an Irish accent as the maid Dorabella, stole the show. It was impossible to take your eye off her when she was on stage; she was a superb character actor, drawing all the comedy out of any situation with conspiratorial glances and rolled eyes. Even the way she walked was amusing. Yet she was more than just a character actor; her singing in theย ariaย on fidelity was stunning. Sheย hadย great fun when she dressed as the ‘doctor’, in a suit and a white Einstein fright wig and moustache. Her high notes were astonishingly good here.ย
Chorus of ENO ยฉ Matthew Johnson Photographer
The chorus of English National Opera appeared in the final gala concert ofย Manchester Classicalย lastย year, andย also entertained the crowd outside the Bridgewater Hall in operatic excerpts. It was good to see them in a full-length opera, although Mozartย doesn’tย give them a great deal to do. They sang robustly from the Choir Seats in front of the Hall’s magnificent organ. They enthusiastically waved flags as Ferrando and Guglielmo headed off to war, in the splendid chorusย ‘It’sย a soldier’s life for me.’ Whether they were waving goodbye with their flags or using them for semaphore as in the Monty Pythonย Wuthering Heightsย sketch was unclear.ย
Darwin Prakash as Guglielmo, Andrew Foster-Williams as Don Alfonso and Joshua Blue as Ferrando ยฉ Matthew Johnson Photographer
At the start of Act Two, Tynan had another chance to shine as she wittily explained that even a chambermaid such as her could attract admirers. She excelled herself near the end of the opera when she came on dressed as a lawyer, a ‘cowboy’ in both senses of the word, with a prodigious Stetson and an American accent to match. She did a line dance as she described her legal practice, making Saul Goodman (the lawyer from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) seem prim and proper in comparison. Yee-hah!
But this production also brought out the underlying pathos and emotion of Mozart’s comic opera. There was a moment of contemplative beauty when Lucy Crowe sang Fiordiligi’s aria, ‘I have sinned’, bathed in pure white light, standing like a lonely, fallen angel in the Choir Seats. She sang theย ariaย very sweetly, withย a pureย but full voice, genuinely moving. This moment was the highlight of the whole opera. Joshua Blue also revealed genuine emotion of a different kind when he sang his ‘I will be avenged’ย aria, revealing the true depth of Ferrando’s character.
As this was a comedy, all ended well as the reunited lovers sang ‘Peace and love will win the day.โย There was huge, well-deserved applause from the packed house at the end. There continue to be good omens for ENO’s ongoing work in Greater Manchester.ย
Chorus & Orchestra of English National Opera ยฉ Matthew Johnson Photographer
Cast
Lucy Crowe Fiordiligi Taylor Raven Dorabella Joshua Blue Ferrando Darwin Prakash Guglielmo Andrew Foster-Williams Don Alfonso Ailish Tynan Despina
Alexander Joel conductor Ruth Knight concert staging Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera
Love is a fragile thing: superb performances of Albarn Berg, Sergey Prokofiev and Cassandra Miller by Lawrence Power and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Composer Cassandra Miller, Viola Player Lawrence Power and Members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Credit: Chris Payne
On The Cure’s comeback albumย Songs of a Lost Worldย (2024), Robert Smith sang, ‘This love is a fragile thing.’ This line could have been the title of Saturday’s concert by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of French conductor Ludovic Morlot. The concert featured: Alban Berg’s character Lulu from his opera of the same name, whose relationship with her lovers is ephemeral; the fragility of love, and of human existence, addressed in Cassandra Miller’sย I cannot love without trembling; and Sergey Prokofiev’s setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet depicting the tragic fate of the ‘star-crossed lovers.’
There was a secondary theme in Saturday’s concert: composers persecuted by the regimes in which they lived, and their attempts to subvert those regimes. Alban Berg had become a successful composer in Germany after the premiere of his opera Wozzeck in Berlin in 1925. But with the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s, it became clear that his next opera,ย Lulu, was unlikely to be performed in Austria or Germany. The Nazis banned his works in 1935, declaring them to be ‘Entartete Musik’ (Degenerate Music). Berg wrote hisย Lulu Suiteย to promote the opera away from the Nazi regime.
At around the same time, Prokofiev returned to the Soviet Union after a period of exile. He was in discussions with the State Academic Theatre (later The Kirov) to developย Romeo and Julietย as a ballet, but the project soon fell foul of the authorities. The Theatre cancelled the project, and the Bolshoi agreed to take it on. The Bolshoi’s director was then arrested and executed, and the production was delayed indefinitely. In 1936, Prokofiev extracted two suites from the ballet to generate interest in the complete work.
The concert on Saturday began with theย Rondo, the first movement of Berg’sย Lulu Suite. Berg extracted a love scene from Act II of the opera, between Lulu and Alwa, the son of Dr Ludwig Schรถn, one of Lulu’s various husbands. The opening of the movement was delicate and fragile, with solo flute and strings. Conductor Ludovic Morlot calmly brought out the long-limbed, endless melody and the fragility of the melodic lines. But there was an underlying sense of decadence, the solo alto saxophone (Carl Raven) an instrument of louche debauchery rather than frenetic jazz. There was a moment of stasis, then a rich romantic flow, with denser orchestral textures and added piano. The texture thinned out, with excellent solos from Raven, Clive Williamson (piano), Peter Dixon (cello) and Steven Burnard (viola). The music was constantly reaching for something (love?). In this performance, it felt angular yet romantic, dissonant yet tonal, decadent but beautiful, unsettling yet calm.
Cassandra Miller’s viola concerto,ย I cannot love without trembling is already an enormous success. Since its premiere three years ago, it has beenย performed a further 14 times, with two more performances scheduled for May 2026. The concerto takes its title from a quotation from the French philosopher, Simone Weil (1909-1943), in a letter she wrote to another French philosopher, Gustave Thibon,
โHuman existence is so fragile a thing and exposed to such dangers that I cannot love without tremblingโ
Quotation from Weilโs Gravity and Grace, published posthumously by Gustave Thibon
The concerto has four movements or verses with a closing cadenza, each part taking its name from a Weil quotation, and it runs without a break. Weilโs Gravity and Grace describes what separates us and what brings us together, based on the Platonic concept of ฮผฮตฯฮฑฮพฯ (โmetaxuโ or โmetaxyโ meaning โbetweenโ). Miller heard recordings of the violinist Alexis Zoumbas who left the northern mountains of Greece in the early nineteenth century to go to New York. According to the Mississippi records website,
โZoumbas had the rare gift of expressing emotion clearly and urgently through his instrument, and his violin feels like an extension of his heart, soul, and the deep musical history of his faraway home in Epirusโ
Alexis Zoumbas โข Epirotiko Moiroloi from American Museum of Paramusicology
Zoumbasโ improvisations evoke a feeling of ฮฮตฮฝฮฑฯฮฏฮฑ (Xenatia), Greek for a โcatastrophic longing for homeโ, based on Mฮฟฮนฯฮฟฮปฯฯย (moiroloi), Greek mourning songs. Miller internalised Zoumbasโ moiroloi recording by singing along over and over again, creating a sacred ritual based on deep meditation. Miller describes this as โautomatic singingโ, which seems akin toย automatic writing.
The result is a spellbinding piece of music in which the audience shares the composer’s dreams and rituals and joins her in the intense sense of mourning and lamentation it conveys. Even the soloist is invited to share this meditative state โ at one point the score instructs the violist to play โwith eyes closed.โ The orchestra is invited to join the collective dreaming, often playing sotto voce, surrounding the soloist with shimmering, muted soundscapes. As Miller says,
โWithin Zoumbasโ plaintive song, I sought a metaphysical space in which to dream โ a space of separation-connection-absence-presence โ in the hope to lament and to dream together in this hall tonight.โ
On Saturday, the piece began with murmuring percussion and very high harmonics from Lawrence Power’s viola. He played a rising melody which fractured before establishing itself. We immediately entered a remarkable and unique sound world, as Power played music that trembled, inward-looking, contemplative and keening. The sound was lonely, nostalgic, a voice crying out in the wilderness, lamenting in the depths of sorrow. The cellos joined him from the depths, echoing his sorrow.
A single flute note rang out like a call in the darkest night. The viola joined an octave above, with shimmering accompaniment. The viola sounded like a voice wailing and lamenting, and the orchestra shared the viola’s grief. In the third movement, the viola part was more strenuous, with glowing brass and fluttering woodwind. Trumpets suddenly appeared, playing a robust, anguished theme. The viola was riven with emotion, then dropped out completely. There was a stunning section where the viola obsessively plucked a single note and played a melancholy melody, the bass drum rumbling ominously below. The strings crept in with an evocative sweep, and the harp picked up the viola’s repeated note, which then passed to tubular bells, like a beating heart.
As Power moved towards his final cadenza, a florid piccolo (Jennifer Hutchinson) made a lively announcement. Bowed percussion and bells, with gently-strummed strings, took us to a world beyond the stars. The viola finally took flight with superb virtuosity, playing very fast, and lower down the fingerboard. Power raised his bow above his head as the orchestra gradually died away. A stunning ending to a stunning piece.
For the second time this week, the composer came on to take her applause at the Bridgewater Hall (the first time being when Unsuk Chin came on to acknowledge applause forย Le Chant des Enfants des รtoilesย performed by theย Hallรฉ orchestra and choirs).
Viola Player Lawrence Power, Conductor Ludovic Morlot and Members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Credit: Chris Payne
The second half of the concert was devoted to Prokofiev’sย Romeo and Juliet, performed on Saturday, not in any of the composer’s orchestral suites, but in a sequence of extracts that broadly told the whole story of the ballet, in four sections.
The music began with a romantic sweep, played with gorgeous ensemble, the lilting strings unaware of the tragedy to come. The orchestra, particularly the bassoons, played the lively, characterful dance of the servants with great joy.
The Young Julietย perfectly captured Juliet’s changing moods, with whimsical, scurrying violins, perfectly controlled, and more expansive playing to represent her contemplative moods.ย The Dance of the Knightsย (now known as the theme tune forย The Apprentice and also used to introduce Sunderland AFC at the Stadium of Light) raised a smile and a scattering of applause at the end. The players revelled in the descriptive orchestration. The romantic, yearning theme of Juliet on the balcony was magical, with a moment of piety from the organ solo. Ardent strings announced Romeo’s entrance, and the whole orchestra reached for the stars as the lovers danced together.
Fizzing, frenzied themes introduced the fight scenes in the marketplace, distorting the Knights’ theme. A brass chorale sounded a note of threat. The orchestra played with incredible precision as they reached a huge, disturbing climax. Surging, muted horns announced Mercutio’s death, who retained his sense of irony to the end, like a character from Shostakovich’s music. There was an incredibly descriptive moment in the cellos as he fought for his breath, combining precision and emotion. The fierce pitched battle between Romeo and Mercutio was played at heart-racing speed, with savagely loud timpani marking Mercutio’s death.
Stunning pizzicato strings and vengeful brass announced the Capulets intent to avenge Mercutio’s death, with a breathtakingly discordant final chord. An anguished string lament, right at the top of the violins’ range, like some of the viola solos in the Miller piece, as Juliet’s funeral took place. This was genuinely moving, even though we knew she was still alive. Romeo entered, and we shared his regret as the poison took hold and the music sank into darkness. Juliet awoke with a brass chorale as she saw her young lover lying dead. She briefly recalled her joy in sorrow. In a gentle, moving climax, with stunning woodwind harmonies, she stabbed herself. As with any superb performance of a Shakespearean tragedy, we were left emotionally wrung out, with a purging feeling of catharsis.
Conductor Ludovic Morlot and Members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Credit Chris Payne
Repertoire
Alban Berg Lulu Suite โ Rondo Cassandra Miller I cannot love without trembling (Viola Concerto) Sergey Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet โ The market place – introduction and morning dance (Nos. 1 & 4); At the Capulets’ house – Juliet’s bedroom , the ballroom and the balcony (Nos. 10, 13, 19-21); The market place – Tybalt kills Mercutio and Romeo kills Tybalt (Nos. 32-36); Juliet’s bedroom, the tomb – her funeral and death (Nos. 37, 51 -52)
Performers
Lawrence Power viola BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Ludovic Morlot conductor
The concert was recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3โs Classical Live on Wednesday 25 March. It will be available for 30 days after broadcast via BBC Sounds.
Read on…
The BBC Philharmonic playing Cassandra Miller’s I cannot love without trembling at the BBC Proms in 2024
French-tinged minimalism, sparkling Ravel and Rachmaninoff’s final orchestral statement
Elisabeth Brauร and members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Image ยฉ Chris Payne
Saturday evening’s concert by the BBC Philharmonic was their first under the baton of Adam Hickox. He’s the son ofย Richard Hickox, who died nearly 20 years ago at the untimely age of 60. The younger Hickox is now making a name for himself. In 2023, he was appointed Principal Conductor of The Glyndebourne Sinfonia. Heโs the new Chief Conductor of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra in Norway. Later this month, he conducts that orchestra in aย programmeย of Beethoven, Lutosลawski and Unsuk Chin, with pianist Paul Lewis, in a concert billed as ‘From Hickox’s treasure chest.’
Camille Pรฉpin ยฉ Capucine de Chocqueuse. Source: camillepepin.com
On Saturday, we began withย Les Eaux cรฉlestesย (The Celestial Waters) by Camille Pรฉpin, who was born in France in 1990. Pรฉpin describes her style as ‘at the crossroads of French impression and American contemporary music’, and this is an apt description of the piece. There are echoes of Steve Reich and John Adams in his earlier, more minimalist guise, in its pulsating rhythms and unexpected key changes. In the final section, there’s a conscious nod to Debussy’s Nuages (Clouds) from his Nocturnes.
Pรฉpin’s piece retells an ancient Chinese legend in four movements. Princess Orihime weaves clothes for the gods from the clouds. She falls passionately for Hikoboshi, who tends his cows in the heavens. They forget their duties, and Hikoboshi’s father, the sky god, separates them by placing ‘celestial waters’ in the form of the Milky Way between them. He relents slightly, allowing the lovers to meet once a year. A flock of birds forms a bridge across the Milky Way, allowing the lovers’ joyful reconciliation.
On Saturday, the first two movements,ย Tisser les nuagesย (Weaving the clouds) andย Laย Sรฉparationย (The Separation) ran without a break. The piece began with spectral sounds, like the fluttering of birds’ wings. Waves of string sound and perpetuum mobile rhythms suggested the weaving of the clouds, with jazzy percussion. Shimmering strings, with the gentle rumble of timpani, suggested the lovers’ mournful separation. A climax with a brass theme and busy percussion depicted the depth of the lovers’ heartbreak.
The third and fourth movements, Les Larmesย perlรฉesย (The Pearly Tears) andย Le Pont desย ailesย (The Bridge of Wings), ran together, the tempo now slowed to depict Princess Orihime’s tears. Celesta and harp played the tear drops while string harmonics described the tearful clouds. The birds’ wings were delicately drawn as in an impressionist painting, by out-of-phase vibraphone, marimba and celesta. A sudden change led to the resolutely rhythmic climax, and the lovers were finally reunited. This is attractive, evocative music, a satisfying blend of influences, well played here by the BBC Philharmonic.
Elizabeth Brauร, Adam Hickox and the BBC Philharmonic. Image ยฉ Chris Payne
There was more French music from Maurice Ravel, his Piano Concerto in G. This is another piece that wears its influences on its sleeve. In 1928, the composer toured the United States and Canada for four months, meeting George Gershwin. He was inspired by the jazz he heard in America, telling an interviewer,
โJazz is a very rich and vital source of inspiration for a modern composer, and I am astonished that so few Americans are influenced by it.โ
Both his piano concertos are jazz-influenced and were completed between 1929 and 1931. The following year, the composer toured Europe with theย Piano Concerto in G, Ravel conducting and Marguerite Long playing the piano. He had originally been billed to appear as the soloist in his own concerto, but a concert advertised in Manchester didn’t appear to go ahead (see below.)
The concert that didn’t happen?
An advert for Ravel’s concert in on 27 February 1932, part of Brand Lane’s series at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. It appears the concert didn’t go ahead, due to Ravel’s increasing illness and his technical inability to play the piano part of the Concerto in G. The first performance in Britain was recorded as taking place in London on 25 February that year, with Ravel conducting and Marguerite Long playing the piano. Source: author’s collection.
The German pianist Elisabeth Brauร (Brauss) appeared in a sparkling top that matched the concerto’s sparkle. It began with the crack of a whip, like a circus ringmaster announcing the delights that were to come. Gershwin’s influence was clear from the start – hisย Rhapsody in Blueย was written half a decade before the concerto. Brauร’s playing was superb throughout the first movement, beautifully even, gently evocative, stunningly rhythmic and virtuosic, perfectly controlled. She shone in her brief cadenza, and her playing was richly warm when accompanied by the orchestra. The movement ended with a fierce passage rising from the depths of the piano and a robust downward orchestral flourish.
The second movement began in complete contrast, with a gentle piano solo. This was the highlight of the concerto. The opening section has been compared to the simplicity of the works of another French composer, Erik Satie, who died in 1925. Brauร played it supremely evenly, with great compassion and a touch of rubato. This created an anthemic, almost religious feel. The audience listened spellbound. A gentle waltz ensued, with a heartbreaking top note in the melody. When the orchestra crept back in, the mood was perfectly retained. Brauร played the blues notes with perfect composure and conviction. At the end of the movement, the hall was absolutely quiet.
The final movement began with a bang, the orchestral soloists having fun with the Stravinsky-like jollity of their lines. We were back in the world of Gershwin again, almost sarcastically so. Brauร was again in complete control, her playing inventive and jolly. At one point, she set off at great speed, as if playing music for the most frenetic of Warner Bros. cartoons, incredibly virtuosic. The movement ended very suddenly, and there was enthusiastic applause as Brauร smilingly took her bows.
Unusually, we were treated to an orchestral encore, music from Jonny Greenwood’s score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 film Phantom Thread. Some parts of the score sound like a piano concerto, so this lushly romantic music this was an appropriate choice for an encore. To the amusement of the audience, the piece ended with an unscored phone ringing at the back of the hall.
The Booker prize-winning author has justย announcedย that his latest novel, Departure(s), will be his last: ‘Iโve played all my tunes.’ Whether Rachmaninoff felt the same about hisย Symphonic Dances, his final completed work, is unclear, as he made no formal announcement to that effect. But the music itself suggests that he was looking back and summarising his career. He summoned up all his considerable power as orchestrator and a tunesmith to write the piece.ย And he quoted from his earlier works, including his First Symphony and his Vespers. Scattered throughout the work are quotations of the 13th-century plainchant tuneย Dies Iraeย (The Day of Wrath) from the Requiem Mass, which he used in several of his works.
Whatever the status of the work, as David Kettle said in his programme note for the concert, the Symphonic Dances is
‘a symphony in all but name – or perhaps, with its showcasing of individual instrumental colours, more of a concerto for orchestra.’
Conductor Adam Hickox. Image ยฉ Chris Payne
The piece began with a lively three-note dance theme scattered across the orchestra, and the visceral thrill of the whole orchestra playing pizzicato. Adam Hickox conducted with calm precision and firm control. An orchestral piano was used as a percussion instrument in the style of Stravinsky. Carl Raven played a Russian melody on warm alto sax – an unusual instrument for the composer – surrounded by beautiful orchestral colours. There was superb ensemble from the woodwind, then a sweeping romantic, nostalgic theme for piano and strings that reminded us of the Jonny Greenwood encore. The movement ended with a lovely flute solo from Alex Jakeman.
The brass excelled themselves in the second movement, beginning with anxious, muted chords, leading to a diabolical, swirling waltz. Leader Zoรซ Beyers superbly played her violin solo with rustic vigour and a touch of sorrow. Hickox had excellent command of rubato, calmly shaping the vast orchestra with an expressive left hand. The music felt uneasy, constantly trying to move into a new key until it finally did. The anxious brass returned, and there was a passage reminiscent of Ravel’sย La Valseย (1920), although less apocalyptic, evoking a ghostly waltz in a haunted ballroom. There was a moment of ghostly triumph, before an eloquent ending.
In the final movement, theย Dies Iraeย theme began to creep out, becoming more insistent as the movement progressed. Tubular bells struck twelve – the movement was originally called ‘midnight.’ Another diabolical dance began, and there was an incredible climax before the orchestra fell away again, revealing a duet between upper and lower strings. At times, there was a valedictory feel: did Rachmaninoff know that this was his last work after all? Near the end of the movement, the composer wrote ‘Alleluia’ in the score, referring to the Resurrection of Christ in hisย Vespersย and at the end of the score he wrote ‘I thank thee, Lord.’ Did he feel reconciled to death, represented by the ‘Dies Irae’ theme?
After the final gong rang out, there was a silence in the hall, then enthusiastic applause. At one point, Hickox tried to get the orchestra to stand, but they remained seated to acknowledge him instead. Hopefully, this will be the start of a long and fruitful relationship between Hickox and the orchestra.
The BBC Philharmonic and Adam Hickox. Image ยฉ Chris Payne
Repertoire
Camille Pรฉpin Les Eaux cรฉlestes Maurice Ravel Piano Concerto in G Jonny Greenwood House of Woodcock from Phantom Thread (encore) Sergey Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances
Performers
Adam Hickox conductor Elisabeth Brauร piano BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
The concert was recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3โs Classical Live. It will be available for 30 days after broadcast via BBC Sounds.
An unforgettable exploration of Bartรณk’s psychodrama
Jennifer Johnston as Judith, Christopher Purves as Duke Bluebeard and conductor Anja Bihlmaier. Image ยฉ Chris Payne
It’s unusual for one concert in an orchestra’s season to follow on from the next, unless they are part of a programmed series, such as a festival devoted to the works of one composer. But Saturday night’s concert by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, under conductor Anja Bihlmaier, picked up where last week’s concert left off. That concert ended with John Adams’ City Noir, a depiction of Los Angeles at night. Saturday’s concert began with another description of night, Lili Boulanger’s Dโun Soir Triste (On a Sad Evening).
The two works share not just a nocturnal theme but, at times, a cinematic landscape, music that could have come from a film noir. This is made explicit by Adams, but Boulanger died in 1918, before film music, apart from music for silent films, even existed, so the link can only be made in retrospect. The concert ended with another cinematic work with darkness at its heart: Bรฉla Bartรณk’s one-act opera Bluebeardโs Castle.
Boulanger died at the tender age of 24, and the only surviving manuscript for Dโun Soir Triste in the composer’s hand is the original version for violin, cello and piano. The orchestral manuscript is in the hand of Lili’s older sister Nadia, who survived Lili by over 60 years.
The piece began with stark, questioning strings, then a sudden moment of calm with a characterful clarinet solo from John Bradbury, of whom we were to hear much more later. The music was dark and sorrowful, with dense textures, casting us back to John Adams’ shadowy streets and culminating in a dramatic climax that could have come from a film noir. An urgently rhythmic theme on the timpani felt like the hammer-blow of fate from Mahler’s Sixth Symphony. There was a moment of magic with a limpid celesta part and an intense cello solo, with romantic harmonies that melted into an ethereal violin theme, before the fateful theme returned with rasping brass. A hymn-like section led to a lovely harmonic development, and another orchestral climax, the sound bright but somehow underpinned by darkness as the piece reached an uneasy end.
โIf I were to name the composer whose works are the most perfect embodiment of the Hungarian spirit, I would answer, Kodรกly.โ
Bรฉla Bartรณk on his friend and colleague Zoltรกn Kodรกly
The second piece, Dances of Galรกnta by Zoltรกn Kodรกly, introduced the concert’s other main theme: Hungarian music. Born only a year apart in the early 1880s, Kodรกly and his friend Bรฉla Bartรณk were two of the most important 20th-century Hungarian composers. They both collected folk songs for use in their own music. Kodรกly spent part of his childhood in Galรกnta, which was then part of Hungary (now in Slovakia). He grew up listening to dances played by ‘a famous Gypsy band which has since disappeared…their music was the first “orchestral sonority” which came to the ear of a child.’
The Dances celebrate a particular kind of dance, the verbunkos (Werbung, German,ย recruiting). Hussars would come on recruiting missions and impress the locals with their dancing, alternating slow and fast dances, to persuade them that being in the army was fun. The music was provided by the Gypsy bands that Kodรกly referred to in the note that he made in the score. He orchestrated Gypsy dances published in Vienna around 1800, in addition writing a slow introduction, a clarinet cadenza, an andante maestoso and linking material.
Conductor Anja Bihlmaier and members of the BBC Philharmonic ยฉ Chris Payne
The piece began with cellos playing in perfect ensemble under Bihlmaier’s precise baton, with swirling upper strings. A solo horn sounded like a military horn, perhaps welcoming us into the Hungarian army. A gorgeous romantic statement of the opening theme led to a clarinet cadenza, played by John Bradbury with his usual flair and panache, with elegant orchestral accompaniment. Waves of joy passed through the orchestra as they played the intricate dances, Bihlmaier now dancing on the podium. The woodwinds excelled themselves, sometimes playing with a subtle lilt, at other times with sparkling jollity. A slower dance was reminiscent of the scenes at the fair in Stravinsky’s ballet Petrushka. There was a sudden pause, a brief moment of stasis, then more superb woodwind solos. The orchestra then scampered to a thrillingly visceral climax, bringing the piece to an end. It was such an exciting performance that we might have been persuaded to join the Hungarian hussars…
The second half featured more music with a Hungarian theme, with a text by Herbert Bรฉla Bauer, who wrote under the pseudonym Bรฉla Balรกzs. He was born a couple of years after Kodรกly and Bartรณk. In 1910, Balรกzs published a version of Bluebeard’s Castle, pragmatically dedicating it to both composers. Kodรกly wasn’t interested in adapting the drama, but Bartรณk happily took the bait and finished his one-act opera in 1911. He entered it in two competitions, but it was rejected each time.
The Bluebeard story dates back centuries. It’s thought that the model for the character may have been the 15th-century French lord, Gilles de Rais. In 1697 the French writer Charles Perrault published a collection of folk tale adaptations,ย Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passรฉย (Stories or Tales of Times Past), includingย La Barbe Bleuย (Bluebeard). The Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck wrote another version, his 1901 playย Ariane et Barbe-bleueย (Ariana and Bluebeard). The French composer Paul Dukas turned it into an opera in 1907.
Bรฉla Balรกzs drew on the work of both Perrault and Maeterlinck in creating his 1910 version. He stressed that his version wasn’t a myth, a fantasy or a horror story, but a psychological drama,
‘My ballad is the is the ‘ballad of inner life.’ Bluebeard’s castle is not a real castle of stone. The castle is his soul. It is lonely, dark and secretive; the castle of closed doors.’
He later added a spoken-word Prologue to Bartรณk’s opera, which hints that the drama is internal,
‘The curtain of our eyelids is raised Where is the stage: outside or within?’
On Saturday evening, the Philharmonic Orchestra didn’t perform the Prologue, but they brought out the opera’s psychological nature by placing the two protagonists, Christopher Purves as Bluebeard and Jennifer Johnston as his (fourth) wife, Judith, on either side of the conductor, facing the audience, rather than semi-staging the opera. The text, sung in an English translation by Pรฉter Bartรณk and Peter Hennings (see below), was projected above the stage, so that we could concentrate on the words. And there was evocative use of lighting to represent the different doors – or aspects of Bluebeard’s personality – which Judith was so keen to open and inspect. The use of lights on each orchestral music stand, coupled with BBC Radio 3’s microphones, created the impression of a recording studio, which suggested that the inner life of the music and text was more important than external gestures.
Purves came on wearing a kilt, presumably in honour of Burns Night the following day. Johnston wore a splendid, glittery black top. Purves sang with immaculate diction and a deep, rich, agile voice. Johnston sang with great expression, illustrating the words with her hands and her voice, which was in turn mellow, animated, forceful and Wagnerian, negotiating Bartรณk’s angular vocal lines with ease. The orchestra played superbly throughout.
Jennifer Johnston ยฉ R T DunphyChristopher Purves ยฉ Chris Gloag
Pรฉter Bartรณk and Peter Hennings I was lucky enough to meet Peter Hennings at the concert, who had worked with Bรฉla Bartรณk’s son Pรฉter (pictured left) on the English translation of the opera, finessing it to fit the metre. Hennings had flown over from Florida specially for the concert. He told me that the original English translation had been based on the German version of the text, whereas Pรฉter Bartรณk’s version had used the original Hungarian version. Hennings worked with Pรฉter Bartรณk for 20 years on editions of his father’s music, which went back to the original manuscripts.
In Balรกzs’ libretto, translated here into poetic and idiomatic English, Judith has left her family ‘weeping’, to marry Bluebeard, despite rumours about what may have happened to his previous wives. Her relationship with Bluebeard is complex. She constantly asks Bluebeard to allow her to see what is behind each of the seven doors of his castle – or to reveal deeper aspects of his personality – despite his warnings that she won’t like what is revealed. Their relationship is close, perhaps unnaturally so, as if they have become co-dependents.
ยฉ Chris Payneยฉ Chris Payne
The first of seven doors revealed Bluebeard’s torture chamber, with superb orchestration, as the stage was bathed in red light. There was deep irony in Judith’s words, ‘Hideous is your chamber, dearest Bluebeard.’ He constantly asked her if she was frightened, and she replied that she wasn’t; perhaps fascination with his psychological state was what she really felt.
The second door revealed Bluebeard’s armoury, the stage bathed in orange to suggest weapons, illustrated by military brass. The third door was illustrated with yellow light, revealing his treasure, but with a disturbing undertone from a violin duet and, later, shrieking woodwind and ominous brass to depict the blood on the treasure. Lilac-coloured lighting illustrated Bluebeard’s garden behind the fourth door, a mellow horn solo and filigree flutes describing the flowers and blossoms, which were tainted with blood. Bluebeard again begged his bride to love him, but not to ask him any questions.
Organist Ben Collyer. Image ยฉ Chris Payne
There was an incredible climax, as the orchestra was joined by organ and offstage brass, when door five was opened to reveal Bluebeard’s vast kingdom. A dazzling white light flooded the stage and the hall, so bright that Judith had to cover her eyes. There was a moment of supreme beauty as Johnston twice sang the single quiet phrase, ‘vast and mighty is your kingdom’, contrasting with Purves’ more impassioned singing. The uncertain orchestral themes illustrated the bloody shadows of the clouds.
Judith recovered from her shock and demanded to see behind the sixth door. Johnston’s voice was incredibly powerful, over the full orchestra. A lake was revealed; was Judith as innocent as she appeared when she asked where the water was from? A sweeping, shimmering orchestral theme accompanied the revelation that the lake was made up of tears; were they from Bluebeard’s previous wives?
The Duke’s previous three wives were revealed behind the seventh door, the orchestra in darkness as Judith was bathed in red (blood?) and Bluebeard in white. Johnston was incredibly moving as she bowed her head self-effacingly when comparing herself to Bluebeard’s previous wives, then cried ‘no more’ as she gripped her top in terror.
Bluebeard declared that his fourth wife was the wife of midnight, as he had found her at that time. Henceforth, all would be darkness. In a stunning coup de thรฉรขtre, all the orchestral lights went off, one by one, leaving the stage completely dark. It was a relief after the psychological tension we had experienced when the stage was bathed in warm light, as the performers received their huge and well-deserved applause. It was a privilege to be present at such a special event.
The concert was recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Thursday 5 March. It will be available for 30 days after broadcast via BBC Sounds.
Performers
Anja Bihlmaier conductor Jennifer Johnston mezzo-soprano, Judith Christopher Purves bass-baritone, Duke Bluebeard
Exploring Powerful Women in the Music of John Adams, with Astonishing Playing from Violinist Leila Josefowicz
Leila Josefowicz and The Hallรฉ ยฉ Sharyn Bellemakers
Saturday eveningโs concert at the Bridgewater Hall was the closing event of a three-day festival celebrating the work of the contemporary American composer and conductor John Adams, born in 1947. In a pre-concert talk, he was interviewed by another distinguished composer, Colin Matthews, who was Composer-in-Association with the Hallรฉ from 2001 to 2010 and is now Composer Emeritus.
Matthews reminded us of Adamsโ long association with the Hallรฉ. Adams started working with the orchestra before the Bridgewater Hall opened. His orchestral piece Slonimskyโs Earbox was premiered by the Hallรฉ under Kent Nagano when the Hall opened in September 1996. That piece was a co-commission with Oregon Symphony. On Saturday, we heard the UK premiere of another Hallรฉ co-commission, this time with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Adamsโ The Rock You Stand On, which ended the concert.
Adams amusingly explained that he doesnโt like to conduct his own premieres. He suffers from the โextreme angstโ of hearing a new piece at the first orchestral rehearsal, however good the orchestra may be.’ He described himself as a โnervous composer… wishing the conductor had noticed the metronome marking.โ The premiere of The Rock You Stand On was a month ago under the baton of Marin Alsop, โa close friend, a deeply intuitive musician and a longtime enthusiast for my music.’ No doubt Alsop paid close attention to the metronome markings in the new score.
Matthews traced Adamsโ striking progression as a composer, starting with something akin to Minimalism, then re-inventing tonality, and more recently expanding his musical language. Adams said that when he was in his twenties, there was an obsession with style. Composers had to follow the style of Luciano Berio, or Serialism (Milton Babbitt, Pierre Boulez) or Radicalism (John Cage). More recently, the young composers that Adams has worked with care more about content than style, highlighting โhot button issuesโ such as climate change, โhow you compose is no longer at the forefront.โ
Therefore, it was fascinating to trace Adamโs development as a composer in a series of three pieces spread across the decades. The earliest was The Chairman Dances, written 40 years ago, the most overtly โMinimalistโ in style. Scheherazade.2 was written 10 years ago, and The Rock You Stand On was only written last year. The two later pieces show a dramatic move away from Minimalism, particularly Scheherazade.2. The latter is a good example of Adams addressing a โhot button issue.โ inspired by his visit to an exhibition at the Institute du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) in Paris, describing the history of the โArabian Nights.โ
When he got home, Adams read the story of Scheherazade and was horrified. The Persian Shahryar sought vengeance against all women after his wife was unfaithful, murdering a thousand women in as many days. Scheherazade told the king stories for 1001 nights, the cliffhangers preventing her from being murdered, until the king fell in love with her and spared her life. Adams described Rimsky-Korsakovโs orchestral retelling of the story as โcongenial, romantic, and not serious.โ
In Scheherazade.2, Adams updated the story so that the central character represents oppressed women around the world. He joked, โWe donโt know what happened to Scheherazade.1.โ He could have called his piece Scheherazade Version 2.0, but that would have been too long a title. He said the piece was a hybrid, a symphony that behaves like a violin concerto, and a violin concerto that behaves like a symphony, inspired by dramatic symphonies like Berliozโs La Damnation de Faust and Romรฉo et Juliette.
โI find Leila a perfect embodiment of that kind of empowered strength and energy that a modern Scheherazade would possess.โ
John Adams on Leila Josefowicz
The theme of the concert was powerful women. Scheherazade.2 described the orthodoxy, sexism, and paternalism of the โmen with beardsโ who pursued the protagonist, trying to eliminate womenโs power: ‘Men are afraid of powerful women.โ His other inspiration for the piece was the American-Canadian violinist Leila Josefowicz, who specialises in contemporary music and was the violin soloist on Saturday. Adams wrote, โI find Leila a perfect embodiment of that kind of empowered strength and energy that a modern Scheherazade would possess.โ
Leila Josefowicz, John Adams and The Hallรฉ ยฉ Sharyn Bellemakers
At the concert’s start, Adams announced that he hadnโt included the titles of the four movements in the original programme note for the piece. Although the work is loosely programmatic, rather than a detailed narrative like Stravinskyโs Petrushka or Richard Straussโs Till Eulenspiegel, the titles are helpful.
I. Tale of the Wise Young Woman-Pursuit by the True Believers
Adams said the โtrue believersโ, represented by the orchestra, were mostly men, and the violin part represents โa beautiful young woman with grit and personal power.โ Josefowiczโs playing was sweet-toned at the start, but soon became passionate and feisty, almost frenzied. She easily held her own against a large orchestra, a testament to the power of her playing and Adamsโ superbly balanced writing. At times, she played with the attitude of a rock star guitarist and astonishing virtuosity. There were quieter moments, too. At one point, the violin was silent while evocative orchestral strings played a ghostly, ethereal section. The violin joined in with spellbinding, long held notes with gorgeous vibrato. The rich orchestral colour was frequently embellished with exotic-sounding flourishes from Chris Bradley on cimbalom. He was buried in the centre of the orchestra, but the dialogue between solo violin and cimbalom sometimes made the piece feel like a concerto for violin, cimbalom and orchestra. The movement ended with a fiendishly difficult passage for the violin, Josefowicz playing incredibly fast. The orchestra of โtrue believersโ tried to match her virtuosity, but it was clear that the violin had won.
II. A Long Desire (love scene)
This beautiful movement was the highlight of the whole piece. Adams said it โstarts violently then transforms into a love scene.โ It began with dense orchestral chords, fiercely rhythmic and syncopated, while Josefowicz stood silent and statuesque in contrast to her intense physicality in the first movement. We suddenly passed into a romantic section, entering a garden of love. With its eternal melody, there were echoes of the Jardin du sommeil dโamour (Garden of Loveโs Sleep) in Olivier Messiaenโs Turangalรฎla-Symphonie (1946-1948). Adams created a magical world with shimmering strings and harps. The solo violin became more strident, with passionate themes falling out of it, matched by an urgent brass theme. The violin replied with equal passion before the sound dropped away again to reach a lovely moment of stasis. The movement ended with Josefowicz playing romantic themes on the upper reaches of the violin.
III. Scheherazade and the Men with Beards
Adams said that in this movement, the young woman, โdefends herself against male rage.โ It was a dialogue between solo violin and orchestra, starting with cimbalom crashes and agitated percussion – the โmen with beardsโ tormenting Scheherazade. Josefowicz danced lightly to the orchestral themes, then came in resolutely in a different key, answering her tormentors, accompanied by a hopeful-sounding celeste. The battle continued throughout the movement. The orchestra roused itself to an angry climax, superbly played. Josefowicz stood like a caged creature, waiting to respond, fully inhabiting the role of Scheherazade even when she wasnโt playing. She gently stated her case in reply, accompanied by contemplative cimbalom, but soon became angry again, playing with stunning virtuosity. After another angry skirmish, the violin played a deliberately discordant tune. Scheherazade had won again.
IV. Escape, Flight, Sanctuary
This began with a looping orchestral theme, leading to a massive climax. Adamsโ conducting was relatively low-key rather than demonstrative, as it was throughout the concert, but he drew excellent playing from the orchestra. The solo violin joined, the bow scurrying across the strings. As Scheherazade battled to escape from her oppressors, Josefowiczโs playing became more virtuosic, and it felt as if she was physically challenging the orchestra with her stance on stage. The orchestra could barely keep up with the violin, but they began to gain the upper hand. The violinโs rejoinder was equally passionate. Finally, an uneasy resolution appeared to have been reached, as Scheherazade achieved sanctuary. There was a gorgeous moment of subtle orchestral colour as the violin soared above, ending this stunning performance. Adams bowed low in acknowledgement of Josefowicz, and she turned to the orchestra to acknowledge them. As she accepted the huge applause, she looked exhilarated.
John Adams ยฉ Sharyn Bellemakers
The second half of the concert also featured strong women. We began with The Chairman Dances, which Adams described in his programme note as an โout-takeโ from Act III of his opera Nixon in China, which premiered in 1987. Subtitled โA foxtrot for orchestraโ, the scenario describes
โthe fabled โMadame Maoโ, firebrand, revolutionary executioner, architect of Chinaโs calamitous Cultural Revolution, andโฆ a former Shanghai movie actress.โ
Madame Mao gatecrashes the Presidential Banquet and hangs paper lanterns around the hall. She motions for the orchestra to play and begins dancing on her own. Chairman Mao steps down from his portrait on the wall, and they dance the foxtrot, as they remember dancing to the gramophone years before.
This was a chance for the orchestra to shine, which they duly did in this attractive piece. The opening was pulsing and vibrant, with joyfully shifting blocks of sound. The orchestra settled on a pivoting theme, with a lovely syncopated glockenspiel. We went on a journey through orchestral colour and rhythms until we reached an actual waltz, then another and another, becoming faster and more ecstatic. Gemma Beeson played the piano part. She was invisible during the performance from where we sat as the large orchestra filled the stage. She was deservedly given a separate bow. The piece ended with the sound of a gramophone winding down, played by the orchestra rather than from a recording, a clever effect that never fails to delight.
John Adams and The Hallรฉ ยฉ Sharyn Bellemakers
The final strong woman featured in the concert was the American conductor Marin Alsop. Her website describes her as
โthe first woman to serve as the head of major orchestras in the United States, South America, Austria, and Great Britain.โ
She was also the first woman to conduct the Last Night of the Proms, in 2013. Adams composed The Rock You Stand On as a gift to Alsop. This piece made an excellent companion to The Chairman Dances with what Adams describes as
โa certain โbig bandโ quality to the ensemble writingโฆ driven by an underlying jazz-infected pulse.โ
The piece began with a simple plucked theme on strings, which soon evolved with a touch of Bernard Herrmannโs orchestral writing in his score for Psycho (1960). The theme cascaded through the orchestra, syncopated in the style of the early John Adams. An overarching woodwind and brass theme was offset against the strings. A constantly rising theme could easily have accompanied a film noir. The orchestral writing was always lucid, despite the size of the orchestra, with limpid textures. The piece featured the fierce rhythms and surprising harmonic changes that have become such attractive features of his music, but here transposed into even more sophisticated textures. The piece constantly evolved, endlessly searching, until it came to a sudden end. It was a worthy addition to Adamsโ extensive catalogue. Several audience members gave Adams and the orchestra a well-deserved standing ovation. It was a pleasure to be in the presence of one of our greatest living composers.
Repertoire
John Adams Scheherazade.2 John Adams The Chairman Dances John Adams The Rock You Stand On (Hallรฉ Co-Commission / UK Premiere)
Performers
The Hallรฉ John Adams conductor Leila Josefowicz violin
A recording of the English composer Edward Elgarโs โNimrodโ from his Enigma Variations (1899) introduced Friday night’s concert. This felt appropriate in Manchesterโs Bridgewater Hall, which has often hosted orchestral concerts that have included Elgarโs masterpiece. Thereโs a quintessentially English melancholy about much of Elgarโs music, and the music of Neil Hannon, leader of the Divine Comedy (although he was born in Northern Ireland).
Thereโs also something of the English wit of playwright, singer and songwriter Noรซl Coward in Hannonโs songs. Coward would undoubtedly have appreciated the sartorial elegance of Hannonโs guitar roadie, โAlistairโ, who was impeccably dressed in a jacket and white turtle neck sweater rather than the traditional long black shorts and black top commonly sported by a guitar tech.
Hannon came on sporting a natty black fedora and a black suit, and his band were similarly attired but without the headwear. The hall was packed, and the adoring audience hung on Hannonโs every wry witticism. Hannonโs rich baritone was warm and inviting, and his manner was easy and relaxed. One suspects he may have done this before.
He was joined by an excellent band – two keyboard players, lead and bass guitar, violin, and drums. The band provided gorgeous, multi-layered backing vocals and was equally at home playing rock music, sophisticated lounge jazz, and French-style chansons (with accordion but Anglophone lyrics).
The nearly two-hour set included 24 songs, demonstrating the range and variety of Hannonโs songwriting. The set was beautifully structured, flowing from one song to the next to create an engaging musical journey.
The concert began with the thoughtful Achilles, which ends with a meditation on mortality about a man of 53, the same age as Hannon when he wrote the song, whose โmind was turning/To thoughts of mortality.โ An early highlight was another song about death, the extraordinarily poignant The Last Time I Saw the Old Man, about the final physical and mental deterioration of Hannonโs late father, Neil Hannon, Bishop of Clogher in County Tyrone. The song ends with the moving words,
As we left, the sun was setting on the land The last time I saw the old man
Hannon sang this beautiful, moving song with his back to us, and raised his hat at the end, as if in silent tribute to his father.
A lighter sequence of songs followed, the best of which was a lovely version of I Want You, with a gorgeous piano introduction, an evocative additional violin part, and jazzy drumming. Hannon brought out the melancholy minor key of the chorus of this song, which is from the new album Rainy Sunny Afternoon. Hannonโs storytelling, present in most of his songs, came to the fore in Norman and Norma, which tells the story of a couple who got married in Cromer in Norfolk in 1983. This also illustrated Hannonโs skilful and witty wordplay. Perhaps only Coward would have dared rhyme โChromaโ with โpneumonia.โ
There was more overt humour in the staging of Our Mutual Friend. Hannon came into the audience and, on the words about sitting on โour friend’s setteeโ, sat in a vacant seat. A woman returning from the bar wondered whether she should give him one of the drinks she had bought. As the characters in the song โsank down to the floorโ, Hannon sank down to the floor at the front of the Stalls, and lay there while the band entertained us with an instrumental break. Hannon acted out waking up the next day and stumbling out to the bathroom as he regained the stage to huge applause.
There were some punk stylings in Generation Sex and At the Indie Disco, Hannon swinging his hips and almost knocking his knees together like an early Elvis Costello. The lounge jazz theme returned in Neapolitan Girl, a dark tale of a post-war woman whose โinnocence can be restored/With a visit to the Professore.โ The story’s darkness was belied by the sophisticated music, including a deliciously off-beat rhythm with which the audience gamely (and accuratelyโฆ this was after a Divine Comedy audienceโฆ) clapped along. We stayed in lounge jazz mood with Hannonโs โfavourite part of the show.โ During an extended version of the new song Mar-a-Lago, with its elegant samba beat, Alistair brought on a drinks trolley. Hannon introduced each member of the band and prepared their favourite tipple for each of them. We stayed with the theme of cocktail parties with A Lady of a Certain Age, who โsipped Camparisโฆ. At Noรซl’s parties.โ Another rhyme of which Coward would have been proud.
Freedom Road (played for the first time on this tour), The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, and In Pursuit of Happiness provided a triptych of tristesse (with apologies to Neil and Noรซl). But Hannon has also written danceable songs, or to use the technical term, bangers. The audience leapt to its collective feet for five floor fillers, starting with Absent Friends and ending with the exuberant fan favourite National Express. As the song says, everyone sang โBa-ba-ba-da.โ
The encore began with a couple of songs Hannon said were โnot up-tempo but swayable.โ There was a gentle version of Songs of Love, with warm backing vocals and lovely harmonies. Hannon threatened to โleave for other placesโ, but the audience wouldnโt let him go yet. He obliged with Invisible Thread, which could have described the invisible but unbreakable link between Hannon and his adoring audience.
There will always be An invisible thread Between you and me
After this song ended quietly, the final encore was the anthemic Tonight We Fly. And with that, we flew home on the wings of song, this joyful concert still resonating in our ears.
A stunning opening to the Bach Choirโs 150th anniversary season in the most dramatic of settings
How do you open the 150th anniversary season of one of Britainโs finest choirs? An announcement from an official at St Paulโs Cathedral welcomed us to the site of Christian worship for the last 1400 years. The current building was consecrated over 300 years ago. We were promised โan evening of immense dramaโ, and the cathedral added to the music’s drama, in both sight and sound.
The Bach Choir could have returned to Bachโs Mass in B Minor (so memorably conducted by the Choirโs conductor, David Hill, in Manchester recently). This would have been apt as the Choir did the first performance of that work in Britain. Elgarโs The Dream of Gerontius would also have been suitable for the Choir and the building, but they did perform it not long ago at The Royal Festival Hall. Beethovenโs Symphony No. 9 (the Choral Symphony) is magnificent, but the choir only comes in at the end. Perhaps Beethovenโs Missa Solemnis? Some would argue that choral writing wasnโt Beethovenโs strongest suit โ itโs certainly demanding, although that wouldnโt have been a problem for a choir of this quality. Requiems by Duruflรฉ and Faurรฉ are too delicate for such a momentous occasion. Requiems by Mozart and Verdi would probably have been better suited, particularly the latter, due to its operatic scale. The Choir decided on an even more operatic piece, Mahlerโs SymphonyNo. 8, subtitled the โSymphony of a Thousandโ (although not by the composer himself) due to the immense number of choral and orchestral forces and soloists involved. Remarkably, the Choir had already existed for over 40 years when the symphony premiered in 1910.
Mahlerโs epic work was written for double choir, childrenโs choir (originally a boysโ choir), eight soloists, large orchestra and organ. St Paulโs Cathedral has a suitably impressive acoustic. One study by academics at The City University in London found that it has a reverberation time of up to 11 seconds at specific frequencies when empty, or around eight seconds when full. This compares to around 2.3 seconds for a modern concert hall like Manchesterโs Bridgewater Hall.
The Bach Choir, London Youth Choir Cambiata Girls’ Choir, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Conductor David Hill and soloists. Photo ยฉ Andy Paradise
Part I Veni Creator Spriritus
From our seats about half way down the Nave, the effect of the cathedralโs incredible acoustics on the music in the opening Veni Creator Spiritus was almost overwhelming. This section of the piece is Mahlerโs musical invocation of the creative spirit, set to the words of the Pentecostal hymn (see box below). A great ocean of sound surrounded us, lapping around the great pillars of the cathedral. Changes in harmony and orchestral colour, beautifully controlled by David Hill, stood out like the peaks of great waves. The strings were sweet-toned in the acoustic, and the pinpoint accuracy of the players was still evident. At times, it felt like a vision in a dream, with great swathes of sound like the โrushing mighty windโ that came upon the Apostles at Pentecost filling ‘all the house.’ The Choir ranged from ecstatic, life-affirming singing to a subtle sotto voce. The childrenโs choir were superb in the Gloria. The solo voices created operatic scenes as if they were from a Wagner opera. The overall effect was of a terrible beauty, formidably joyful music-making.
The Pentecostal Hymn
The Pentecostal hymn Veni Creator Spiritu, with a Latin text text probably by Rabanus Maurus Magnentius, a Bendictine monk who became archbishop of Mainz in the ninth century invokes the Creator Spirit. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, Mary, and other followers of Jesus in Jerusalem. An English translation by John Cosin became a popular hymn, ‘Come Holy Ghost our souls inspire/ and lighten with celestial fire.’
Pentecost by Jean Restout the Younger (1692 – 1868). Source: Wikimedia Commons
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.“King James Bible Acts II Chapter II Verses 1 – 4
Part IIThe Death and Redemption of Faust
The second part of the symphony is taken from the final scene of Goetheโs Faust, in which the protagonistโs soul travels on a journey to redemption. The opening captures the moment when Faustโs soul is rescued from Mephistopheles as he falls to his death. Mahlerโs symphony has apparently never been staged, but it creates an operatic scene in the listenerโs imagination. The composer even provides stage directions, describing the anchorites (hermits) who dwell โamong clefts in the rocksโ amongst โmountain ravines, forests, cliffs and wilderness.โ He later describes various characters โsoaring up and downโ, โin a deep regionโ or โsoaring in the higher atmosphere.โ
The opening orchestral section richly evoked the landscape, a spellbinding depiction of the operatic scene, beautifully controlled by Hill. It settled into a gentle chorale, with shimmering strings. There were romantic, sweeping melodies with an element of yearning like those in Wagnerโs Parsifal. Hill also brought out the almost atonal clashes of harmony, showing that Mahler was on the cusp of the revolution in classical music in the 20th century, but also harking back to the Romanticism of the 19th century.
The Choir continued to create a theatre of the mind, their staccato perfectly matching that of the strings. It was easy to imagine them as massed ranks of ardent anchorites. Their singing was beautifully controlled, with superb dynamics in the more legato sections. As Pater Ecstaticus, Josef Jeongmeen Ahn sang with a rich, warm-voiced baritone, with burnished high notes. As the Earth-bound Pater Profundis, Derek Welton sang with a deep, rough-hewn bass tone, but with great warmth as well. April Fredrik (Magna Peccatrix) sang with a lovely, pure voice, Hanna Hipp (Mulier Samaritana) was warm-voiced and passionate, and Zoรซ Jackson (Una poenitentium) was robustly Wagnerian, stunningly powerful. Hayley Meth as Maria Aegyptiaca was lighter-toned than the other women, with gorgeous, florid singing. The highlight amongst the excellent soloists was the tenor Brenden Gunnell as Dr Marianus. His voice had something of the tone of the great Welsh tenor Robert Tear, golden and passionate.
Caroline Bourg (top centre) as Mater Gloriosa. Photo ยฉ Andy Paradise
There was a coup de thรฉรขtre when soprano Caroline Bourg appeared unexpectedly in the middle of the choir, singing very softly as Mater Gloriosa. All the forces combined in the final Chorus Mysticus, one of the most transcendent pieces of music in the Western canon. In this performance, superbly executed, it was a moment of pure joy, ineffable in its transcendence. The audience burst into ecstatic applause with a standing ovation. This was the perfect way to celebrate the Choirโs anniversary. The occasion will reverberate in the memory for a long time.
Repertoire Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major
Performers Philharmonia Orchestra The Bach Choir London Youth Choir Cambiata Girls’ Choir David Hill conductor
April Fredrick Soprano 1 / Magna Peccatrix Zoรซ Jackson Soprano 2 / Una poenitentium Caroline Bourg Soprano 3 / Mater Gloriosa Hanna Hipp Alto 1 / Mulier Samaritana Hayley Meth Alto 2 / Maria Aegyptiaca Brenden Gunnell Tenor / Dr Marianus Josef Jeongmeen Ahn Baritone / Pater Ecstaticus Derek Welton Bass / Pater Profundus
Sources Lewers, T. H. and Anderson, J. S., Some acoustical properties of St Paul’s Cathedral, London (Journal of Sound and Vibration, Volume 92, Issue 2, p. 285-297, January 1984) Cox, T., Measuring the acoustics of the Bridgewater Hall (The Sound Blog 10 October 2013)
Correction
This post was updated on Monday 13 October 2025 at 19.34 BST to correct the reference to the paper by Lewers, T. H. and Anderson, J. S., which referred to ‘Academics at Harvard’. This has been changed to The City University (London).
A tribute to the variety of sounds that strings make, and the human connections that music brings
Manchester Collective
Some concerts are about the music only, the sheer joy of music-making. Others have an external framework, which may be emotional, intellectual, musicolgical, or even spiritual; or a mixture of all of these. Sunday afternoon’s excellent concert by Manchester Collective at the RNCM in Manchester combined all these elements.
Linda Begbie, the Collective’s new Chief Executive, introduced the concert. Last week, she had been auditioning young students for the new Manchester Collective studio at the RNCM. They expressed their fears about a world that was ‘very dark and dangerous, a very scary place.’ With evident emotion in her voice, she said that music is all about connection, ‘if we move away from this, that’s where things go wrong. โThe Collective’s ethos, she said, was about bringing full humanity to their performances so audiences could meet them there. The concert would address life, death, and divine ecstasy.
Rakhi Singh, Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Collective, and lead violinist and conductor for this concert, took up the theme, describing her arrangement of the ninth-century Christian hymn Veni Creator Spiritus as an invocation of the Holy Spirit. She said that the Collective tries to evoke its spirit in the rehearsal room, but it usually only appears in front of an audience. She echoed the feelings of Begbie’s students, that the world seems to be falling apart; we need to find our kindness and courage, and use our despair and outrage to take positive action.
I would try to imagine what a Shaker ceremony must have felt like – those normally stern souls suddenly sprung loose in a rapture of religious ecstasy as they shook in sympathetic vibration with their creator
John Adams on ‘Shaker Loops’
The John Adams piece, Shaker Loops, also has a spiritual aspect. Adams was inspired by the minimalism of pieces for tape loops, repeated looping patterns found in pieces like Steve Reich’s It’s Gonna Rain (1965).
Adams was also inspired by the ecstatic, spiritual dancing of the Shakers religious community, which was set up in the North West of England in the eighteenth century before moving to America. Reading his works over sections of the music, Lancashire-born poet Christ Bryan celebrated the Shakers and its founder Ann Lee in the first of three poems, Genesis. He honoured Lee as ‘The Seer.. God the Mother’, who founded the Shakers as an offshoot of the Quakers, during the Industrial Revolution, when,
‘The town’s waters are no longer used for baptism Crucified new to the crux of commerce.’
The second poem, Exodos, laments, in Bryan’s words, ‘the spiritual malaise of modernity and materialism of all forms – theological, philosophical and economical.’ It begins with evocative words describing a post-industrial landscape,
‘The provocation of concrete is now in bloom The endless bankrupt brick blossom.’
The third and final poem, Revelation, like the other poems, takes its name from one of the books of the Bible. It’s a joyful reworking of the Shaker Hymn A Beautiful Day,
From brook and from fountain come voices of welcome To look beyond to that region where the supernatural lay Where beameth forever a beautiful day.’
Singh described the divine connection of music and dance in Adams’ piece; she said the Collective sought a divine connection in their playing and brought it to the audience.
The musicological aspect of Sunday’s concert was touched on by Adams in his programme note to Shaker Loops, referring to the musical meaning of to shake, ‘meaning either to make a tremolo with the bow across the string or else to trill rapidly from one note to another.’ The viola player Ruth Gibson introduced Terra Memoria for string quartet by the late Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho by asking players to demonstrate the varied string techniques used by the composer. This was not just a technical exercise. The piece illustrated the whole range of emotions that form part of the grieving process, from lamenting, pain, anger and resignation to moments of reconciliation and yearning, and hope.
“The title Terra Memoria refers to two words which are full of rich assoยญciยญations: to earth and memory. Here earth refers to my material, and memory to the way I’m working on it.”
Kaija Saariaho
The concert’s opening piece, Such Different Paths by the Bulgarian-British composer Dobrinka Tabakova, also featured varied string techniques. The composer asks for playing at one point to sound ‘like a folk fiddle, and elsewhere asks the players to ‘think Baroque.’ The Collective, here consisting of a septet, brought out the full range of colour in this dense and complex piece.
Throughout the concert, The Collective embraced all the music’s musicological, intellectual and spiritual aspects, absorbed them, and created an emotional whole. Their playing throughout was virtuosic, passionate, precise yet emotional. They continue on their mission of communicating deeply through music.
Manchester Collective and Christ Byran
Performers
Rakhi Singh Violin Haim Choi Violin Will Chadwick Violin Donald Grant Violin Rose Hinton Violin Anna Tulchinskaya Violin Bethan Allmand Violin Mira Marton Violin Eloise MacDonald Violin Ruth Gibson Viola Abby Bowen Viola Gemma Dunne Viola Ben Michaels Cello Alex Holladay Cello Jess Schafer Cello Alice Durrant Double bass Christ Bryan Live poetry
Repertoire
Dobrinka Tabakova Such Different Paths Kaija Saariaho Terra Memoria Hymn arr. Rakhi Singh Veni Creator Spiritus John Adams Shaker Loops feat. Christ Bryan
