Cue the new: London Sinfonietta's 2016/17 season full of 21st century highlights

The London Sinfonietta's 2016/17 season includes its regular residency at the South Bank Centre, as well as international touring. Highlights include performances of Beat Furrer’s FAMA, Hans Abrahamsen’s Schnee, Thomas Adès’ In Seven Days and Georg Friedrich Haas’ in vain, as well as world premieres of music by Salvatore Sciarrino, Simon Holt and Morgan Hayes. As part of the ensemble's Mix series, it will be collaborating with with Norwegian jazz virtuoso Marius Neset. And as part of the Blue Touch Paper strand of cross art form projects there will be performances of Mica Levi’s BAFTA nominated score Under the Skin live with the film, and Phil Venables’ Illusions made with performance artist David Hoyle.

The season opens with UK premieres of music by Salvatore Sciarrino and younger Italian composers Daniela Terranova and Francesco Filidei. After performing the concert at the Venice Biennale the ensemble will perform it at St John's Smith Square as part of the South Bank in exile season (whilst the Queen Elizabeth Hall is closed). Other highlights of the St John's season include Beat Furrer’s 2005 music theatre masterpiece FAMA performed by actress Isabelle Menke, Eva Furrer (contrabass flute) and conducted by Beat Furrer, which will also be performed at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Hans Abrahamsen’s 2008 masterwork Schnee uses interlocking canons to create an aural image of snow, and will be performed at St John's alongside premieres of new works by Morgan Hayes and Simon Holt conducted by Thierry Fischer.

At the Royal Festival Hall London Sinfonietta performs In Seven Days by Thomas Adès, side-by-side with the Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble, and also at the RFH there is a film screening of Under the Skin which will be accompanied by the London Sinfonietta performing Mica Levi’s BAFTA- nominated soundtrack, as part of Southbank Centre’s Film Scores Live festival, then on tour around the UK, including to Hull University. Also at the Royal Festival Hall, it performs Georg Friedrich Haas’ in vain, a work from 2000 which includes the extraordinary performance instruction that 20 minutes be performed in the pitch dark.

At Kings Place there will be Stockhausen’s Altered Sound in an immersive evening including pre and post-concert participation in Mikrophonie I, a main stage performance of Gesang der Junglinge and Kontakte presented by Jonathan Cross, and post-concert drinks with the players. The ensemble returns to Kings Place for Ligeti: Altered Time including pre-concert participation in Pòeme Symphonique (for 100 metronomes), followed by a main stage performance of Artikulation, 10 Pieces for Wind Quintet and Melodien presented by Jonathan Cross, as well as post-concert drinks with players.

Full details from the London Sinfonietta website.