Spring/Summer 2024 at the Southbank Centre: Rothko Chapel, DSCH, Winterreise staged, the RFH Organ at 70, Voices from the East and more

DSCH - Pekka Kuusisto, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra (Photo: Magnus Skrede)

The Southbank Centre has announced its classical music plans for next Spring and Summer. Booking opens on Friday 27 October at 10am for Southbank Centre Members and Supporters Circles. General booking begins on Monday 30 October at 10am.

The artists on the Southbank Centre's residency programmes are all busy. Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja continues her residency with her absurdist Nonsense music-theatre production, works by Cage, Ligeti, Brecht and Kopatchinskaja, whilst Manchester Collective collaborate with Scottish pianist Fergus McCreadie culminating in a late-night cèilidh. And the collective return with Morton Feldman’s sonic meditation Rothko Chapel alongside new pieces by Katherine Balch, Edmund Finnis, Isabella Summers and Isobel Waller-Bridge inspired by Rothko's artworks. And the Manchester Collective will be contributing to the showcase concert for second instalment of the Southbank Centre and Royal Academy of Music’s artist development scheme, Future Artists.

Organist James McVinnie joins as a Resident Artist and his first performance will be part of the Royal Festival Hall Organ at 70 weekend with McVinnie performing a mix of Renaissance dances and works by Sweelinck, Pachelbel and Bach, but he will also return with a collaboration with composer and electronic producer Tristan Perich, and performing Philip Glass, John Adams, Gabriella Smith and Inti Figgis-Vizueta with his James McVinnie Ensemble.

Other current Resident Artists include violinist Randall Goosby, who appears with the Renaissance Quartet, and performs Mozart with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Pianist Alice Sarah Ott joins the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Elim Chan, to perform a new piano concerto by Bryce Dessner, and then she returns with pianist Francesco Tristano, performing a mix of solo and duo works including new pieces by Tristano.

Norwegian Chamber Orchestra with its artistic director Pekka Kuusisto arrives with performances of DSCH, a music-theatre work featuring music by Shostakovich. Paraorchestra will present Trip The Light Fantastic by composer Sinéad McMillan, featuring a mix of acoustic, assistive, electronic and traditional orchestral instruments, alongside a new commission from Asteryth Sloane. Aurora Orchestra will present a new orchestral theatre staging of Hans Zender’s Winterreise, a ‘composed interpretation’ of Schubert’s song cycle, for tenor and chamber orchestra, here with Allan Clayton as soloist and making his debut as stage director alongside Jane Mitchell.

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kirill Karabits (Photo: Mark Allan)

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, with Chief Conductor Kirill Karabits, presents Voices From The East, a day of concerts, talks and free performances celebrating symphonic traditions from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Georgia and Armenia, and Ukraine, featuring work by Thomas de Hartmann, Borys Lyatoshinsky and Anna Korsun. The event is the culmination and celebration of Karabits’ ground-breaking work with the BSO over 15 years and the start of a new chapter when he becomes Conductor Laureate, Artistic Director, Voices from the East from Autumn 2024. 

Nicholas McCarthy explores left-hand repertoire with a mix of Wagner, Schubert, Scriabin and Bartók. Discussing this unique practice, McCarthy will be joined by journalist, writer and broadcaster Samira Ahmed in a post-concert conversation. The London Philharmonic Orchestra performances include The Music in You, a festival that celebrates artistic expression of all kinds. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment features Mendelssohn's symphonies and concertos across three concerts with Sir András Schiff on the fortepiano, Alina Ibragimova (violin) and Lucy Crowe (soprano) and Nicky Spence (tenor).

All this and more. Full details from the Southbank Centre's website.

Pianist Piers Lane joins Norwich-based orchestra, the Academy of St Thomas for celebrations of their Golden Jubilee

Academy of St Thomas,  Benjamin Pope (Photo: Peter King)

Beethoven, Vaughan-Williams, Mozart; Academy of St Thomas, Piers Lane, conductor: Benjamin Pope; St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich
Reviewed 21 October 2023 by Tony Cooper

London-based Australian-born pianist, Piers Lane, went to town on Saturday night delivering a brilliant rendering of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Norwich-based orchestra, the Academy of St Thomas

Ralph Vaughan-Williams frequently visited Norwich attending meetings of the Norfolk & Norwich Triennial Festival at St Andrew’s Hall. The composer’s Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, performed by Academy of St Thomas (AST) at their first concert held in St Thomas’ Church, Norwich, has been included in every subsequent anniversary concert performed at St Andrew’s Hall. 

It was flag-waving time at St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, on Saturday 21 October 2023 when Benjamin Pope, greeted by a big round of applause from a packed and excited house, took to the podium to conduct the Academy of St Thomas, led by Benjamin Lowe, in their Golden Jubilee concert generously sponsored by Hilary and Lewis Jarrett. Therefore, founded in 1973 by Ivan Cane, whose son, Andrew, leads the viola section, AST grew out of a handful of players who had roots in the old Norfolk County Youth Orchestra of the 1970s. For their Golden Jubilee programme included RVW's Tallis Fantasia and Mozart's Symphony No.40, and they were joined by pianist Piers Lane for Beethoven's Emperor Concerto.

Fierce & intense: Peter Konwitschny's production of La traviata returns to ENO with a mesmerising account of the title role from Nicole Chevalier

Verdi: La Traviata - Nicole Chevalier, Freddie Tong, ENO Chorus - English National Opera (Photo: Belinda Jiao)

Verdi: La traviata; Nicole Chevalier, Jose Simerilla Romero, Roland Wood, director: Peter Konwitschny/Ruth Knight, conductor: Richard Farnes; English National Opera at London Coliseum
Reviewed 23 October 2023

Dystopic, concentrated and intense, Peter Konwitschny takes a strong view of La Traviata here in a highly theatrical yet musical revival with a superb trio of soloists

My first experience with Verdi's La traviata was the John Copley production at the London Coliseum back in the 1980s. Extremely traditional yet well crafted, the production was eventually replaced by one by David Pountney. Since then English National Opera has had various production of the work, yet none has quite stuck, none has created the sort of long running popular production of this work that any company needs. Daniel Kramer's 2018 production proved unpopular and the company has now reverted to the earlier one directed by Peter Konwitschny which debuted in 2013 and returned in 2015 [see my review]. 

This production takes a very particular view of the work, contemporary and stylised, it uses a cut version of the score (all the party scene entertainment at the beginning of Act Two disappears) without an interval. It isn't a production of La traviata for the ages, but with the right cast and conductor it engages and makes you think, and in ENO's current economic state, creating a new production is clearly out of the question.

Peter Konwitschny's production of Verdi's La Traviata returned to English National Opera at the London Coliseum on Monday 23 October 2023, now in the hands of director Ruth Knight, with designs by Johannes Leiacker. Nicole Chevalier was Violetta with Jose Simerilla Romero as Alfredo and Roland Wood as Giorgio Germont, Richard Farnes conducted.

The view of the opera is a fierce one, the party guests in Act One are almost vicious, this wasn't a fun event and there is no party in Act Two, scene two gets down to the action with Violetta, Alfredo and the Baron straight away. Musically, this was a very direct performance, very modern in the sense that we got the score with none of the bel canto interpolations like added high notes. Thank goodness.

Verdi: La Traviata - Nicole Chevalier - English National Opera (Photo: Belinda Jiao)

The production seemed to be somewhat adjusted from previous revivals, at least some details seemed new and the Morecombe and Wise elements of heads popping out from the red curtains had been minimised, which is a good thing.

Long may they continue! Kronos Quartet's celebratory 50th anniversary concert at the Barbican

Kronos Quartet - Barbican Centre, 21 October 2023 (Photo: Mark Allan)

Severiano Briseño, George Crumb, Gabriella Smith, Peni Candra Rini, Philip Glass, Zachary James Watkins, Antonio Haskell , Dumisani Maraire Mai Nozipo, Jlin, Terry Riley, Alfred Schnittke, Steve Reich; Kronos Quartet, Yahael Camara Onono, Peni Candra Rini; Barbican Centre
Reviewed by Florence Anna Maunders, 21 October 2023

An incredible evening celebrating a half-century of trailblazing music making

Returning to the Barbican on 21 October 2023 as a part of their continent-spanning 50th anniversary tour, the Kronos Quartet (David Harrington, violin, John Sherba, violin, Hank Dutt, viola, Paul Wiancko, cello) brought an extended programme of greatest hits from their extensive back catalogue as well as (of course, this is the Kronos Quartet) brand new music being premiered for the first time.

These four string players are genuine superstars of the contemporary classical scene, recognised as instrumental in the development of the string quartet across the last fifty years, both in their programming and commitment to new music, but also in their dedication to commissioning literally hundreds of new works for the medium. Most of the music in this concert reflects that collaborative approach, composed for, arranged for or commissioned by the quartet, the few exceptions including an excerpt from George Crumb's Black Angels - a piece which Kronos recorded over forty years ago, and which remains a central part of their repertoire.

Fragments of Experience: new film exploring William Blake featuring music by Mark Bowler from Dan Norman's Positive Note

Dan Norman's Positive Note has a new film out on 10 November 2023. Dan Norman and Mark Bowler have collaborated on Fragments of Experience. The film brings together Blake's own texts and imagery with original music and cutting edge AI animation by Mark Bowler, 2D animation by Harrison Fleming, and live performance footage featuring soprano Marianna Suri, conducted by Olivia Clarke.

The project is centred around Blake’s poems The Fly, The Sick Rose and The Voice of the Ancient Bard with excerpts from Introduction to Songs of Experience and Earth’s Answer, woven together to create a strong ecological metanarrative — Blake’s warning cry to us across the centuries. The Fly challenges us to question our relationship with nature, The Sick Rose presents themes of decay and corruption, and finally we are called to action in The Voice of the Ancient Bard.

Mark Bowler composed original music for Fragments of Experience for a soprano and a five-piece chamber ensemble, later adding digitally manipulated music coupled with a contemporary delivery of Blake’s poetry by British-Nigerian actor Abayomi Oniyide.

Further details of the 10 November release event from EventBrite.

JS Bach superstar, Masaaki Suzuki, takes on a European tour of the Christmas Oratorio with the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment which will be heard in its entirety at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in early December

World renowned authority on the works of JS Bach, Masaaki Suzuki, founder and music director of Bach Collegium Japan, joins forces with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) for what promises an exhilarating performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall where the OAE is one of the resident orchestras.  

Taking place over two evenings, the performance offers a rare opportunity for one to experience the entire work as a seasonal treat. Therefore, Parts I-III will be heard on Saturday 2 December followed by Parts IV-VI on Sunday 3 December. Both concerts start at 7.00pm. 

The performance is part of an international tour therefore the show also takes in the Festspielhaus Bregenz (Thursday 30 November), Kölner Philharmonie (Friday 1 December), Prague Castle (Tuesday 5 December), Hamburg Elbphilharmonie (Wednesday 6 December), Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris (Friday 8 December) and BOZAR Brussels (Sunday 10 December). Masaaki Suzuki will lead the OAE alongside a stellar cast of soloists comprising Madison Nonoa (soprano), Hugh Cutting (counter-tenor), Guy Cutting (tenor) and Florian Störtz (bass-baritone). 

‘I am honoured and immensely proud to be part of this performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the OAE,’ enthused Masaaki Suzuki. ‘The opportunity to share this timeless masterpiece with audiences across Europe fills me with immense joy and anticipation. Together, we embark on a musical journey that celebrates the spirit of the festive season. I can't wait to share this profound experience with all of you.’ 

The Christmas Oratorio belongs to a group of three oratorios written in 1734/35 for a major feast day - the other two being the Ascension Oratorio (BWV 11) and the Easter Oratorio (BWV 249). All three of these oratorios to some degree parody earlier compositions but the Christmas Oratorio is by far the longest and most complex work of the three and the structure of the story is largely defined by the requirements of the church calendar for Christmas 1734/35. Bach abandoned his usual practice when writing church cantatas of basing the content upon the Gospel reading for that day to achieve a coherent narrative structure. 

The Christmas Oratorio was written for performance on the six feast days of Christmas during the winter of 1734/35. The original score, containing details of when each part was performed, was incorporated within services of the two most important churches in Leipzig: St Thomas and St Nicholas. The work, though, was only performed in its entirety at St Nicholas’ Church. 

Therefore, the first part, Christmas Day, describing the Birth of Jesus, was heard in the morning at St Nicholas and the afternoon at St Thomas; the second, 26 December, the Annunciation to the Shepherds (morning at St Thomas, afternoon at St Nicholas); the third, 27 December, the Adoration of the Shepherds (morning at St Nicholas); the fourth, New Year’s Day, the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus (morning at St Thomas, afternoon at St Nicholas); the fifth, first Sunday after New Year, the Journey of the Magi (morning at St Nicholas); the sixth, Epiphany, the Adoration of the Magi (morning at St Thomas, afternoon at St Nicholas). The Flight into Egypt, though, takes place after the end of the sixth part. 

 As a composer of such extraordinary genius and widespread influence so firmly embedded in Western culture, it is difficult to comprehend that Bach’s music and reputation once languished in obscurity, virtually unknown to all but a few specialists and academics. It was through the determined efforts of Felix Mendelssohn that his works became accessible to a wider public and today are recognised as summits of musical expression. 

Further details from the OAE's website.

A little bit crazy yet done with verve, imagination and style: The Masque of Might, David Pountney's Purcellian masque at Opera North

Purcell & Pountney: The Masque of Might - Andri Björn Róbertsson, Xavier Hetherington, Matthew Brook - Opera North (Photo: James Glossop)

Purcell & David Pountney: The Masque of Might; Andri Björn Róbertsson, Anna Dennis, James Laing, James Hall, Callum Thorpe, Xavier Hetherington, Matthew Brook, director: David Pountney, conductor Harry Bicket; Opera North at the Grand Theatre, Leeds
Reviewed 21 October 2023

Told with imagination and verve, David Pountney's recreation of a 17th-century masque with a contemporary twist.

For all Purcell's iconic position, his theatre music remains relatively unexplored and certainly is rarely heard in the theatre, beyond The Fairy Queen and King Arthur, with the notable exceptions such as Peter Sellars' reworking of The Indian Queen.

After David Pountney stage The Fairy Queen without dialogue or replacement connective tissue, he thought of repeating the exercise with Purcell's other theatre music. Lockdown finally gave him the leisure time to do the research and the result is The Masque of Might, which tells a contemporary narrative in the skittish, discursive way of the 17th century masque, using a patchwork of music from Purcell, including Timon of Athens, The Indian Queen, Job's Curse, Odes for the birthday of Queen Mary (1691, 1693, 1694), Welcome song for King James II, The Tempest, The Fairy Queen, Dioclesian, Ode for St Cecilia's Day, Sul and the Witch of Endor, Why are the Muses mute and Yorkshire Feast Song.

The Masque of Might was presented by Opera North at the Grand Theatre, Leeds as part of its Green Season and we caught the Saturday matinee, 21 October 2023. Harry Bicket conducted the orchestra of opera North, with Andri Björn Róbertsson, Anna Dennis, James Laing, James Hall, Callum Thorpe, Xavier Hetherington and Matthew Brook, plus six dancers. Set designs were by Leslie Travers with costumes by Marie-Jeanne Lecca, lighting by Paule Constable and Ben Pickersgill, video by David Haneke and choreography by Denni Sayers.

Purcell & Pountney: The Masque of Might - Andri Björn Róbertsson - Opera North (Photo: James Glossop)

What's not to love? Glamour and heart as Puccini's little swallow returns to Opera North

Puccini: La Rondine - Sébastien Guèze, Galina Averina - Opera North (Photo: Tristram Kenton)

Puccini: La Rondine; Galina Averina, Sébastien Guèze, Claire Lees, Elgan Llŷr Thomas, Philip Smith, director: James Hurley, conductor: Kerem Hasan; Opera North at Grand Theatre, Leeds
Reviewed 20 October 2023

Glorious melodies sung by a youthful cast, 1930s glamour in a production proud of its green credentials, and a story both touching and engagin

The problem with Puccini's La Rondine, if problem there is, is that no-one dies; it is Puccini's only major opera where a significant death does not occur. La Rondine ends with a love triangle where, very even handedly, no-one really gets what they want. The opera was an experiment, coming at a time when Puccini was trying to move his art in other directions. After Madama Butterfly in 1904 came two operas where Puccini changed tack, La Fanciulla del West in 1910 and La Rondine in 1917. Fanciulla is his most advanced opera, whilst La Rondine is his lightest, flirting with operetta and full of dance rhythms.

Opera North performed the work in 1994, a ground-breaking production in the UK, and Covent Garden followed in 2002, but it remains something of a rarity, more popular with smaller companies. Opera Holland Park performed it in 2017 and we caught it last year at IF Opera in Bradford on Avon.

Puccini's little swallow returned to Opera North on Friday 20 October 2023 as part of the company's Green Season at Leeds Grand Theatre. La Rondine was directed by James Hurley, conducted by Kerem Hasan with set designs by Leslie Travers (who has designed all the operas in the Green Season), costumes by Gabrielle Dalton, lighting by Paule Constable and Ben Pickersgill, and choreography by Lauren Poulton. Galina Averina was Magda with Sébastien Guèze as Ruggero, Claire Lees as Lisette, Elgan Llŷr Thomas as Prunier and Philip Smith as Rambaldo. Claire Lees is a member of Opera North's chorus and the twelve smaller roles were all taken by members of the chorus.

Puccini compulsively tinkered with the work, particularly the third act. In 1994, Opera North performed his final, revised version but this time they reverted to his original thoughts, where Act Three is less fussy.

Puccini: La Rondine - Elgan Llyr Thomas, Claire Lees, Sébastien Guèze, Galina Averina - Opera North (Photo: Tristram Kenton)

Music Night and Day: Handel Hendrix House in the evening, Daylight Music in Leytonstone

Daylight Music at St John's Leytonstone

The Handel Hendrix House opens for special night time viewings, presenting both music by Handel and Hendrix in their own contexts, whilst Arctic Circle's Daylight Music is back with a run of daytime concerts presenting an eclectic mix of contemporary music

Arctic Circle's Daylight Music returns for a limited edition run this Autumn at St John’s Leytonstone, E11 1HH with daytime concerts beginning Saturday 21 October. The opening event features composer David Julyan, best known for his work with cinema auteur Christopher Nolan, British-Nigerian composer, music producer and songwriter Tony Njoku, Liverpool born guitarist (and founder of the dream pop outfit Engineers) Mark Peters, and Angèle David-Guillou playing the St John's organ. 

Future events will feature The Sensory Illusions & Vulliamy Murray Duo, and The NJE with Davey Payne, Yova + Rachel Horton-Kitchlew. Full details from Daylight Music website.

For night time fun,  Handel Hendrix House, the Mayfair museum once home to composer G.F. Handel and rock legend Jimi Hendrix, will open its historic rooms on Fridays for atmospheric, music-filled evenings. Handel Hendrix House will open specially from 18.00 - 20.00 every Friday from 27 October to 15 December 2023 and 12 January to 23 February, 2024.

Handel’s Georgian home has recently been meticulously restored and the after-dark openings offer a unique opportunity to absorb the atmosphere of the house lit with candle-effect lighting and hear live performance of his music in his own rooms. Known by his friends as ‘the Bat’, nighttime was when Jimi Hendrix became most alive and when he would party and entertain a roll-call of musicians and icons from the swinging sixties. Visitors will see Jimi Hendrix’s bedroom just as he knew it best, lit with psychedelic colours and brought to life with live music performed by exciting up-and-coming artists.

Details from the Handel Hendrix House website.

A once in a lifetime opportunity for early music ensembles across the world!

The Protean Quartet, winners of the 2022 York International Young Artists Competition

Applications are now open for the 2024 York International Young Artists Competition; the longstanding competition for young ensembles will take place between 10 - 13 July at the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) in York, UK as part of York Early Music Festival 2024.

The final takes place on Saturday 13 July, with a day of public performances at the NCEM. The first prize includes a recording contract from Linn Records; a £1,000 prize; opportunities to work with BBC Radio 3; and a concert at the 2025 York Early Music Festival. Other prizes on offer include the Friends of York Early Music Festival Prize, the Cambridge Early Music Prize and a prize for The Most Promising Young Artist/s, endowed by the EUBO Development Trust.
 
The closing date for applications is 15 January 2024.
 
The competition is open to:

• Early Music ensembles with a minimum of three members.
• Ensembles must have an average age of 32 years or under, with a maximum age of 36 years for individuals.

The ensembles must demonstrate historically informed performance practice and play repertory from the period, spanning the Middle Ages to the 19th century, on period instruments.

The Protean Quartet, winners of the 2022 competition, commented, "We were delighted and honoured to win the main prize in 2022. Taking part in the competition was an amazing experience. It was wonderful performing at the NCEM’s home, the beautiful St Margaret’s Church and meeting the other ensemble who were taking part. The prize provides a real boost to our confidence, profile and careers."

Full details from the competition website.

Pastoral charm with an engaging sense of style: Handel's Clori, Tirsi e Fileno from the English Concert at Wigmore Hall

Handel: Clori, Tirsi e Fileno - Joélle Harvey, Ailish Tynan, Iestyn Davies, the English Concert, Harry Bicket - Wigmore Hall (image taken from the live stream)

Handel: Clori, Tirsi e Fileno; Ailish Tynan, Joélle Harvey, Iestyn Davies, the English Concert, Harry Bicket; Wigmore Hall
Reviewed 18 October 2023

A light-hearted pastoral cantata performed with engaging charm and great sense of style with Handel's imaginative orchestration played with relish

Handel's Italian cantatas remain slightly tantalising. We have a passing familiarity with them, some at least get regular outings, but also Handel used his Italian cantatas as source material for larger, operatic works. His first London opera, Rinaldo is full of such borrowings and Handel wasn't the only one, this sort of practice was common in the Baroque period. We also know quite a lot of technical information about the cantatas, the watermarks of the paper they were written on can be used to estimate when he composed them, and the surviving account books of his patrons give us information about when the music was copied. But still, they remain at one remove.

We know that Clori, Tirsi e Fileno was written in 1707 for Marchese Ruspoli, because the copyists bill survives. But that is it. Until the 1960s, we did not even have a full copy of the score till one turned up in Münster. We can't be completely certain how the Münster version relates to that performed in 1707, but it has a more generous final trio than the original and commentators now think it is linked to the wedding celebrations in Naples that Handel attended (and for which he wrote the dramatic cantata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo). The Münster comes from a collection created by a Roman priest, Fortunato Santini (1777-1861) who, during the early 19th century, had access to private archives held by the Roman nobility, like the Ruspoli family. 

At the time of the cantata's first performance in Rome, opera was banned in Rome, so Roman patrons such as Ruspoli (for whom Handel was almost a house composer for a time) used other means. Clori, Tirsi e Fileno is a pastoral cantata that is almost an opera, and certainly the work has been staged in modern times. But Ruspoli was also a member of the Accademia degli Arcadi, the Arcadian Academy, and such pastoral works as Clori, Tirsi e Fileno were part of the Academy's raison d'etre.

The English Concert, conductor Harry Bicket, returned to Wigmore Hall on 18 October 2023 for a performance of Clori, Tirsi e Fileno  with Ailish Tynan as Clori, Joélle Harvey (replacing Mary Bevan) as Tirsi and Iestyn Davies as Fileno. The work offers a simple pastoral narrative for three characters, the fickle Clori toys with her two lovers, Tirsi and Fileno, who go through all the permutations of desire, hope and despair before they eventually abandon her when they discover her duplicity, and in fact more than one modern staging has had the two male characters going off together at the end. A homo-social view of the work that can arguably be linked to the remarkably homo-social atmosphere created by Handel's patrons in Rome. Handel himself seems to have been remarkably adept at adapting himself to his patron's mores and matching their wishes and desires.

Constella Music celebrates a decade of innovative work with anniversary event at Sadler’s Wells

Leo Geyer, artistic director of Constella Music 

Leo Geyer's Constella Music is celebrating its tenth anniversary with an event at Sadler's Wells Theatre on Monday 27 November 2023. The interdisciplinary music company, formally known as Constella OperaBallet, celebrates a decade of daring and visually striking work. The company's new name, Constella Music, reflects its ever-growing repertoire encompassing the broad creative endeavours of its artistic director, composer and conductor Leo Geyer.

The celebration at Sadler's Wells features world premieres including London Portraits, Leo Geyer's opera-ballet, choreographed by Taira Foo, which fuses jazz and street dance. Geyer’s Water Boatman for double-bass and loop pedal, commissioned by the Musician’s Company, will have its first public performance, having been featured on the BBC, and will be performed by Toby Hughes. The Constella Orchestra will perform excerpts from a new opera-ballet, the Orchestras of Auschwitz - featuring music written in concentration camps - will also be performed for the first time, a project that plays tribute to musicians murdered in Auschwitz.

Constalla Music' snew ventures for 2024 and beyond will include restoring the live cinema orchestra score for the seminal Ukrainian film Man with a Movie Camera, a television documentary about music of the Holocaust, and a collaboration with the Science Museum. Constella will also be continuing their acclaimed programme Connecting Stars, that provides live and interactive virtual performances for care home residents, which to date has resulted in over 1,500 performances nationwide.

Full details of Constella Music's 10th anniversary celebrations from their website.

The nominations for the 2023 Ivors Classical Awards have been announced, and we take a little look at some of this year's nominees

Jasdeep Singh Degun (Photo: Robert Leslie)
Nominated for his opera Orpheus

The nominations for the 2023 Ivors Classical Awards have been announced, and we take a little look at some of this year's nominees as well as highlighting those nominees to whom we have spoken in more depth.

This year, 36 works have been nominated for an Ivor Novello Award across eight categories. 44% of the shortlist are first-time nominees, including: 

• Jasdeep Singh Degun, nominated for his opera Orpheus (see my recent interview with Jasdeep)
• Simon Knighton, nominated for his orchestral work Sound Sculpture No. 7
• Angela Elizabeth Slater, nominated for her large ensemble work Through the Fading Hour
• Dobrinka Tabakova, nominated for her community & participation work Swarm Fanfares

Three composers have received two nomination 

• Brett Dean, for his orchestral works Cello Concerto and In This Brief Moment
• Brian Irvine, for his operas Least Like the Other: Searching for Rosemary Kennedy and Scorched Earth Trilogy
• Hannah Kendall, for her chamber work Even sweetness can scratch the throat and her large ensemble work Shouting forever into the receiver.

Thomas Adès is nominated for his chamber ensemble work Növények for mezzo-soprano and piano sextet. Bushra El-Turk (to whom I chatted in May this year, see my interview) is nominated for her large ensemble work Ka for percussion soloist and string orchestra, Alex Paxton (to whom I chatted about his 2021 Ivors nominations, see my interview) is nominated for his large ensemble work Ilolli-Pop for ensemble and improvising soloist. Anna Thorvaldsdottir (to whom I chatted about her 2021 Ivors nominations, see my interview) is nominated for her orchestral work Aurora. Tom Coult is nominated for his opera Violet, (I chatted to Tom about Violet before its premiere in 2022, see my interview). Jody Talbot is nominated for his ballet Like Water for Chocolate.

The Ivors Classical Awards place on 14 November at BFI Southbank in London, where 11 Ivor Novello Awards will be presented to eight category winners and three Gift of the Academy award winners. Founded in 2003 as the British Composer Awards, and previously known as The Ivors Composer Awards, the best new classical music and sound art by British, Irish or UK resident composers.

John Rutter will be presented with the Academy Fellowship, the highest honour bestowed by The Ivors Academy, in recognition of his excellence and impact in the art and craft of music creation. The recipients of the Ivor Novello Awards for Outstanding Works Collection and Innovation will be revealed on the night.

Nearly all of the nominated works were commissioned, highlighting the importance of the commissioning process through orchestras, festivals, venues and funding organisations, all of which play a pivotal role in the future of new music. Commissioners of this year’s nominated works include Britten Pears Arts, National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Proms, Irish National Opera, Opera North, Music Theatre Wales, West Sussex Music, Nonclassical, Southbank Sinfonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra and many more.

Full details from the Ivors Classical Awards website.

Tips for musicians setting up a music festival: Shiry Rashkovsky, founder of Up Close and Musical, reflects on festival creation

Shiry Rashkovsky & violinist Fenella Humphreys at Up Close and Musical in 2022

Viola-player Shiry Rashkovsky's Up Close and Musical festival returned to the Fidelio Café this month, opening with mezzo-soprano Lucy Schaufer, pianist Ben Dawson and Trio Klein in a storm-themed programme of music by living, and mainly women, composers [see my review] and ends tonight, 18 October 2023, with soprano & composer Héloïse Werner, multi-instrumentalist Shri Sriram and cellist Max Baillie in Best of October House Records with music by Love Ssega, Jasmin Kent Rodgman, Jonathan Cole, and Max Baillie [further details]. Shiry founded Up Close and Musical in 2020 to help demystify the world of classical music, combining intimate performances, artist-curated programmes, and artist interviews, along with food and drink [read my 2021 interview with Shiry].

In this article, Shiry reflects on the whole process of festival creation.

I founded Up Close and Musical at Fidelio Café because I wanted to give audiences a chance not only to listen to music up close but to hear from the musicians themselves about their daily lives through informal chats mid-performance with me posing the questions. The festival has evolved from year to year; in the second year I invited an all-female roster and focused heavily on female composers, and in this third year I extended the festival format to include a film screening and behind-the-scenes look at the 2023 Hollywood blockbuster Chevalier and integrated an even wider array of musical genres than before, spanning contemporary, folk, musical theatre, jazz and of course classical. It’s been a wild ride from the fraught first year in which I had to postpone thrice due to the pandemic, and the momentum it’s gained since then is staggering. I had wanted to bring this musical concept to life for some time, and am so glad I persisted. Here are some things that I learned, most of which I could really, really have done with someone telling me beforehand.

Establishing the project:

Do not be alarmed - this takes time, which seems like the sort of thing that someone with project management experience would know but that they forgot to tell us in conservatoire. I found that there’s a certain growth that can only come from the repetition of a festival (at whatever frequency you run it); people become familiar with the name and artistic concept through press exposure and word of mouth. By Up Close and Musical’s second year we had people returning with friends for more -  that kind of strengthening of your audience base is something that you simply can’t fast-track. It brings utter joy when you notice it.

Performing while Artistic Directing:

Your nerves will take a hit from this, but not in the way you might expect. Recently I’ve found that I don’t get nervous onstage but the split in focus that comes from preparing to perform and managing the smooth running of the day - ensuring artists have what they need and rehearsals run on time, sorting through kinks with the venue and ticketing, or any number of curveballs that fly at you right up to the minute you have to go and play - can be quite a stressor. You can mitigate this with assiduous over-preparation but ultimately the results are most satisfying when all you have to think about it your performance, and that’s a challenging environment to simulate when you are in charge of everything else all the time, so take it with a handful of salt when you can. Across the three years of Up Close and Musical I found it easiest to schedule any performance I might be in with Trio Klein at the start of the festival, riding the wave of pre-festival preparations and allowing for more space to engage with inter-performance matters as they arose later.

Artistic Directing while not performing:

This is less fun, for those of us who love to perform. Don’t get me wrong, I get a huge kick out of compering and interviewing the artists during their performances, and engaging exciting and well spoken artists to share their musical experiences is integral to Up Close and Musical’s artistic concept, but somehow I always feel like something is missing when I’m there without my instrument, like I’ve only expressed myself halfway. An odd feeling and certainly not a complaint, but worth bearing in mind.

Homage/Autrefois - Ivana Gavrić at the World Heartbeat Academy

Dora Pejačević

In December, Sarajevo-born, UK-based pianist Ivana Gavrić is exploring a new venue with a recital at the World Heartbeat Academy in Nine Elms (SW11 9BD). The academy's concert hall opened in March this year with events including the London premiere of Julian Joseph's concerto, Kayryouacou [see my article].

On 9 December 2023, Ivana Gavrić will be performing a programme that marks the anniversaries of both Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) and Croatian composer Dora Pejačević (1885-1923), and Gavrić will be performing four of Rachmaninff's Preludes alongside Pejačević's Two Nocturnes which date from 1918 and 1920. The programme is also an exploration of composers writing in another style, with Cheryl Frances-Hoad paying homage to Ravel, Grieg, Schubert, Janacek and Bartok in her Five Lyric Pieces which is dedicated to Ivana Gavrić, plus Grieg himself paying homage to earlier times in the Holberg Suite, and Cecile Chaminade paying a similar homage in Autrefois.

The World Heart Beat Academy offers support to disadvantaged children learning music and it opens its doors to any child wanting to learn music and provides free instruments and tuition. The academy started life in 2012 on Kimber Road in Wandsworth, in a converted space above Charles Wilson Engineers Ltd. It now welcomes over 350 students to its music learning space each week, offering a broad range of instrumental lessons, as well as the chance to play in ensembles such as jazz, orchestra and gig bands. The opening of a new concert hall marks a new chapter for the academy, enabling it to present concerts by emerging artists from the academy alongside international stars, and the hall's state-of-the-art recording facilities given students further inspirational tools.

Full details from the World Heatbeat Academy website.

Traces of the White Rose: for the 80th anniversary of the execution of the final member of the non-violent group resisting the Nazi's in 1943, SANSARA explore the subject in words & music

SANSARA

The White Rose was a non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany, five students and a professor who stood up to Nazism by writing, printing, and circulating anti-Nazi, anti-war pamphlets, and six paid with their lives. 2021 was the centenary of the birth of of Sophie Scholl, one of the founders of the group, and the choir SANSARA, artistic director Tom Herring, developed Voices of the German Resistance, a programme which interleaved music by Bach, Byrd, Rudolf Mauersberger, Max Reger, Philip Moore and Piers Kennedy with readings from the resistance group's writings in new English translations by students at the University of Oxford. The programme was developed with The White Rose Project, a research and engagement initiative at the University of Oxford.

Now, to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the execution of Willi Graf, the final core member of the White Rose to be executed for defying the Nazi Regime, SANSARA and Dr Alexandra Lloyd of The White Rose Project have created a Podcast, Traces of the White Rose.

Dr Alexandra Lloyd explains, "Traces of the White Rose introduces this courageous group of resisters through their own writings. It's a truly collaborative effort, with music by SANSARA, and translations by students at the University of Oxford. As a lecturer and author, it’s amazing to hear this story brought to life and to hear traces of these incredible individuals who risked everything for freedom."

You can find details of the Podcast on SANSARA's website. They will be performing a live version of the programme, Traces of the White Rose at the Wiltshire Music Centre on 11 November 2023,  full details from the centre's website.

To the North... Estonian pianist Ivari Ilja creates a recital that is highly satisfying in itself, but with each work repaying further attention

To the North...: Tõnu Kõrvits, Peeter Vähi, Eduard Tubin, Ester Mägi, Eduard Oja; Ivari Ilja; Estonian Record Productions

Estonian piano music stretching across the 20th and 21st centuries in a recital that is highly satisfying in itself, but with each work repaying further attention.

Estonian pianist Ivari Ilja's new disc, To the North... on Estonia Record Productions (ERP) features piano music by two contemporary Estonian composer, Tõnu Kõrvits and Peeter Vähi, alongside music by Estonian composers from previous generations, Eduard Tubin, Ester Mägi and Eduard Oja, the disc includes the world premiere recordings of Kõrvits' The Riddle and To the North..., Mägi's Three Sea Tableaux and Vähi's Purgatory.

The music of Tõnu Kõrvits forms a frame for the recital, with his work occurring at the beginning, middle and end. Kõrvits' The Riddle was written for Ivari Ilja who premiered it in 2018. A tiny piece, it is all delicate, engaging counterpoint.

National Opera Studio welcomes its young artists for 2023/24

The National Opera Studio is welcoming 16 Young Artists onto its Global Talent Programme for 2023/24; in addition to funding the training, the National Opera Studio provides the Young Artists with a performance stipend, a bursary and additional funding for external lessons and auditions. 

Alongside these, two young artists will be welcomed onto the National Talent Programme, its newly developed shorter, flexible pathway opportunities for UK-based artists in the early stages of their careers. And this newly created National Talent Programme forms part of the Studio’s Diverse Voices initiative, which provides support, guidance, and encouragement to young singers at various stages of their paths to opera careers working with artists, singers, and choirs across a variety of levels and platforms, connecting young children to local musical communities all the way to training artists who are already singing professionally on stage.

The young artists present regular free lunchtime recitals at the National Opera Studio in Wandsworth, with the next dates being 18 October & 8 November, and all the young artists will be performing in a programme of operatic scenes, directed by Keith Warner, on 6 & 7 December.

National Opera Studio Global Talent Programme artists 2023/24
Sopranos
Rosalind Dobson (British), Nikolina Hrkać (Croatian), Kira Kaplan (American), Sofia Kirwan-Baez (Anglo-Venezuelan), Heming Li (Chinese)

Mezzo-sopranos
Georgia Mae Ellis (British), Camilla Seale (British)

Tenors
Robert Forrest (British), Rhydian Jenkins (Welsh)

Baritones
Jonathan Eyers (Kiwi), Aleksander Kaczuk-Jagielnik (Polish)

Bass-baritone
Smelo Mahlangu (South African)

Repetiteurs
Hana Kim (Korean), Johanna Kvam (American), Blanca Graciá Rodríguez (Spanish), Jacob Swindells (British)

 
National Opera Studio National Talent Programme artists 2023/24
Shafali Jalota (British-American)
Moloko Letsoalo (South African)

Full details from the National Opera Studio website.

In only two years, Scottish Young Musicians has become the largest and most important national music competition in Scottish schools,

Winner of Solo Performer of the Year 2023, 16-year-old clarinettist Emily Barron from St. Columba’s School, Kilmacolm

Scottish Young Musicians, Scotland's festival of music competitions, is returning for 2024 to give young people across the country the chance to compete for the titles of Solo Performer of the Year, Ensemble of the Year and Brass Ensemble of the Year. In only two years, Scottish Young Musicians has become the largest and most important national music competition in Scottish schools, with 30 local authorities participating in the 2023 competition in May.

Solo Performer of the Year, which returns for its third year, is open to all young musicians who go to school in Scotland, whatever age or standard. Each local authority will select a regional finalist, with all of them hosting local and regional heats across different schools to decide who will represent their area at the National Final at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in May 2024. 

Ensemble of the Year, which is open to instruments of all disciplines, and Brass Ensemble of the Year are online competitions which will see school and local ensembles compete to win a chance to perform at the National Final. Ensemble of the Year is open to ensembles of 3 to 16 players of any genre or grouping of instruments who play together regularly in a formal group from a school or recognised music organisation. Brass Ensemble of the Year is open to ensembles of 3 to 12 players who play together regularly in a formal group from a school or recognised music organisation.

New this year is a Junior Competition, taking place in Primary Schools, with the local authorities taking part focussing on finding the best junior talent in their area, and giving the country’s youngest musicians experience in performing in front of an audience and competing with their peers. Parents and pupils can find out more through their school music teacher.

Full details from the Scottish Young Musicians website.

In glorious voice: Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen returns to Wigmore Hall for a programme of art songs by Grieg, Berg, Schubert and Sibelius

Lise Davidsen (Photo: James Hole)

Grieg: Five Songs, Op. 69, Berg: Sieben frühe Lieder, Sibelius: Songs Op. 37,  Schubert; Lise Davidsen, James Baillieu; Wigmore Hall

The Norwegian soprano in glorious voice in a recital that mixed Schubert and early Berg with terrific songs by Grieg and Sibelius in Norwegian and Swedish.

Lise Davidsen made her recital debut at the Wigmore Hall back in 2017 since then the Norwegian soprano has been making waves on the operatic stage, but she obviously remains committed to art song and returned to Wigmore Hall on Friday 13 October 2023, after a significant gap, with pianist James Baillieu for a programme that included Grieg's Five Songs, Op. 69, Berg's Sieben frühe Lieder, Sibelius' songs Op. 37 and a selection of Schubert songs.

Not every dramatic soprano is comfortable in the song repertoire, and not every opera singer wants to explore the more direct, exposing world of art song, but Lise Davidsen definitely is and does. This was a complex and unusual programme, mixing the known and the unknown, and it worked because Davidsen was really invested in each and every song, and always finely partnered by Baillieu (who has a long-established partnership with her). Davidsen's voice might easily fill Wigmore Hall at climaxes, but she was well able to fine things down and what really came across was her skill as a story teller in song. It didn't matter that the words or even the language was unfamiliar (we had songs in Norwegian and Swedish), the communication was paramount.

We began with Grieg's Five Songs, Op. 69 setting poems by the Danish writer Otto Benzon, though the songs set Norwegian words the pieces are closer to European song than Grieg's Norwegian-inspired lyric pieces. In fact, Grieg would write ten settings of Benzon's poems, the second five being issued as his Op. 70, the final songs he wrote.