FA B E R M U S I C N E W S A U T U M N 2 0 1 0

fortissimo!

ALSO IN THIS ISSUETorsten Rasch gets Punchdrunk! p 3

Tansy Davies Plays a ‘Wild Card’ p 4

David Matthews – The Symphonist p 5

Britten Programming Ideas for 2013 p 6

Knussen News p 7

New Book – ‘Behind Bars’ p 23

Interview with composer Torsten Rasch p 21

TUNING IN • SPOTLIGHT ON TORSTEN RASCH • NEW BOOK – ‘BEHIND BARS’ • NEW WORKS FROM THE PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTNEW PUBLICATIONS • NEW RECORDINGS • SALES PUBLICATION NEWS • MEDIA SPOTLIGHT • BOOKS ON MUSIC FROM FABER & FABER • MUSIC FOR NOW

Fanfare toFantasiasAn astonishing yearfor Julian Anderson

Julian Anderson’s ‘Fantasias’ in the UKAnderson describes his latest orchestral work Fantasias as ‘acelebration of the modern symphony orchestra’. It seemsfitting then, that this exhilarating 5-movement work shouldbe performed by one the most forward-looking and youthfulof musical establishments, the UK’s National YouthOrchestra.

It was the Cleveland Orchestra that commissionedFantasias, and gave the premiere last November, but theNational Youth Orchestra of Great Britain got the challengingand exciting opportunity of introducing this virtuosic workto UK audiences, being the centrepiece of their summer tour,framed by French music, and conducted by Semyon Bychkov.

5* review in The Guardian!

‘It is Anderson’s first multi-movement work fororchestra, and, for all their subtle interconnections, thefive pieces that make up Fantasias aim at maximumvariety and contrast. The opening fantasia, for brassalone and sounding like a Gabrieli sonata with apostmodern makeover, is followed by a movementoverflowing with ideas and luscious, deliquescenttextures, and a whispering, creaking nocturneapparently inspired by rainforest sounds. The tiny,evanescent scherzo and breathtaking prestissimo finaleboth introduce quarter-tones, giving a fuzzy strangenessto some of the harmonies. It’s a wonderfully rich score,which the NYO at maximum strength – six bassoons,five harps, three tubas – played with remarkableprecision.’

The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 8 August 2010

‘It’s an incredibly arresting start to a piece which setsout to pitch sound against motion in a succession ofbrilliantly imagined polyphonies and is expresslydesigned to excite and tantalise and, in the case of theNYO, challenge and exercise. Even the extended“Nocturne” at its heart hums to a profusion of Bartokianinsect life, all manner of con legno, slap-pizzicati,knocking and scratching effects conspiring to producehyperactivity against a calm backdrop.’

The Independent (Edward Seckerson), 8 August 2010

Raucous in the best sense, it set up one of Anderson’sscintillating scores, rhythmically intricate, rich inunexpected and often eerie sounds (double bassesparticularly ear-catching), and with a vein of lyricismthat occasionally skirted close to melody. The NYOplayed with absolute assurance, lapping up everychallenge.

Evening Standard (Nick Kimberley), 9 August 2010The UK premiere took place in Birmingham’s Symphony Hallon 4 August, then on 5 August in Aldeburgh, finally arrivingat the BBC Proms on 7 August for the London premiere.

Note from the composer:Whereas my previous orchestral pieces have been in onecontinuous movement, this work is in five separatemovements of varying length. The main advantage of amulti-movement structure is that it allows strongercontrasts and more variety of forms to be used within thesame piece. Fantasias explores these possibilities. The title Fantasias indicates many things: a sense of fantasyand the fantastical, which is certainly one aspect of themusic; the sense of caprice and unpredictability justmentioned, which is evident especially in movements 2, 4and 5; and also that this is a set of varied movementswhich, though they belong together in this order, are not inany sense symphonic. For all its wildcontrasts,Fantasias is acelebrationof themodernsymphonyorchestra.© Julian Anderson

‘Fantasias… exploited bravura, quick thinkingand nifty articulation that the NYO demonstrated in

abundance, underpinning the music’s propulsionand stimulating its brilliance.’

The Daily Telegraph (Geoffrey Norris), 9 August 2010

HIGHLIGHTS

Torsten Rasch gets Punchdrunk!

3

The UK’s most talked-about experimental theatre groupPunchdrunk joined forces with German composer TorstenRasch & English National Opera for one of this summer’smost sought-after events.

Librettist Ian Burton adapted John Webster’s 17thCentury macabre tragedy The Duchess of Malfi for this newopera, performed at a mammoth 80,000 sq ft office buildingin one of the most deserted easterly parts of industrialLondon. Despite the bizarre location for such an event, thetickets sold within hours of going on sale – the crazedinterest in purchasing tickets crashed the ENO’s online ticketfunction!

You may ask what is the draw to such an event?Punchdrunk, masterminded by Director Felix Barrett, has

made its name by habit ofimmersing its ever-faithfulaudiences into the action, makingthem part of the production. “Wewill be putting the audience in themiddle of the opera rather than inthe stalls,” said Barrett. Theaudience is allowed to roam freelythrough the space, free to followdifferent characters and strands ofthe story as they unfoldsimultaneously, making their

events an interactive platform unlike any other. TorstenRasch’s dark and rich music perfectly reflected the tortureddrama. See below for press comments.

‘Sight, sound and smell combine to staggering effect asspectators wander through an office building, choosingwhich characters to follow. Their reward is a scenictour, peppered with such hallucinogenic highlights as aforest of wire trees and naked figures in the dark. Thelack of linearity heightens the atmosphere ofJohn Webster’s macabre play.Meanwhile, Torsten Rasch’sopulent score, redolent of thecomposer’s idol, AlbanBerg, ekes out thetension, particularlyin the grandfinale. It is

impressively handled by contralto Claudia Huckle,counter-tenor Andrew Watts and the orchestra of theENO. Fantastic in the most literal sense: if there wereever a candidate for a six-star review, this would surelybe it.

Timeout (Hannah Nepil), 21 July 2010

‘As anyone who knows his thrilling orchestral song-cycleMein Herz brennt will know, this man writes mostbeautifully for both voice and orchestra.’

The Independent (Edward Seckerson)

‘The music is by Torsten Rasch, whose assertive andforthright material harbors an edge of darkness… it wasa fascinating new experience, beautifully performed,and another feather in the cap for ENO’s John Berry inhis quest to extend boundaries.’

Musical America (Keith Clarke), 16 July 2010

‘…the collaboration between a forward-looking andopen-minded English National Opera, a theatre grouplike Punchdrunk and the soundworld of the Germancomposer of The Duchess of Malfi, proved to be anexperience of another kind: unforgettable and unique.’

Welt-online 31.7.10 (translated)In an interview with The Guardian’s Charlotte Higgins,Barrett explains how he came to choose Torsten. “Welistened to the work of about 30 composers,” he said. “Assoon as we heard Mein Herz brennt we knew Torsten Raschwas the one. The piece is epic, it’s so operatic in itstheatricality. He has completely embraced the deconstructionof the orchestra and our dispensing with linear narrative.He’s grabbed the idea with everything he has.”

‘Sight, sound andsmell combine tostaggering effect…Torsten Rasch’s

opulent score…ekesout the tension,

particularly in thegrand finale.’

The Duchess of MalfiThe Duchess of Malfi, a young Aragonian noblewoman recentlywidowed, has two brothers: her twin Ferdinand, the Duke ofCalabria, and her elder brother, the Cardinal of Aragon. Theyhave expressly forbidden her ever to marry again, but thereasons for their decision remain obscure, although inFerdinand’s case they seem to conceal suppressed incestuousfeelings. The brothers place Daniel de Bosola, a professionalassassin, in her service. He has recently come out of prison andthe brothers employ him initially as a spy. Ultimately, he becomesthe Duchess’s torturer and executioner.The Duchess falls in love with her steward, Antonio Bologna, andsecretly marries him. Over the next four years she gives birth tothree of his children, a fact which the couple try to conceal fromthe brothers. Of course, Bosola discovers their guilt and reports itto his paymasters.The Duchess and Antonio go into exile under the pretence ofmaking a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Loretto. TheCardinal becomes a general and joins the war against the Kingof Naples. The Duchess is separated from Antonio andimprisoned in her own castle, mentally tortured in a variety ofhideous ways, and finally strangled, along with two of herchildren.Ferdinand goes mad, the Cardinal poisons his mistress Julia,and in the end, Ferdinand, the Cardinal, Antonio and Bosola areall dead, after a bloodbath of violence (as well as despair, regretand loss) which takes place in the darkest confusion.

Tansy Davies Plays a ‘Wild Card’!Davies’ debut at the BBC PromsDavies took audiences on a journey through the Tarot packwith her latest BBC commission. Taking inspiration fromthis game-like form of psychoanalysis, Wild Card journeysthrough life’s challenges, exploring the qualities andcharacters of each card.

Davies’ own fascination with the Tarot has led her toexploit its labyrinths in this musical adventure loosely basedon the ‘Fool’s Journey’, a metaphor for the journey throughlife, as depicted by the images and archetypes found in aTarot pack. Davies herself admits to finding the Tarot a usefulguide to everyday life being ‘multidimensional and game-like.’

The twenty-two Major Arcana (characters of the Tarot) arerepresented in Wild Card, though not necessarily in theirnumbered order. They appear in succession, but sometimesas many as three cards are played together. Some charactersreturn again and again, underpinning other scenes, orcreating dramas.

Wild Card represented Davies’ debutappearance at the BBC Proms on 8 September2010, performed by the BBC SymphonyOrchestra and Jirí Bìlohlávek, alongsidemusic by Wagner and Bruckner.

Also for the PromsBBC Radio 4’s Today programme featured Davies indiscussion with Roger Wright in the run up to the premiereof Wild Card, and there was a Proms Plus pre-concert eventwhere Davies in conversation with Tom Service, discussedher Proms commission and introduced her chamber worksgrind show (electric), salt box and neon, performed bymusicians from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. This is only Davies second large-scale work for orchestra, herfirst Rift – a BBC Concert Orchestra commission wasperformed as part of their Discovering Music series in 2008at the Watford Colosseum.

Wild CardorchestraDuration 24 minutesCommissioned by the BBC8.9.10, BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London, UK: BBC SO/Jirí Belohlávek

3(II=picc.III=afl).3.3(II&III=bcl).3(III=cbsn with A extension) - 4.3.2.btrbn.1 - timp - perc(4) - pno - harp

- stringsScore and parts for hire

4

David Matthews The Symphonist

HIGHLIGHTS

5

Symphony No 7!In recognition of Gustav Mahler’s 150th anniversary thisyear, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall in association with theBBC Philharmonic and resident Hallé Orchestra, presentedall the Mahler symphonies during the season. Eachsymphony was prefaced by a specially commissioned work,and it was natural that David Matthews (whose connectionswith and sympathies for Mahler are well-known) should beone of the composers selected. As it happened, Matthews’own Symphony No 7 was the prelude to afantastic performance of Mahler’s Seventhby the BBC Philharmonic under theirprincipal conductor, Gianandrea Noseda.

The recent spate of recordings ofMatthews’ earlier symphonies have led to aburdgeoning recognition that in him wehave a major British symphonist.Matthews’ Symphony No 7 proved no exception to thisview. His unrivalled talents as a supreme orchestrator andability to sustain a striking lyricism throughout a well-balanced structure, inspired the performers to give of theirbest and the audience responded with huge enthusiasm.

5* review in The Guardian

‘… a single-movement, four-section work that alsohas great beauty and richness. It rings endless changeson a rapturous viola melody, heard at the outset overtremulous violins, and reaches its climax with adexterous percussion cadenza before boundingtowards an exuberant close. Breathtakingly scored, itwas superbly played.’

Guardian (Tim Ashley), 27 April 2010

‘… What makes Matthews’s music lovable is the way itembraces straightforwardly tonal means, with notricksy post-modern irony or agonised breast-beating.This new symphony goes further in the direction oflimpid simplicity. It takes daring to place a guilelessmelody over a row of major chords, but lending thosethings a subtle shapeliness and pregnantsuggestiveness needs art, too, which this symphonyhad in abundance.’

Telegraph (Ivan Hewett), 27 April 2010

‘... artfully and beautifully composed... there is asplendid cadenza for timpani which is the grandclimax of the work, and also the signal for a slow,shadowy Tenebroso section which moves out ofdarkness into the boisterous energy of the coda.’

The Times (Hilary Finch)

The 21-minute symphony was presented to audiences onSaturday 24 April, at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. Theworld premiere did lack one particular audience member –the composer himself, who was stranded in Australia due tothe volcanic ash transport crisis, which disrupted so manyevents early in 2010.

Symphonies on discRecord label Dutton Epoch released dedicated recordings ofMatthews’ symphonies – most recently numbers 2 & 6,which have proved to be a hit with critics this summer.

‘Matthews is among our most prodigious symphonists:he has completed seven, all adhering to tonality, allconceived on a grand scale, in pursuit of the beauidéal of full integration of material, of maximum unity

with maximum contrast. Here are thefirst recordings of his Second and SixthSymphonies in powerful accountsunder Steen. No 2 is a four-movementsingle span issuing in a stentorianpresto veloce. The three-movement No6 grew outwards from its scherzo –written to commission as a variation

on a hymn tune by Vaughan Williams, whose SixthSymphony also proved an inspiration, as did Mahler’s.The movement contains a gripping cadenza formarimba and vibraphone.’

The Sunday Times (Paul Driver), 21 March 2010

International Record Review OUTSTANDING!

‘From a period rich in British symphonies, Matthews’sSecond is a ‘dark horse’ now coming into its own:younger composers could certainly profit by itsexample.

Matthews’s music may, by his own admission, havebecome more overtly tonal, but its depth andemotional complexity have also increased. Thoselooking for easy answers should steer clear, but thoselooking for lasting solutions are in for a treat.’

International Record Review (Richard Whitehouse), May 2010

‘…Matthews has emerged as a leading 21st Centuryexponent of the form… Learning from Tippett, Mawand others that pattern-making must always bepurposeful, he shuns rhapsodic rambling and cansummon up the kind of creative energy that makes theepic finale of the Second Symphony so powerful.’

Gramophone (Arnold Whittall), September 2010

‘…Matthews hasemerged as a leading21st-Century exponent

of the form’

‘Matthews is amongour most prodigious

symphonists…’

6

Britten – Programming Ideas for 2013Britten’s music is so widely known and frequently played,that making a special celebration for 2013 (thehundredth anniversary of his birth) presents concertplanners with quite a challenge.

However, the abundance of Britten’s creative talentresulted in a large number of works that remain eclipsedby his better known achievements. Many of these are notworthy of the neglect that has become their lot, andwould be in the forefront of another composer’s oeuvre.2013 must surely be the moment to revisit these pieces.See below for ideas for short concert openers, jazz-related works, and the extraordinary collection of musicfor BBC plays that produced some of the composer’smost imaginative work.

Overtures & Concert Openers

Occasional OvertureThe festal brass, bustling strings, brilliant solo writingand dazzling textures of the Occasional Overture werewritten in less than two months, during a particularlyfertile compositional period.

Overture Paul Bunyan Britten drafted this overture and intended its inclusion inthe first production of Paul Bunyan. When Brittenrevised his popular operetta in the final years of his life,he composed a new brief introduction. FollowingBritten’s death, Colin Matthews orchestrated the originaloverture, using the instrumentation and colours of theopera, and it now stands as an exciting work in its ownright.

The Building of the House Overture (1967)The 1967 Aldeburgh Festival opened with a visit fromQueen Elizabeth, a concert in the new Snape MaltingsConcert Hall, and with this overture, composed tocelebrate the ‘building of the house’. The work itself is aslively as the wonderful acoustic in which it was firstperformed, and although the version for choir andorchestra was most suitable for its premiere, thealternative versions for organ and orchestra or extra brassare just as effective.

Britten & Jazz

Cabaret Songs - Duration 2-5 minutesThese four Cabaret Songs, composed between 1937 and1939 but not published until 1980, were written for HedliAnderson (later wife of the poet Louis MacNeice), asinger specialising in the performance of high quality‘light music’. They are lively and witty settings, clearly influenced bythe popular hit songs of the day (à la Cole Porter) whilethe onomatopoeic train noises of Calypso clearly pointforward to Midnight on the Great Western from theThomas Hardy cycle Winter Words of 1953. There is alsoa version for ensemble arranged by Daryl Runswick,entitled Britten’s Blues.

Johnson over JordanJ. B. Priestley’s Johnson Over Jordan is a modern moralityplay, in which a man on the verge of death revisits earlierperiods in his life as he contemplates what he hasbecome and where he is going. These different periods inthe protagonist’s life stimulated Britten to write aremarkably evocative incidental score. ‘The Spider andthe Fly’, his music for the play’s most climactic scene, setin a decadent night-club, incorporates 1930s jazz withgreat skill.

Concert Suites for Orchestra

Suite from Death in Venice - Duration 27 minutesLess of a suite and more of an operatic symphony, thiscontinuous orchestral work functions as a précis toBritten’s final operatic utterance. It flows logicallythrough the salient points of action, falling into severalclearly differentiated sections, and thus includes some ofthe most dramatic and beautiful music of thisextraordinary score, with its exotic gamelan-like balletmusic.

Johnson over Jordan Suite - Duration 18 minutesSee work details above for further information.

FURTHER INFORMATION:Occasional Overture Duration 8 minutes3(III=picc).2.ca.Ebcl.2.2.cbsn - 4331 - timp -perc(3): SD/TD/susp.cym/BD/cyms/whip/tam-t/tgl/xyl - cel - harp - stringsScore 0-571-50713-1 on sale, parts for hire

Overture Paul Bunyan Duration 5 minutes2(II=picc).1.2.bcl.1 - 2221 - timp - perc(2/3) - (pno) - (harp) - stringsScore 0-571-50571-6 on sale, parts for hire

The Building of the House OvertureDuration 6 minutes3 fl.2 ob.Ebcl.3 cl.acl.bcl.2 asax.tsax.bsax.2 bsn - 4 hn.3 tpt.3 trbn.bar.tuba -timp - perc(2) - string bassScore and parts (fp) 0-571-56117-9 on sale, chorus part 0-571-50144-3 onsale

Cabaret SongsDuration 12 minutesfor voice and piano, score 0-571-50577-5 on saleensemble version: asax(=cl).tpt.vln.pno.db.drum kitScore and parts for hire

Johnson over JordanDuration 35 minutes1(=picc).1(=ca).3(I=Ebcl.III=bcl+asax).1 -0210 - timp - perc(1) - gtr -strings -(soprano voice) optional scoring for Spiderand the Fly: 2 asax(=cl).2tsax(I=bcl.II=cl) -3 tpt.2 trbn - drum kit - pno -gtr - vln.db.Score and parts for hire

Johnson over Jordan SuiteDuration 18 minutes1(=picc).1.2(I=Ebcl.II=bcl+asax) or3(I=Ebcl.III=bcl+asax).1 - 0210 - timp -perc(1) - pno - stringsScore 0-571-51166-X on sale, parts for hire

Suite from Death in VeniceDuration 27 minutes2(=picc).2.2(II=bcl).2 - 2221 - timp(=crot) - perc(4) -pno - harp - strings (min 6.4.3.3.2)Score 0-571-50977-0 on sale, parts for hire

Knussen News

HIGHLIGHTS

‘Ophelia’s Last Dance’Ophelia’s Last Dance, Knussen’s 9-minute work for solopiano, is the expansion of a musical idea first realised byKnussen in 1974. It was originally intended for his ThirdSymphony, and related fragments of it turned up in his 1975work Ophelia Dances Book 1 for chamber ensemble. Thisparticular theme continued to return to Knussen, and so it isused here, as he says in his programme note, by way of‘continuing the dance in various ways’.

Kirill Gerstein gave the premiere on 3 May at the GilmoreInternational Keyboard Festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan, thena few days later at New York’s Town Hall. The pianist was sotaken with this recently-completed piece that he played ittwice! Allan Kozinn from The New York Times explains:

‘Each half of Mr. Gerstein’s fascinatingly constructedprogram began with a Busoni sonatina, followed byOliver Knussen’s “Ophelia’s Last Dance” (Op. 32) –that’s right, he played it twice – and then a largeRomantic work.

… It begins with a dash of light-textured sparkleand a gently chromatic line, and as it grows moreemotionally charged, its language veers toward neo-Romanticism rather than the harmonic density of Mr.Knussen’s earlier music. ‘

The New York Times (Allan Kozinn), 10 May 2010The UK premiere was championed by Huw Watkins at theAldeburgh Festival on 21 June. Ophelia’s Last Dance will be available to other pianists afterMay 2011. Please contact the Promotion Department formore information.

‘Two Organa’ at the PromsThe Birmingham Contemporary Music Group staged a late-night appearance at the BBC Proms on 6 August, conductedby Ilan Volkov, in a concert which framed Oliver Knussen’sTwo Organa and George Benjamin’s Three Inventions, withnew works by Luke Bedford and Hans Abrahamsen.Knussen’s Two Organa was earmarked in a Guardian article aweek earlier by ultimate fan Adam Foulds, as a work whichgave him instant joy.

‘There aren’t many ways you can be sure to makeyourself feel happy, but there’s one that always

seem to work for me. I listen to a piece ofmusic, only a minuteand a half long,that wasoriginallywritten for amusic boxand thenorchestrated.

Its unwinding tune is immediately memorable. It is soshimmeringly coloured, so precisely made, so assuredin the delivery of its climax that it always leaves mymood effervescent. It is called Two Organa and OliverKnussen, who wrote it, is one of Britain’s greatest livingartists… His music is instantly likeable, elegant,melancholy and exhilarating.

…He writes his jewel-like scores carefully, with greattechnical rigour, but there remains at the heart of hismusic an unanxious playfulness. His works are often setin the childhood worlds of toys and storybooks and inthat familiar, phantasmal place between waking andsleeping. He is a conductor famed for his perfectionismand generosity, a rare combination … He has addedbeauty to the world.’

The Guardian (Adam Foulds), 24 July 2010

RPS Award for Conducting AchievementsKnussen received the Royal Philharmonic Society Award forconductors, from a shortlist of such major talents as AndrisNelsons and Kirill Karabits.

New York City Opera New York City Opera who first performed Where the WildThings Are in 1987, is including the work in their ‘Opera inthe Schools’ project in 2011. There will be performances ofthe opera, alongside an educational project for thousands ofschool students in over 40 schools across the five boroughsof New York.

‘Wild Things’ at Tanglewood The Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music iscelebrating 70 years in 2010, and the seven decades of greatcomposers who have led and taken a major role in itscomposition program. Knussen was enrolled this year asone of the three living composers who have chaired thecomposition activities. One of the Festival highlights was aperformance of Knussen’s Where the Wild Things Are.

‘You did not have to search for things to love about Mr.Knussen’s Where the Wild Things Are. Every bar isvividly drawn and full of energy.’

The New York Times (Allan Kozinn), 17 August 2010

‘… the music is wonderfully evocative, conjuring upthe Wild Things’ rumblesand screeches as achorus of theimaginary beastswordlessly howls

and growls in thebackground.’

The Berkshire Eagle(

FFoorrtthhccoommiinngg ppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessThe Way to Castle Yonder 8.10.10, Tokyo Opera City, Japan: Tokyo PO/Oliver Knussen3.2.11, The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK: HalléOrchestra/Oliver Knussen

Symphony No 3 14, 15.10.10, The Symphony Hall, Osaka, Japan: Osaka PO/OliverKnussen

Music for a Puppet Court 20.10.10, Kanazawa, Japan: Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa/OliverKnussen

Violin Concerto28.1.11, Edinburgh Usher Hall, UK: RSNO

29.1.11, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, UK: Royal Scottish NationalOrchestra

Horn Concerto 3.2.11, The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK: Martin Owen/HalléOrchestra/Oliver Knussen

Requiem 13.3.11, UK: Birmingham Contemporary Music Group/OliverKnussen/Claire Booth27, 28.4.11, Arnhem, Netherlands: ClaireBooth/Asko/Schönberg/Oliver Knussen

Where the Wild Things Are 5, 9.4.11, New York, USA: New York City Opera/Juilian Kuerti

HIGHLIGHTS

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessArcadiana/PianoQuintet/Darknesse Visible/Mazurkas(Australian premiere of‘Mazurkas’)10.10.10, Melbourne Festival,Australia: Calder Quartet/Adès

Three Studies fromCouperin/ChamberSymphony 12.10.10, Melbourne Festival,Australia: ANAM/Adès

In Seven Days/Violin Concerto/Overture to ‘TheTempest’ (Australian premiere of ‘ViolinConcerto’)15.10.10, Melbourne Festival,Australia: Adès/Melbourne SO/Nicolas Hodges/Tal Rosner (video)

Three Studies fromCouperin 15, 16, 18, 22, 28, 30.10.10,Royal Opera House, CoventGarden, London, UK: The RoyalBallet/ch. Kim Brandstrup/cond.Barry Wordsworth

Tevot 16.10.10, Melbourne Town Hall,Australia: Melbourne SO/Adès

Asyla 20, 21.10.10, Sydney, Australia:Sydney SO/Adès

Darknesse Visible/Mazurkas 23.10.10, Sydney Opera House,Sydney, Australia: Adès

Powder Her Face 9, 11.11.10, Teatro Rossini diLugo, Bologna, Italy: dir. GiuseppeGrazioli

Violin Concerto 12, 13.11.10, Powell SymphonyHall, St Louis, MI, USA: St LouisSO

Lieux retrouvés 7.12.10, Rochester, New York,USA: Steven Isserlis/Jeremy Denk9.12.10, New York, USA: StevenIsserlis/Jeremy Denk

In Seven Days 6, 7, 8.1.11, Avery Fisher Hall,New York, USA: Alan Gilbert/NewYork PO/Adès13.2.11, Glasgow, UK: NicolasHodges/London Sinfonietta/Adès18.2.11, Royal Festival Hall,London, UK: Nicolas Hodges/London Sinfonietta/Adès

New work(world premiere)26, 28.1.11, USA: New WorldSymphony/Michael Tilson Thomas

The Four Quarters(world premiere)12.3.11, Carnegie Hall, New York,USA: Emerson String Quartet14.3.11, Walt Disney ConcertHall, Los Angeles, CA, USA:Emerson String Quartet

(French premiere)6.4.11, Paris, France: EmersonString Quartet

(London premiere)7.4.11, Queen Elizabeth Hall,London, UK: Emerson StringQuartet

8

Adès at the Melbourne FestivalAdès is an important feature of this year’s MelbourneInternational Arts Festival, as he makes a rare trip toAustralia to conduct the Melbourne SymphonyOrchestra’s in some of his most acclaimed works.Adès is also programmed to give a chamber recital anddirect and play harpsichord in separate events at thefestival. See below for more details.

MELBOURNE FESTIVAL DIARY

10 October – Adès & The Calder QuartetAdès spends part of each year in Los Angeles, which is wherehe met the Calder Quartet who have performed and recordedArcadiana. They have since worked together with greatsuccess in Stockholm at the Adès Tonsätterfestival. InMelbourne they perform the Piano Quintet – originally aMelbourne Festival commission.

12 October – Adès and ANAMAdès directs musicians of the Australian National Academy ofMusic in a program of his own: Les Baricades Mistérieuses,Three Studies from Couperin and Chamber Symphony plusother music by Couperin & Rameau.

15 October – Adès & Melbourne SOAdès conducts the renowned Melbourne Symphony Orchestrain a programme featuring his violin concerto with AnthonyMarwood, alongside the Australian premiere of his multi-media piano concerto In Seven Days.

21 October Pianist Michael Kieran Harvey, multi-disciplinary musicianAnthony Pateras and musicians of the Academy perform Adès’Living Toys.

New BalletsLeading choreographer Wayne McGregor chose Adès’Violin Concerto – Concentric Paths to choreographand present with the New York City Ballet in May.There were five performances.

‘… an astounding score, the 2005 ViolinConcerto Concentric Paths by Thomas Adès.

Outlier translates the restless, weightlesswavering of the concerto’s opening into aromance between negative space and the body’ssolidity. It emphasises the diamond of air framed

by a dancer’s pliéing legs as much as the legsthemselves.’

Financial Times (Apollinaire Scherr), 19 May 2010The New York concert premiere of this now-widely-performed concerto is scheduled for Carnegie Hall onMarch 5 2011 with visiting St Louis SO under DavidRobertson and Leila Josefowicz as soloist. Londonaudiences can hear another choreography of Adès’music: Three Studies from Couperin will bechoreographed by Kim Brandstrup, staged by TheRoyal Ballet at Covent Garden in October this year.

New orchestral work tours the worldThe New World Symphony Orchestra operate inMiami, a region once best known for sun and surf,which is fast becoming a world-class culturaldestination. It was a natural for the New WorldSymphony therefore to commission Adès to write awork to open their state-of-the-art new concert venuedesigned by Frank Gehry. The new orchestral workwill fully demonstrate the eagerly-anticipated acousticand a collaboration with Tal Rosner will result in anaccompanying video. The new work will be ofapproximately 15 minutes in duration and has beenco-commissioned by no less than six otherinternational organisations (in each case beingpresented as a stand-alone concert work):New World Symphony, Frank Gehry Hall, Miami on 26th &28th January 2011; Los Angeles Philharmonic, Walt DisneyConcert Hall, Los Angeles on 9 April 2011; Concertgebouw,Amsterdam on 17th June 2011; San Francisco Symphony, SanFrancisco on 8 September 2011; New York Philharmonic,Avery Fisher Hall, New York in January 2012; The Barbican,London in February 2012; Gulbenkian Orchestra, Lisbon,January 2012.

Classical Brit Award for ‘The Tempest’Adès joined the likes of Andrea Gheorghiu and BrynTerfel on the glitzy red carpet in order to receive hisaward as ‘Composer of the Year’ for the EMI recordingof his 2nd opera The Tempest, at this season’stelevised awards ceremony.

‘Aspects of Adès’ Festival & premiere ofnew String QuartetAdès’ ongoing relationship with the Los AngelesPhilharmonic Orchestra continues with anothercomposer focus, following several other successfulpresentations of his music. The Spring 2011 tributebegins with the West Coast premiere of his secondstring quartet, The Four Quarters on 14 March, onlytwo days after its Carnegie Hall world premiere on 12March (Carnegie Hall commissioned it). In addition,Adès conducts his piano concerto In Seven Days (aLos Angeles Philharmonic commission) and the newwork for Miami. Other featured pieces are: ConcertoConciso, These Premises Are Alarmed and ViolinConcerto. As pianist Adès performs his virtuosicConcert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face on 5 April.

THOMAS ADÈS

THOMAS ADÈS © MAURICE FOXALL

HIGHLIGHTS

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessAlhambra Fantasy 16.10.10, Lyon, France:Conservatoire de Lyon

Heaven is Shy ofEarth 26.11.10, Barbican, London, UK:Susan Bickley/BBC SymphonyOrchestra/Oliver Knussen

The Stations of the Sun15.12.10, Royal Festival Hall,London, UK: London PhilharmonicOrchestra/Jukka-Pekka Saraste

The Comedy ofChange17 & 18.12.10, Symphony Space,New York, USA: New YorkPhilharmonic Orchestra/AlanGilbert28.4.11, MuziekGebouw,Amsterdam, Netherlands: OliverKnussen/Asko/Schoenberg

The Crazed Moon19.3.11, Royal Festival Hall,London, UK: London PhilharmonicOrchestra/Vladimir Jurowski

For Anderson, 2010 is a year of consolidation andarrival. He was a recipient of two high-profilecommissions for anniversary celebrations, premiereda week apart. The LPO commissioned him to write ashort fanfare for 16 brass players, and as a commissionfrom Westminster Abbey, Anderson produced astunningly beautiful Bell Mass for SATB and organ,lasting 15 minutes.

But the highlight of the Anderson year for the6000 Prommers in the Albert Hall was the amazinglyassured and vibrant performance by the NYO of hisFantasias – a formidably virtuosic work commissionedby the Cleveland Orchestra, but receiving at this year’sBBC Proms its London premiere (see p.2). 2010 isalso the first year of the composer’s new relationshipas Composer in Residence to the LPO. Fantasias isalready programmed – with Principal ConductorVladimir Jurowski – and several earlier orchestralworks will grace each season at the Southbank for thenext three years.

Anniversary Compositions

350th Anniversary of the Royal SocietyJulian Anderson’s commission to write a short Fanfare to welcome HRH Queen Elizabeth II’s arrival at the350th anniversary of the Royal Society convocation atthe Royal Festival Hall on 23 June – one of this year’smany events recognising the remarkable contributionsthat the Royal Society has made towards the progressof science. Anderson’s father Professor ES Andersonwas a Royal Society Fellow and an eminentmicrobiologist, making this a particularly relevantcommission for the composer. Anderson aptly titledthe 3-minute Fanfare Transferable Resistance, anddescribes the work: ‘Instead of a purely conventionalfanfare, I have tried to convey something of theprofound excitement and adventure of scientificdiscovery, as well as the high moral standards of theRoyal Society’s Fellowship.’

During the event, HRH Prince William wasadmitted to the Royal Society in the company of HRHQueen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Westminster Abbey MassAnderson was commissioned by the Dean & Chapterof Westminster to mark the 450th anniversary of theAbbey’s Collegiate Charter (granted by Elizabeth in1560). Bell Mass was given a deeply committedperformance by the Choir of Westminster Abbey underJames O’Donnell on 29 June in a liturgicalperformance at a Sung Eucharist on the Abbey’spatronal feast day, and again in concert on 2 July.

Julian Anderson in conversation with James O’DonnellJJOO:: This is your first commission for WestminsterAbbey. How does it feel to be following in the footstepsof Purcell, Blow, Handel, and the many other illustriouscomposers who all wrote music for the Abbey?JJAA:: I am delighted to have been commissioned by theDean & Chapter to compose for this specialanniversary. I used to worship in the Abbey when I wasa pupil at Westminster School. Indeed, one of my mainmemories is of the loud Abbey bells ringing duringclasses.JJOO:: What was the particular inspiration for this work?JA: I was inspired by the space and height of thebuilding and have tried to capture these aspects in thesound of the piece, and also in the sections whenindividual singers chant at different speeds lending akaleidoscopic effect. I was also inspired by the Abbeybells, which suggested to me fresh forms of melodyand a new kind of melodic writing – a new simplicityand stillness.

‘The Comedy of Change’ US premiereNew York’s Metropolitan Museum features Anderson’sensemble work The Comedy of Change in their newmusic series ‘CONTACT!’ which “connects audienceswith some of the most interesting, innovative, andengaging music of our time”. The work will beperformed on 17 & 18 December by an ensemble ofNew York Philharmonic musicians within the intimatesetting of the museum, giving the work its USpremiere.

‘Heaven is Shy of Earth’ revivalJulian Anderson’s Heaven is Shy of Earth for mezzo-soprano, SATB choir and orchestra, based on poetry byEmily Dickinson was a huge success at its 2006premiere, with the Sunday Times describing it as ‘apowerful, beautiful and curious work’ and theGuardian praising its ‘shimmering soundworld’. Don’tmiss this chance to hear the world premiere of thecompleted version (now including a Gloria) alongsideideal companion pieces, Copland’s setting ofDickinson’s poetry and Sean Shepperd’s Wanderlust,a thrilling and exciting showpiece for orchestra. OliverKnussen conducts Susan Bickley and the BBCSymphony Orchestra at the Barbican on 26 November2010.

TUNING IN

9

JULIAN ANDERSON

JULIAN ANDERSON © MAURICE FOXALL

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessConcerto forClarinet No 2 28.8.10, Parish Church, SantPere Pescador, Spain: GeorginaFeary/Thames YouthOrchestra/Simon Ferris11.11.10, Seoul Culture & ArtsCenter: Prime PhilharmonicOrchestra/Bong Kim

Four CornishDances 30.8.10, BBC Proms, RoyalAlbert Hall, London, UK: BBCConcert Orchestra/Keith Lockhart

The Return ofOdysseus/Sweeney Todd16.10.10, Malcolm ArnoldFestival, St Matthew’s Church,Northampton, UK:

The ThreeMusketeers,12 & 28.1.11, 6 &.2.11,19.5.11, 9.6.11, EstonianNational Opera, Tallinn, Estonia:Ballet of the Estonian NationalBallet/ch. David Nixon/cond. JüriAlperten & Mihhail Gerts

‘Malcolm Arnold’ chosen for newacademy nameA new Academy is to be set up in Northampton in SirMalcolm Arnold’s name.

Over 400 students and staff proffered suggestionsto the David Ross Foundation who sponsor theAcademy, and by popular vote, Sir Malcolm’s namewas chosen. Chairman of the Foundation, David Ross,said “I have been delighted by the volume ofresponses from staff and students in relation to theacademy name. It is my belief that the academy nameshould be unique and celebrate the best ofNorthampton and that is precisely what Sir MalcolmArnold signifies. I would like to thank those studentsand staff for submitting so many suggestions.”

The new academy, which opened on 1 September2010 on the site of Unity College, Northampton willfocus on raising expectations of what students arecapable of achieving.

Malcolm Arnold Festival 2010The theme for the 5th Malcolm Arnold Festival in2010 is Stage and Screen. Ideal mediums for SirMalcolm’s gloriously colourful, evocative andmelodic music and a fascinating assortment ofincidental music will be showcased. One of the majorhighlights, is the performance of The Return ofOdysseus and the Sweeney Todd Suite with theNorthampton Symphony Orchestra and the AbingdonChoral Society under their conductor AlexanderWalker. The performance will take place on 16October at St Matthews Church in Northhampton.

90th Anniversary of Sir MalcolmArnold’s birth2011 is the 90th anniversary of Sir Malcolm Arnold’sbirth, for which many celebrations are organised.

Plans for Malcolm Arnold Festival in 2011 Paul Harris, the Artistic Director of the MalcolmArnold Festival, gives a sneak preview into thehighlights of next year’s anniversary Festival fromOctober 21st – 23rd at the Royal & Derngate,Northampton.

‘The Malcolm Arnold Festival will be celebratingSir Malcolm’s 90th with an appropriately grandgesture! The Festival will include all of his ninesymphonies. Arnold was undoubtedly a majorsymphonist: his very personal sense of musicalstructure and development and his self-proclaimed announcement that ‘all my music isautobiographical’ make these works enormouslyimportant within the corpus of 20th centuryBritish Music. I envisage the weekend not as aseries of concerts but as one continuous musicalexperience which will also include othercontemporary works, talks, discussions andgeneral celebratory offerings!’

Paul HarrisIn recognition of the anniversary, the brassdepartment of Wells Cathedral School is presenting,‘England Labour and Love’ – a special concert in Maywhich will feature Sir Malcolm’s works for brass.Wells Cathedral School is a DfES Specialist MusicSchool and coincidentally the Brass Department in2011 will also be celebrating its 25th anniversary as aDfES Specialist department, when the first brassspecialist, Matthew Gunner (horn) and CeriMcInally(tuba) arrived along with the current Head ofBrass Paul Denegri in 1986.

As Sir Malcolm Arnold was a distinguishedtrumpet player, there is an obvious connectionbetween these anniversaries. The concert willfeature, amongst others, all his brass unaccompaniedFantasies for trumpet, trombone, horn and tuba, hisTrumpet Concerto, various fanfares, his 2 brassquintets and Sir Malcom’s demanding Symphony forBrass.

The concert will be held in the school’s 16thcentury recital hall and features the BrassDepartments finest young musicians on the DfESspecialist music scheme.

Paul Denegri HonARAM FTCL LTCL

‘Four Cornish Dances’ at the BBC PromsOn 30 August, the BBC Concert Orchestra conductedby Keith Lockhart performed Sir Malcolm Arnold’sclassic Four Cornish Dances at this year’s Proms in aprogramme listed as ‘English classics and US pizzazz’.

Also in the programme were other British classicsWalton & Butterworth, and a new work by GrahamFitkin, followed by Bernstein, Gershwin and JohnWilliams.

‘For sonic thrill, though, nothing beat theconcert’s other Cornish souvenir, MalcolmArnold’s Four Cornish Dances. Rumbustious buttroubled, Arnold’s music was born to vibratethrough the Albert Hall.’

The Times (Geoff Brown), 1 September 201010

MALCOLM ARNOLD

MALCOLM ARNOLD © MAURICE FOXALL

‘… Arnold’s music was born tovibrate through the Albert Hall.’

TUNING IN

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessAt First Light 11.9.10, Stadthaus Winterthur,Switzerland: MusikkollegiumWinterthur/Douglas Boyd12.9.10, Schwaz, St Martin, Austria:Ensemble Modern/Franck Ollu25.9.10, Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ,Amsterdam: Concertgebouworchestra/George Benjamin

Fantasy on IambicRhythm 19.10.10, Queen Elizabeth Hall,London, UK: Pierre-Laurent Aimard23.11.10, Cologne Philharmonie,Cologne, Germany: Pierre-LaurentAimard

Into the Little Hill/Viola, Viola/ThreeMiniatures for SoloViolin/Flight(‘Into the Little Hill’ Spanishpremiere)2, 3.12.10, Gran Teatre del Liceu,Barcelona, Spain: LondonSinfonietta/cond. Frank Ollu/ClaireBooth/Susan Bickley

A Mind of Winter8.12.10, Stadthaus Winterthur,Switzerland: MusikkollegiumWinterthur/Douglas Boyd

Palimpsests 18.3.11, Archipel Festival, Geneva,Switzerland: Contrechamps/AlejoPerez

Into the Little Hill 26, 27.3.11, Hamburg, Germany:Hamburg Symphony Orchestra/JeffreyTate/Claire Booth/Susan Bickley

Upon Silence16.2.11, Royal College of Music,London: Theseus Ensemble

George Benjamin receives CBEFaber Music congratulates George Benjamin onreceiving a much deserved CBE for his services tomusic, in the Queen’s birthday honours list for 2010.

BENJAMIN FESTIVITIES!Benjamin’s 50th birthday celebrations hit a climaxthis summer when he featured at several prominentfestivals!

Ojai Festival, CaliforniaAs this year’s Music Director for California’s OjaiFestival, three of Benjamin’s works were heardduring the four-day, six-concert event, from 10-16June. Benjamin’s programming, the bulk of it playedby the Ensemble Modern, included Stravinsky’s TheSoldier’s Tale and the chamber version ofSchoenberg’s Five Pieces for Orchestra – as well asworks by composers closer to him both personallyand stylistically, including Messiaen, Ligeti, Boulezand Knussen. LA Times critic Mark Swed heraldedBenjamin as ‘a refined, generous musician of manysides’ and applauded Into the Little Hill.

Benjamin’s score gets under the skin. Shadowyinstruments – bass flute, contrabass clarinet, twobasset horns, mandolin, banjo, double bass –were made to sound weirdly light andinsubstantial. In diamond-like mysteriousinstrumental phrases, the sinister turned etherealthen mystical. A small masterpiece...

LA Times (Mark Swed)

Aldeburgh Festival, SuffolkThe Aldeburgh Festival began with a chance to revisitthe London Sinfonietta & the Opera Group’s stagingof Into the Little Hill, followed by an array of concertspresenting a broad scope of Benjamin’s oeuvre.

‘Susan Bickley sang Benjamin’s setting of WBYeats’s Long-legged Fly at its premiere. Twentyyears later, she reminded us why Upon Silenceremains one of the composer’s most profoundofferings. Like the slender opera Into the LittleHill, which transferred fluently for two

performances on the Maltings stage in JohnFulljames’s production, it draws on Benjamin’speerless ability to create tight structure from ahaze of colour, harmony from complex,intractable-seeming material, and brightinnovation from painstaking craftsmanship. Bothworks take music and its powers, often abused,for their main subject. It is a subject thatBenjamin’s contributions of the last threedecades or so have further deepened andennobled.’

The Guardian (Guy Damman), 21 June 2010

‘...At First Light (1982) was revealed as amasterpiece of the modern orchestral repertoire’.

Financial Times (Andrew Clark), 13 June 2010

Buxton Festival & Latitude Festival, SuffolkInto the Little Hill continued to marvel audiences thissummer hitting the festival scene on tour with theLondon Sinfonietta and the Opera Group to BuxtonFestival and Suffolk’s multi-arts festival Latitude,before arriving for a run of performances at theLinbury Studio in Covent Garden at the end of July.For this tour, Into the Little Hill was coupled withBerio’s rarely performed tour de force Recital 1.

Benjamin’s Music at the BBC Proms in 2010The London premiere of Benjamin’s Duet for pianoand orchestra was eagerly awaited since its 2008premiere in Lucerne, but at last on 2nd August,Pierre-Laurent Aimard wowed the BBC Promsaudiences with his performance of thisextraordinary and striking work. Jonathan Nottconducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

‘...Aimard laying out the grounds for discussionon which the orchestra built an elaborate song-and-dance. Even in the most florid passages,every piano note was precisely placed,generating a whirlwind of responses: a delightfulfragment of harp melody, baleful trombonerasps, a brief swoon from the strings.

Exuberance is not always a quality associatedwith Benjamin’s music; Duet has it in abundance.Fractured, jumpy figures hinted at the possibilityof dance without ever settling on a regularrhythm, while on the podium, Nott seemedforever on the verge of take-off, until thebarnstorming climax brought everything to ajuddering halt.’

The Evening Standard (Nick Kimberley), July 2010Benjamin’s music made a second appearance at theProms came just a few days later on 6 August, in theform of a late night concert to celebrate his 50th-birthday year. The programme combined music byBritish composers Knussen and Bedford, as well asBenjamin’s Three Inventions for Chamber Orchestra,alongside the UK premiere of Hans Abrahamsen’sWald. The concert was vividly executed by the BCMGconducted by the talented Ilan Volkov.

11

GEORGE BENJAMIN

‘…a refined,generous

musician ofmany sides’.

GEORGE BENJAMIN © MAURICE FOXALL

‘Into the LittleHill’ inBarcelonaBenjamin’s lyrictale continues itsgrand tour withthe LondonSinfonietta and theOpera Group, forits Spanishpremiere thisAutumn at theGrand Teater delLiceu inBarcelona,performedalongsidecompanion piecesViola, Viola, ThreeMiniatures forSolo Violin andFlight.

12

Dudamel premieres ‘CanzonasAmericanas’Gustavo Dudamel premiered Bermel’s latest work forlarge ensemble, Canzonas Americanas, in DisneyHall, Los Angeles on 4 May, part of a Green Umbrellaconcert given by the Los Angeles Philharmonic NewMusic Group. The work was commissioned for theoccasion by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.In four movements the 17-minute work explores “theinterconnectedness of North and South Americanmusical traditions.” As the composer writes:

“This was not a difficult task, as ourcultures are sonically intertwined, bothhistorically and contemporaneously.From Gershwin and Copland toEllington and Gillespie, many of ourtrailblazing composers have beenindelibly influenced by Latin music,and vice-versa. Apart from theirdistinct instrumentations, Afro-Brazilian and African-Americancompositions – such as Pixinguina’schôros and Joplin’s rags – can be

difficult to distinguish. My hometown of New Yorkhas become as much of a center for salsa andmerengue music as Havana or Santo Domingo, andthe U.S. as a whole is becoming more bilingual and

bicultural with each successive generation. Inpreparation for writing the piece, I returned to Brazilfor a month, where I spent days refamiliarizing myfingers with chôros, bossa nova, and sambastandards, at night jamming with friends in clubsaround Rio de Janeiro. In this way I reconnectedwith the South American spirit, and the piece nowfeels to me to be as much about memory as music.’

‘[Bermel’s] musical guidebook was by CharlesIves and William Bolcom. He threw styles andgenres around with abandon – and considerableskill.’

Los Angeles Times (Mark Swed), 5 May 2010

First orchestral disc has ongoing impactBermel’s first orchestral CD release (“Voices” on theBMOP Sound label) continues to garner criticalpraise:

‘Wonderful new music, all of it. Dust Dances ischarming and jazzy,and reminiscent ofBernstein at his mostrelaxed. ThracianEchoes is exotic andatmospheric, conjuringup visions of JohnFowles’ The Magus.Elixir is a moving and soothing interlude withwonderful antiphonal effects. Voices, aconversational concerto, features a range ofinterchanges between the composer’s soloclarinet and the orchestra, with an almostraunchily bluesy conclusion. Performances aretip-top, and the sound clear and immediate.One of the most refreshing discs in a while.’

Stereophile (Kalman Rubinson), June 2010

‘Cabaret Songs’ in DenmarkCrack Danish group the Figura Ensemble recentlyprogrammed Bermel’s Cabaret Songs, arranged forthe group in 2007. Figura performed the songs on 10June as part of the Athelas New Music Festival 2010 inCopenhagen.

DEREK BERMEL

DEREK BERMEL © JEROME EVERSON

‘Wonderful newmusic, all of it… Oneof the most refreshing

discs in a while.’

Faber Composers at Latitude FestivalThe Latitude Festival – a conglomeration of all the artforms and a feast for the senses, showcases events ina variety of live music, poetry, theatre, dance andcomedy, and for the first time this year staged worksby Faber Music composers. George Benjamin’s Intothe Little Hill toured with the Opera Group & LondonSinfonietta this summer, and stopped at Latitude forsome festival drama on Sunday 18 July. JohnWoolrich’s evocative Ulysses Awakes was performedby violist Rob Ames and the London ContemporaryOrchestra conducted by Hugh Brunt at the Film andMusic Arena on 16 July.

‘He threwstyles and

genresaround withabandon –

andconsiderable

skill.’

PHOTO CREDIT: VIOLIST ROBERT AMES AND MUSICIANS OF THE LCO PERFORM WOOLRICH’S ‘ULYSSES AWAKES AT LATITUDE FESTIVAL © JANA CHIELLINO AND BRUCE ATHERTON

13

TUNING IN

‘Death in Venice’ in Canada & ItalyA run of eight performances of Death in Venice isplanned for October 2010 in Toronto’s FourSeasons Centre for the Performing Arts, performedby the Canadian Opera Company, in a productiondirected by Yoshi Oida (previously seen atAldeburgh Festival in 2007).

The opera will also appear at La Scala in Milan,in March 2011, directed by Deborah Warner, with astar-studded cast of singers: Ian Bostridge, PeterColeman-Wright and Iestyn Davies, alongside theresident orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner(This was the production premiered by ENO in2007).

Reissue of String Quartets discThe 1990 recording of Britten’s string quartets 1-3by the Britten Quartet has been re-released byBrilliant Classics in an attractive new volume.Critics praised the re-release with 5 star reviews.

‘This survey of Benjamin Britten’s quartet musichas tremendous authority and verve in theearlier pieces, and almost unbearablepoignancy in the final passacaglia of QuartetNo. 3

5* review in BBC Music Magazine BBC Music Magazine (Calum MacDonald), September 2010

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceess Safety Last 30.10.10, Atwood Concert Hall,Anchorage, AL, USA: AnchorageSymphony Orchestra

The Iron Mask 3.12.10, BirminghamSymphony Hall, UK: CBSO

The Rink 18.1.11, Bedford CornExchange, UK: PhilharmoniaOrchestra/cond. Carl Davis19.1.11, De Montfort HallLeicester, UK: PhilharmoniaOrchestra/cond. Carl Davis

(Danish premiere)3, 4.2.11, Koncertsalon Alsion,Sonderborg, Denmark:SønderjyllandsSymfonieorkester/cond. CarlDavis

The General 22.1.11, Princes Hall,Aldershot, UK: FarnboroughSymphony Orchestra/cond.Mark FitzGerald

The Immigrant 20.2.11, Cité de la Musique,Paris, France: Carl Davis

The Lady of theCamellias *.2.11, Croatian NationalTheatre in Zagreb, Croatia: BaletHNK u Zagrebu/chor. DerekDeane/cond. Dian Tchobanov

The Phantom ofthe Opera 27.3.11, Royal Festival Hall,London, UK: PhilharmoniaOrchestra/Carl Davis

Ballade for Celloand Orchestra (world premiere)30.4.11, Philharmonic Hall,Liverpool, UK: JonathanAasgaard/Royal LiverpoolPhilhamonic Orchestra/CarlDavis

Aladdin 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.5.11, NewNational Theatre, Tokyo, Japan:chor. David Bintley/cond.PaulMurphy/New National Ballet

BBeennjjaammiinn BBrriitttteenn:: SSeelleecctteedd ffoorrtthhccoommiinngg ppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessThe Sword in the Stone: Concert Suite 23.9.10, , UK: Chamber Orchestra Anglia

Death In Venice 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31.10.10 & 3, 6.11.10, The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto,Canada: Canadian Opera Company/cond. Steuart Bedford/dir. Yoshi Oida5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17.3.11, La Scala, Milan, Italy: dir. Deborah Warner/cond. Edward Gardner/IanBostridge/Peter Coleman-Wright/Iestyn Davies

The Burning Fiery Furnace3, 5.2.11, St Francis in the Fields, Prospect, KY, USA: Kentucky Opera/dir. Thomas Smillie/cond. JimRightmyer

Curlew River 12.2.11, Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Albuquerque, NM, USA: Canticum Novum ChamberOrchestra/cond. Kenneth Knight13.2.11, USA: Canticum Novum Chamber Orchestra/cond. Kenneth Knight

BENJAMIN BRITTEN CARL DAVIS

CARL DAVIS © RICHARD CANNON

From Lichfield to Liverpool and from Kuala Lumpurto Washington, Carl Davis keeps up a hecticschedule of travel, presenting a variety ofprogrammes to packed houses – Bond to Beatles –and of course his own uniquely programmedconcerts along with silent film presentations.

‘The Iron Mask’Closer to home Davis presents Allan Dwan’s 1929The Iron Mask in Symphony Hall, Birmingham on 3December. It’s a silent swashbuckling adventurestarring Douglas Fairbanks, one of the all-actionstars of the pre-talkie era.

There’s a scheming Cardinal, an evil count,kidnappings, and plenty of sword-fighting – all theingredients needed for a great sequel to The ThreeMusketeers.

16 June 2012 Hallé – OratorioconfirmedOn a more serious note, Davis is now at work on animportant commission from the Hallé Orchestra fora 45-minute work for orchestra, children’s choir,speaking chorus and two actors. Davis iscollaborating with author Hiawyn Oram to createThe Last Train to Tomorrow. Based on the‘Kindertransport’ movement in 1938/39, the piecewill chart the journey Jewish children took toescape Nazi Germany, to the safety of British fosterfamilies. The premiere is planned for 16 June 2012.

‘Ballade’ for Cello and OrchestraDavis’ next work for orchestra will be a celloconcerto for the Royal Liverpool PhilharmonicOrchestra. This ‘Ballade’ will be programmedunder his baton on 30 April 2011, with the RoyalLiverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and cellistJonathan Aasgaard taking the solo part.

14

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessWild Card(world premiere)8.9.10, Royal Albert Hall,London, UK: BBC SymphonyOrchestra

salt box/grindshow (electric)/neon 8.9.10, Royal College of Music,London, UK: students fromGuildhall School of Music9.10.10, Aldeburgh Studio,Snape: Azalea Ensemble, ChrisAustin

neon/salt box23.10.10, Brussels, Belgium:Musiques Nouvelles, Jean-PaulDessy

neon(Croatian premiere)4.10.10, Vatroslav Lisinskiconcert hall, Zagreb, Croatia:Cantus Ensemble

As with Voices andwith Tears/Residuum(world premiere of ‘As withVoices and with Tears’)14.11.10, Portsmouth Cathedral,UK: Portsmouth GrammarSchool/London Mozart Players

neon/salt box23.11.10, Brussels, Belgium:Ensemble MusiqueNouvelle/Jean-Paul Dessy

Iris/Falling Angel 5.12.10, CBSO Centre,Birmingham, UK : BirminghamContemporary Music Group/PeterRundel/Simon Haram

Hinterland6.2.11, CBSO Centre,Birmingham: BCMG, NicholasCollon

New Discs with NMC & Non-Classical!A disc containing some of Davies’ most ambitious andcomplex works is currently in the planning stageswith NMC. Iris and Falling Angel should be featured.Meanwhile, the alternative ‘Nonclassical’ label is set torelease such twisted funk hybrids as neon, salt box 2,Dark Ground, and Grind Show (electric), plus theenigmatic troubadour song cycle Women In Love, andremixes of her work by other artists.

Faber Music Publishing More DaviesFaber Music has taken on some earlier works byDavies, including her chamber ensemble works InsideOut II, Salt Box and Grind Show. For completelistings, please see www.fabermusic.com.

‘As with Voices and with Tears’Davies experiments further with live electronics laterin the year for a new work with SATB choir and stringorchestra As with Voices and with Tears. PortsmouthGrammar School commissioned Davies for aRememberance Sunday commemoration concert – theschool’s resident choir is coupling with the LondonMozart Players and Andrew Cleary to perform the 23-minute work at Portsmouth Cathedral on Sunday 14November. The music is set to Walt Whitman’s Dirgefor Two Veterans – a fitting and emblematic tribute tothe veterans who fought in World Wars I & II.

Also performed on the evening is Davies’ earlierwork Residuum (2004) for two solo violins, solo celloand strings.

‘Falling Angel’ revived by BCMGDavies’ 17-minute work for 17 players Falling Angelwas first performed by the BirminghamContemporary Music Group in 2007, conducted byThomas Adès, and toured to Paris. The work wasdescribed by Paul Conway (Tempo magazine) as“Fanfares and marches fuelled dense, multi-layeredtextures… there was an ever-present sense of danger,of teeting on the brink”. The BCMG ensemble andPeter Rundel revive the work in Birmingham thisDecember, along with Davies’ Iris.

Australian CO premieres ‘PopcornSuperhet Receiver’Under the leadership of Artistic Director, RichardTognetti, the Australian Chamber Orchestra gave theAustralian premiere performances of Greenwood’sPopcorn Superhet Receiver in May and June this year(six performances in total):

‘The work’s inventive use of musical effectsglissando, tremolo, Bartok pizzicato has beenwidely discussed. But the exploration of texture isjust as important.

For most of the piece, soft repeated notescreate stratums of buzzing lines out of whichmelodic tendrils emerge and dissolve sometimessolos, sometimes in larger groupings creating arippling, wave-like effect.

Tognetti and the orchestra performed thisintricately detailed, multi-layered work withscrupulous clarity, focus and precision.’

The Australian (Murray Black), 1 June 2010

‘Popcorn Superhet Receiver’ in printWe are delighted to announce that the full score ofPopcorn Superhet Receiver is now available on sale.See p 24 for further details.

Wordless Music to stage US premiere of‘Doghouse’Trail-blazing US promoter Wordless Music are to givethe US premiere of Greenwood’s new orchestralpiece, Doghouse, in Spring 2011 as part of their NewYork season. Details to follow.

Greenwood to score film of Murakami’s‘Norwegian Wood’The score of Doghouse will also inform Greenwood’slatest film score, to Vietnamese director Tran AnhHung’s’s adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s celebratednovel ‘Norwegian Wood’. The film is released inJapan in October of this year.

TANSY DAVIES JONNY GREENWOOD

TANSY DAVIES © MAURICE FOXALL

TUNING IN

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessDum transissetsabbatum 4.9.10, BBC Proms, CadoganHall, London, UK: BBCSingers/David Hill

Bhakti 18.9.10, Flanders, Belgium:Ictus Ensemble

Messages (Netherlands premiere)25.9.10, AmsterdamConcertgebouw, Amsterdam,Netherlands: Groot Omroepkoor/Radio FilharmonischOrkest/James Gaffigan

Nataraja 3.10.10, Festival Musica, Sallede la Bourse, Austria: MarioCaroli/Erika Hashimoto

Come Holy Ghost 14.11.10, Walt Disney ConcertHall, Los Angeles, CA, USA:Millennium ConsortSingers/Martin Neary

String Quartet no 317.12.10, IRCAM Espace deProjection, Paris, France: DiotimaQuartet

Ah! Sun-flower 1.3.11, Purcell Room, London,UK: Claire Booth/AndrewMatthews-Owen

Hidden Voice 2/Wheel ofEmptiness/Scena/The Riot4.3.11, Betty Oliphant Theatre,Toronto, Canada: New MusicConcerts Ensemble

Speakings (Swiss premiere)18.3.11, Geneva, Switzerland:Ensemble Contrechamps/AlejoPerez

15

Harvey takes ‘80 Breaths for Tokyo’Harvey’s intrinsic spirituality and connections withBuddhist traditions are often conveyed through hismusic, providing him with a natural following in theeast, especially in Japan whose population is 94%Buddhist.

It seems a simple choice then that Harvey wasembraced as the ‘themed’ composer for Tokyo’sInternational Program for Music Composition inAugust 2010. His ensemble repertoire was first onthe roster, performed at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall on 26August, in a concert featuring his String Quartet No 4,Hidden Voice II plus his latest ensemble workSringara Chaconne. The concert was performed bystring quartet Quatro Piacerri and members from theTokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

The centre-piece of these celebrations was thecommission from Suntory Hall’s, ‘Music for Today 2’Summer Festival, for an orchestral work. For thisHarvey produced 80 Breaths for Tokyo, which waspresented by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestraunder Ryusake Numajiri on 30 August, in aprogramme which also included his strikingorchestral work Body Mandala. Harvey explains hisideas for this new work:

“Breathing, in one form or another, is behind allmusic. However distant, breathing always has arelationship to music. Yoga students use it to masterthe body, Buddhists to master the mind, andtherapies of all sorts realise that one must step backfrom one’s habitual ignoring of the act of breathingin order to become more deeply aware. When a largebody of people breathe in synchrony the effect isritualistic, whether it be sacred or a politicaldemonstration. Neurologists are finding powerfulneuronal synchrony in many human rites and socialevents. 80 Breaths for Tokyo is partly the result ofthe practice of Zen breathing, and partly the resultof listening to slow music and enjoying its powerover the mind and body. The orchestra somehowmirrors the infinitely variable, infinitely subtle andcoloured ambiguity of breath.”

Praise for ‘Speakings’ disc Between 2005 and 2008, Jonathan Harvey was theBBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s composer-in-association. The final and most ambitious work tocome out of that collaboration (which also involvedIRCAM) was Speakings, for large orchestra andelectronics, first performed at the Proms in 2008 bythe BBCSSO and Ilan Volkov, the final part of a trilogythat Harvey built around the Buddhist concept ofpurification. Andrew Clements from The Guardianpraised the disc.

‘As the title suggests,this work deals withthe purification ofspeech, but usingcomputer analysis,Harvey attempts tofind a way oftranslating theinflections of speech into the vocabulary oforchestral instruments. The theory is immenselycomplex, but Harvey’s musical use of it is oftenstrikingly direct, and the recording reveals thesheer physical impact and strange beauty of hisorchestral writing…‘

The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 24 June 2010

Swiss premiere of ‘Speakings’The numerous accolades which Harvey received inhis 70th year included the Prince Pierre of MonacoPrize for Speakings. The Agora Festival in Parisprogrammed the work in this year’s festival in June2010, and the forthcoming Swiss premiere on 18March 2011 in Geneva, is to be performed byEnsemble Contrechamps, conducted by Alejo Perez.

‘Messages’ getting through!Messages is soon to receive its Netherlands premiereon 25 September at the Concertgebouw inAmsterdam with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkestconducted by young American conductor JamesGaffigan.

All Harvey concert planned in CanadaThe New Music Concerts Ensemble in Canada havere-organised their earlier concert, which wascancelled due to Harvey being taken ill in 2009. Theynow plan a full programme of his works including theworld premiere of ensemble work Vajra by thegamUT ensemble conducted by Norbert Palej at theUniversity of Toronto on Friday 4 March 2011.

The commission was from the University ofToronto where Jonathan Harvey will be the Michaeland Sonja Koerner Distinguished Visiting Composer.The concert will be preceded by a public talk byHarvey. Also programmed are Hidden Voice 2, Wheelof Emptiness, Scena and The Riot, for performance on4 March 2011 at the Betty Oliphant Theatre inToronto.

JONATHAN HARVEY

JONATHAN HARVEY © MAURICE FOXALL

‘…the recordingreveals the sheerphysical impact

and strange beautyof his orchestral

writing…’

Agora Festivalreview of‘Speakings’

Aidé par uneinformatiquediscrète, Il rendle matériauassez malléablepour épouserles contoursphonétiques debribes dephrases. Al’evidence,Harvey réussitson pari aveccette pagetroublante quicontournehabilement lecaractèreanecdotique del’experienceDiapason, September

2010

‘Energy’ premieres at EdinburghFestivalHindson travelled to the Edinburgh InternationalFestival in September this year, to attend theconcert premiere of Energy, the first movement ofhis award-winning score to David Bintley’scommissioned ballet, E=mc!. Vladimir Ashkenazyconducted the Sydney SO on 2 September, whilstelsewhere in the festival, Hindson’s scintillatingLittle Chrissietina’s Magic Fantasy for violin andpiano was given by Australian artists, Duo Sol.

‘After the break all hell broke loose in MatthewHindson’s head-banging, foot-stomping littleessay, Energy, which was a bit like the Rite ofSpring crashing into Isobel Gowdie and theMiraculous Mandarin in the east end ofGlasgow on a wild Saturday night; an electricand thrilling piece.’

The Herald, 3 September 2010

Canadian Launch for ‘Violin Concerto’Lara St John bowled over the Canadian audienceand press alike when she gave the North American

premiere of Hindson’s virtuosicViolin Concerto on 27 May. Theevent was part of the “Hear andNow” festival being staged bythe Calgary PhilharmonicOrchestra:

‘Even if you were familiarwith St. John’s interpretationof the work on her acclaimed

recent CD, you couldn’t help being bowledover by hearing it performed live. Theconcerto is a lively work – brimming withhumour, brashness and excitement in its outermovements, and filled with pastoral beauty inits slow movement. A virtual crazy quilt ofmusical references – Hindson comes across inthis piece as a kind of latterday FrancisPoulenc, drawing on everyone from Philip

Glass, Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein, say,to Darius Milhaud and Bizet (the crazy“drunken” quotes from Carmen near the endof the piece) – the concerto avoids beingmerely pastiche, thanks to the committed andvery expressive playing of St. John, who bringsout the underlying sincerity of purpose andremarkable craftsmanship in the work.’

Calgary Herald (Bob Clark), 28 May 2010St John gives the US premiere of the ViolinConcerto with the Rochester PO on 17 and 19February 2011, under the baton of SarahIoannides.

‘Kalkadungu’ at Colorado MusicFestivalDidjeridu virtuoso William Barton visited theColorado Music Festival on 5 and 6 August, wherehe was centre-stage for the US premiereperformances of Kalkadungu, the work he co-wrote with Matthew Hindson, and in which hestars on didjeridu, voice and electric guitar.Michael Christie conducted the Festival Orchestra.

‘… this piece is completely centered on Bartonand his art. The orchestral parts (whichinclude actual rustling branches) coincidedeliciously with his improvisational style, whichseems random but is very much not. And hedidn’t just blow on his didge. He also playedelectric guitar, clacked claves, and vocalized.’

The Daily Camera (Kelly Dean Hansen), 8 June 2010

Australian Ensemble commissionHindson is currently working on a commission formixed chamber ensemble, from Justice JaneMathews OA, for the Australia Ensemble, to bepremiered in Sydney on 23 October.

ACO premieres ‘Crime & Punishment’Crime and Punishment, a 10-minute work fordouble-bass and strings, has been commissionedby Barbara Blackman for the Australian ChamberOrchestra, with soloist, Maxime Bibeau (the ACO’sprincipal bass). It premiered in Wollongong on 11March, the launch of a 12-date Australian tour.

‘The Metallic Violins’: Now on CDHindson’s virtuosic work for violin duo, TheMetallic Violins, is now out on a Tall Poppies disc,in performance by James Cuddeford and NatsukoYoshimoto:

‘… the fun, flamboyant showpiece of thecollection. It borrows the technique of“shredding” from heavy metal, in which guitarsolos are played at breakneck speed. Stagysliding and scratchy effects on both violinsemulate an electric guitar in full flight.’

The Australian (Graham Strahle), 27 March 2010

16

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessNew work(world premiere)16.9.2010, Riverside Theatre,Parramatta, NSW, Australia:Australian ChamberOrchestra/Parramatta StringPlayers

Nintendo Music(Singaporean premiere)27.9.2010, Conservatory ofMusic, National University ofSingapore, Singapore: MarcelLuxen

(Malaysian premiere)6.10.2010, Dewan FilharmonikPetronas, Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia: Marcel Luxen

New work(world premiere)23.10.2010, Sir John ClancyAuditorium, University of NewSouth Wales, Sydney, Australia:Australia Ensemble

DangerousCreatures(two movements only)26-29.10.2010 & 16-19.11.2010, Eugene GoossensHall, ABC Ultimo Centre, Sydney,NSW, Australia: SydneySinfonia/Richard Gill

Concerto for Violin(AustralianPostcards)(US premiere)17 & 19.2.2011, EastmanTheater ,Rochester, NY, USA:Lara St John/Rochester PO/SarahIoannides

MATTHEW HINDSON

‘…brimming withhumour, brashness andexcitement in its outermovements, and filled

with pastoral beauty inits slow movement. ‘

MATTHEW HINDSON © MAURICE FOXALL

TUNING IN

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessSuns Dance 30.9.10, Music of Today, RoyalFestival Hall, London, UK:Philharmonia/Diego Masson

Hidden Variables (orchestral version) (Italianpremiere)1.10.10, Arena di Verona, Italy:Orchestra Arena di Verona

Violin Concerto (Polish premiere)*.10.10, Poland: LeilaJosefowicz/tbc

La fille au cheveuxde lin21.10.10, Manchester Cathedral,Manchester, UK: Chetham’sSerenata Strings/CatherinePerkins

Des pas sur laneige/Lacathédraleengloutie/Feuxd’artifice 1.12.10, Royal Festival Hall,London, UK: LondonPhilharmonic Orchestra/VladimirJurowski

Violin Concerto 4.12.10, Miami, USA: LeilaJosefowicz/Oliver Knussen/NewWorld Symphony

(Finnish premiere)19.1.11, , Finland: FinnishRadio Orchestra/LeilaJosefowicz/Sakari Oramo*.3.11, Germany: LeilaJosefowicz/Frankfurt RadioSO/Hugh Wolff

Seven Fauré Songs (world premiere)9.2.11, Younger Hall, StAndrews, UK: SallyMatthews/Scottish ChamberOrchestra/Robin ticciati

Out in the dark 1.3.11, Purcell Room, London,UK: Claire Booth/AndrewMatthews-Owen

17

‘Violin Concerto’ at the PromsOliver Knussen is known for his highly individual andstimulating concert planning, and so it proved in hisBBC SO Prom on 28 July, which featured the Londonpremiere of Colin Matthews’ Violin Concerto (aFeeney Trust commission). The new work waspresented alongside a diverse collection of repertoireby Stockhausen, Birtwistle, Zimmermann and LukeBedford.

Since the premiere in Birmingham lastSeptember, ambassador for new music and virtuosoviolinist Leila Josefowicz, has toured the violinconcerto to four European countries, ensuring abroad public profile. Josefowicz performed her solopart from memory standing out against an orchestrawhich features a lively percussion section. Criticsfound the new concerto to be ‘mercurial’ and‘luxuriant’.

‘The mostsubstantial wasColin Matthews’Violin Concerto,receiving itsLondon premiere.The first of its twomovements is byturns reflective and mercurial, its scoringdemonstrating Matthews’ fine ear for orchestralsonority. The second movement is an eloquentrhapsody for the solo violin, pitted againstrepeated notes at first unobtrusive but becomingmore insistent.

The dialogue generates a powerful drama inwhich Leila Josefowicz was impassioned andcommunicative.’

The Evening Standard (Barry Millington), 29 July 2010

‘Colin Matthews’s Violin Concerto, here receivingits London premiere, is daring in its anti-heroicquality. The solo violin floats like an airy spiritover an orchestral haze, only gradually acquiringenergy and weight, and the orchestral music,

too, darts at shapes and sounds rather thanuttering them plainly.

…The second movement is a differentproposition, its solemn tolling chords creating apowerfully luxuriant melancholy.’

Daily Telegraph (Ivan Hewett), 29 July 2010

‘…Matthews’s concerto is a substantial work, itsintrospective refusal to do conventional concertothings seeming every bit as impressive here as itdid at its Birmingham premiere last autumn.’

The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 30 July 2010The Violin Concerto is still touring, and will visit theUSA’s West Coast, Finland and Germany over the next6 months.

In a composer profile event which preceded theBBC Prom performance, a sequence of instrumentalworks reminded us of Matthews’ ability to writemusic on a smaller scale. Cellist Jonathan Reesperformed Matthews’ Third Duo and his FirstEnigma, while young violinist Charlotte Reid judgedmomentum in Chaconne and Moto perpetuo andviolist Robert Ames conveyed the ephemeral mannerof Scorrevole and the incandescent Calmo.

Debussy Préludes on double-discAt the turn of the 21st century, Matthews graduallyorchestrated all 24 of Debussy’s piano preludes as acommission from the Hallé. The Hallé’s own recordlabel issued recordings of the preludes as theybecame available, and have now released a bumperCD of both volumes for Debussy/Matthewsenthusiasts. See page 24 for more information.

‘Matthews’ creative finesse is remarkable: thepieces aren’t simply dressed in orchestral clothes,rather sensitively re-imagined for an expandedpalette of refined colours by a giftedcontemporary composer.’

The Times Playlist (Geoff Brown), 17-23 July 2010

‘Seven Fauré Songs’Matthews orchestrated a selection of seven Faurésongs as a commission from the Scottish ChamberOrchestra. The world premiere takes place on 11February 2011, performed by soprano Sally Matthewsand the SCO, conducted by Robin Ticciati, at St.Andrew’s Younger Hall in Edinburgh.

‘Turning Point’ at TanglewoodMatthews headed to the Tanglewood ContemporaryMusic Festival in Boston this summer for the USpremiere of his orchestral work Turning Pointpresented by the Tanglewood Music CenterOrchestra conducted by Cristian Macelaru.

‘Turning Point comes out with guns blazingbefore settling down into calmer states, stillcharged with nervous energy.’

The Berkshire Eagle (Andrew L.Pincus), 18 August 2010We await a UK premiere for this, the composer’s mostrecent piece for orchestra.

COLIN MATTHEWS

‘…reflective andmercurial, its scoring

demonstratingMatthews’ fine ear fororchestral sonority…’

COLIN MATTHEWS © MAURICE FOXALL

‘Winter Passions’ is Editor’s ChoiceWinter Passions – Matthews’ latest disc on NMC is‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone’s October Issue. Thedisc features The Nash Ensemble in a selection of hisvocal & chamber works including Terrible Beauty, awork for mezzo-soprano and ensemble, beautifullysung by Susan Bickley, while baritone Stephen Logesgives a weighty rendition of Matthews’ Winter Passions.Other works exquisitely performed are his ClarinetQuartet, Marina, and both String Trios 1 & 2.

‘Dark Pastoral’ a Vaughan WilliamsinspirationOn 5 September, a day-long tribute to Proms founder-conductor Henry Wood was presented in the form of aLast Night programme from a century ago. While theparade of short popular classics programmed in thisconcert truly recalled Proms concerts of another age,the BBC Proms also continued Wood’s commitment tonew works – asking David Matthews to extend andrecompose the short unfinished Vaughan Williams celloconcerto for Steven Isserlis. The new work begins with4 minutes of the original slow movement, which isthen developed by Matthews in a different direction.Steven Isserlis was accompanied by the BBC ConcertOrchestra under Paul Daniel.

String Quartets on disc Ever a willing exponent of sonata form, DavidMatthews is currently composer of no less thaneleven string quartets (as well, of course, of sevensymphonies). Four of the quartets are featured onthe new Kreutzer Quartet’s CD, which is attractingappreciative reviews:

‘…The Fourth (1981) is a pastoral-romantic workwith an appealing modern edge, while the three-movement Sixth (1991) and two-movement Tenth(2001) are eloquently discursive and moodilyastringent. There’s also a stand-alone Adagio(1990), which falls somewhere between Beethovenand Butterworth. These excellent performancesleave me looking forward to Volume 2.’

Financial Times (Andrew Clark), 26 June 2010

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceess::DDaavviidd MMaatttthheewwssDark Pastoral (world premiere)5.9.10, BBC Proms, Royal AlbertHall, London, UK: Steven Isserlis/BBCConcert Orchestra/Paul Daniel

Symphony No 7 (London premiere)19.10.10, St John’s, Smith Square,London, UK: Kensington SymphonyOrchestra/Russell Keable

New Work: (world premiere)March 2011, Wigmore Hall, London,UK: Nash Ensemble

‘Sophie’s Choice’ – Discof the Month in OperaMagazineThe release of Sophie’sChoice on an Opus Arte DVDhas prompted considerableappreciation of this seminalwork.

‘…there are manypassages of exquisitelyricism… Maw’s music –rooted in a confident,mobile combination ofrecitative and ariosomoves the action forwardwith fluency and flow…The performances are atriumph… Here, then, is a DVD that does amplejustice to a work not just of serious purpose andgreat integrity, but one that makes a valiant effortto speak back to the unspeakable. It will

generously repayrepeated viewings.’

Opera Magazine (ChristopherBallantine), June 2010

‘One of the most strikingaspects of the productionis its musicalexcellence… Maw’sopera strikes me… as athoughtful and thought-provoking piece of

musical theatre… a bold and daring attempt tofashion a valid operatic setting for one of the keyAmerican novels of the 20th Century… it isunquestionably the last major statement by one ofthe foremost British composers of his generationand, as such, this release warrants seriousconsideration; it can be strongly recommended.’

Tempo (Paul Conway), July 2010

18

DAVID MATTHEWS NICHOLAS MAW

‘One of the moststriking aspects ofthe production is

its musicalexcellence…’

‘…a bold anddaring attempt to

fashion a validoperatic setting for

one of the keyAmerican novels ofthe 20th Century’

DAVID MATTHEWS © MAURICE FOXALL NICHOLAS MAW © MAURICE FOXALL

Editors Choice!

‘Matthews’ability to writemusic which isnot merely“upbeat“ butexpressivelywide-rangingand emotionallyexuberant isheard here at itsbest…Performancevalues are of thehighestthroughout thisdisc.’

Gramophone (Arnold Whittall),

October 2010

5* review!

‘The writing hasmany ofMatthews’familiarstrengths: a finesensuousimagination…an equally clearsense of organicdevelopment ofideas… It’s hardto imagine thismusic played,sung orrecorded better.’

BBC Music Magazine(Stephen Johnson),

October 2010

TUNING IN

‘String Quartet No. 18’ at EIF!A trip to the UK beckoned when Sculthorpe’s latestString Quartet (No 18!) from his extensive anthologywas performed by the Toyko Quartet at this year’sEdinburgh International Festival. The composer, now alively 81, travelled across the globe to be present forthe performance. The Australian-based FlindersQuartet who co-commissioned the work with theEdinburgh Festival, gave the world premiere inAustralia in June 2010.

‘…an enthralling piece that tackled some meatyissues, unfolding landscapes of solitude anddesolation while at the same time revealing itsfearless composer as a full-blooded Romantic inhis open-hearted lyricism and conjuring of soaringmelodies.’

The Herald (Michael Tumelty), 3 September 2010

This explored the topical issue of climate change inmusical language which combined the best ofwestern traditions with the haunting indigenouschants and songs of the South Pacific… thedistinctive quality of Sculthorpe’s individual voicemade for a compelling and refreshing work.

The Scotsman (Susan Nickalls), 3 September 2010Also at the festival was a performance of Sculthorpe’sorchestral piece Memento Mori, given by the SydneySymphony Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

‘…then there was Memento Mori by the grand oldman of Australian music, Peter Sculthorpe, whowas present to hear his massive, fantastic rock of apiece, a slow, elegiac structure through which theDies Irae floats like a spectre, wonder-fully-played,with huge intensity and a well-gauged rise andfall.’

The Herald (Michael Tumelty), 3 September 2010

‘Peter Sculthorpe … was there to acknowledge thewarm applause for his 1993 Memento Mori, asombre eco-fantasy on the Dies irae, written as atribute to the doomed 17th-century residents ofEaster Island.’

The Times (Hilary Finch), 3 September 2010

‘Violin Concerto’ for Australian YouthOrchestraCarl’s new Violin Concerto, commissioned by theHon. Jane Mathews AO, will be premiered by DeneOlding and the Australian Youth Orchestra withconductor Thomas Dausgaard at the Sydney OperaHouse on 20 and 21 July 2011, in the SydneySymphony Orchestra’s Meet The Music series.

‘The Silver Rose’The Australian Ballet toured Vine’s music earlierthis year with Graeme Murphy’s brilliant ballet TheSilver Rose, a re-interpretation of the famous operascenario, Der Rosenkavalier, by Hugo vonHoffmannsthal.

Vine wove together individual pieces from hispersonal body of work to create a final score. Eachpiece comes from different periods spanning twodecades, but Vine has melted them together to forma cohesive whole. The Australian Ballet’s seasonhas now concluded.

Australian String QuartetThe Australian String Quartet presented a NationalComposers Forum at the University of Adelaide 27-29 August, 2010. Vine was compositional adviser forthe forum, and presented a workshop with the ASQon his third string quartet.

New work ‘Piano 4 Hands’Vine’s new work Sonata for Piano 4 Hands will beplayed by pianists John Chen and Ian Munro at themorning concert on 27 November at this year’sHuntington Estate Music Festival in Mudgee, NewSouth Wales, Australia.

‘Pipe Dreams’Sinfonietta Riga’s 2010/11 concert season opens on24 September at the Great Guild Hall in Latvia withCarl’s flute concerto Pipe Dreams performed byflautist Patrick Gallois under conductor Normunds!ne.

CCaarrll VViinnee::SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessPipe Dreams 26.9.10, Riga Great Guild Hall,Latvia: Sinfonietta Riga

PercussionSymphony(Spanish premiere)13.10.10, Palau de la Musica,Valencia, Spain: tbc

Sonata for PianoFour Hands 27.11.10, Huntington EstateMusic Festival, Mudgee, NSW,Australia: Ian Munro/John Chen

PPeetteerrSSccuulltthhoorrppee::SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessNew Norcia 1.11.10, City Recital Hall,Angel Place, Sydney,Australia: SydneySinfonia/Richard Gill

Second Sonatafor Strings(German premiere)11.11.10, Burghausen,Germany: BurghauserKammerorchester/AnnaKesting

19

PETER SCULTHORPE CARL VINE

PETER SCULTHORPE © MAURICE FOXALL CARL VINE © KAREN STEAINS

Woolrich takes up several new posts in the UK thisSummer including Artistic Director at DartingtonInternational Music Festival, Professor of Music atBrunel University and Artistic Director at the 2010Leicester International Festival, where he will beinjecting his musical and directorial expertise intothe veins of these establishments.

Leicester International Music FestivalOboist Nick Daniel describes Woolrich as “a majorforce in new music” as well as “someone with aprofound love of music and a great understandingof the way music can affect people’s lives”. It is forthis reason that this year Woolrich has been enlistedas the festival’s Composer-in-Residence, and has hadmany of his chamber works woven into therepertoire.

Leicester commissioned an Oboe Quintet fromWoolrich which was performed in the Festival anumber of years ago, which is revived this yearpreceded by a special pre-concert talk by thecomposer. Also scheduled are performances of

Woolrich’s small-scale repertoire, The Kingdom ofDreams, The Night will not draw on, A Singing Sky,and Three Capriccios for Oboe.

Woolrich at Latitude FestivalThe evocative string orchestra pieces UlyssesAwakes was performed by violist Robert Ames andthe London Contemporary Orchestra to hugecrowds, conducted by Hugh Brunt at Latitude’s Filmand Music Arena on 16 July.

Britten Sinfonia tour ‘Another StaircaseOverture’The Britten Sinfonia have organised an exclusivetour of Woolrich’s string orchestra work AnotherStaircase Overture in February 2011. A variety ofUK venues on the schedule include DartingtonGreat Hall; West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge;Queen Elizabeth Hall, London; Turner Sims ConcertHall, Southampton; Birmingham Town Hall; TheatreRoyal, Norwich & Leeds Town Hall.

‘Capriccio’ in AldeburghWoolrich’s lyrical Capriccio for solo violin andstrings pays a visit to Aldeburgh on 16 October 2010to feature as part of a Britten Weekend, and will beperformed by Violinist Markus Däunert and theAldeburgh Strings, who are made up of musiciansfrom the Britten–Pears Young Artist Programme.The young artists will be mentored and joined inperformance by some of Europe’s leading orchestraland chamber musicians, amongst them principalsfrom the Leipzig Gewandhaus and LondonSymphony Orchestra, and former members of theAlban Berg and Belcea Quartets.

100th Anniversary & New Edition forFantasiaOn the cusp of the hundredth anniversary of itspremiere at the Gloucester Three Choirs Festival,Faber Music is proud to publish a much-needednew edition of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on aTheme of Thomas Tallis. The new edition correctsthe original engraver’s mis-interpretations of manyof Vaughan Williams’ intentions and other mistakesin the Curwen Edition, to give a clearer score,which combined with a new set of parts with newrehearsal numbers, will give greater clarity andunderstanding to the work’s many followers. Thescore is available 0-571-53196-2 at £19.99. Parts areavailable from the Hire Library.

Composed in 1910,the Fantasia wasone of the firstmajor successesfor the youngVaughanWilliams. It soimpressedHerbertHowells andIvor Gurney(then youngorgan scholars) thatthey spent the night walking thestreets of Gloucester fired up with excitement. Thework’s magic has not dimmed since and it hasbecome one of the most iconic works in theliterature of English music.

TUNING IN

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceess::JJoohhnn WWoooollrriicchhThe Kingdom ofDreams 16.9.10, Leicester Festival, UK:Nicholas Daniel

The Night will notdraw on/A SingingSky (UK premiere)17.9.10, Leicester Festival, UK:

Oboe Quintet 18.9.10, Leicester Festival, UK:Nicholas Daniel

The TheatreRepresents aGarden: Night 18.9.10, Dorchester Abbey,Oxfordshire, UK: Orchestra of StJohn’s/John Lubbock

Three Capricciosfor oboe 19.9.10, Leicester Cathedral, UK:Nicholas Daniel

Capriccio 16.10.10, Snape Maltings,Snape, UK: MarkusDäunert/Aldeburgh Strings

Another StaircaseOverture 6.2.11, Dartington Great Hall,Devon, UK: Britten Sinfonia7.2.11, West Road Concert Hall,Cambridge, UK: Britten Sinfonia9.2.11, Queen Elizabeth Hall,London, UK: Britten Sinfonia10.2.11, Turner Sims ConcertHall, Southampton, UK: BrittenSinfonia11.2.11, Town Hall,Birmingham, UK: BrittenSinfonia13.2.11, Theatre Royal, Norwich,UK: Britten Sinfonia19.2.11, Leeds Town Hall, Leeds,UK: Britten Sinfonia

Stendhal’sObservation 1.3.11, Purcell Room, London,UK: Claire Booth/AndrewMatthews-Owen

JOHN WOOLRICH

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

JOHN WOOLRICH © MAURICE FOXALL

TUNING IN

Torsten RaschYou spent many years of your life in Japan – howhas this influenced your music? Besides a preference for certain Japanese instruments, Iwould say it hasn’t really influenced my music. But there are(musical) art forms which have made a deep impression onme, especially the Japanese Noh-Theatre. It’s still lingering inmy thoughts, and it will probably show up in one of mypieces in the future.

Other than Japanese culture what would you say arethe most important influences on your style ofcomposition?A great variety of musical styles from the past and thepresent. Musicologists always insisted on the point of thedissolved harmonic system at the end of the last century, andthe impossibility of a continuance in that style. I feel verymuch at home in a dissolved harmonic language and thinkSchoenberg could (and should) have continued muchlonger in the style of his Op. 16 Fünf Orchesterstücke forexample.

You have completed two operas in the past fewyears, (‘Rotter’ in 2008 & ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ in2010) and in the past you have also written manyfilm scores. In what way does a visual art formimpact your music?Visual artforms haven’t made a huge impact on mycomposing – however, words (sung or spoken) appeal to megreatly. To me, the instrument of the human voice is themost fascinating of all. Writing for film, as I have in the past,does mean subordinating one’s material to allow for theimportance of a visual journey, which is a helpful exercise(in terms of collaborating with others).

Writing an opera is the most challenging enterprisefor me – not so much for the visual component (because I’mnot the director who’s staging it) – but in terms of musicallyvisualising drama, being able to organize it, and make itemotionally involving.

Punchdrunk, the experimental and unorthodoxtheatre company produced The Duchess of Malfi thissummer. What hurdles did you come across whencomposing music for them?There were certain restrictions with the instrumentation,since the musicians had to move whilst others played. It wasmuch more of a challenge to dispense of the narrative of thestory which is essential to Punchdrunk’s style. However, onthe other hand, one really got the inimitable experience ofactually being in the story, not just hearing or following it asyou would when you see a staged opera in the usual style.

Do you consider the audience when you’re workingon a composition?It would be an impossible task to compose for the audience,because one never knows who’s in the audience. How doesone assess what they like or dislike? I’m the first onelistening to the music, and it has to pass that test first.

What do you say when asked to describe yourmusic?

My music is highly expressive and highly organized. Acontinuing examination of the balance between theintellectual and the emotional side of expression.

How important is it that music be accessible on firsthearing?For me it very much is. But that doesn’t mean it has to besimple or pleasing. There has to be a comprehensible factor,which involves me in the music. There is of course noformula for it but it certainly has a relation to the abovementioned balance between emotion and intellect. Thelatter often dominates in modern music which sometimesleaves me unsatisfied and perplexed.

You have a number of premiere performances in theUK this year, including your latest orchestral work ‘LeSerpent Rouge’ which is to be performed by the BBCSO and André de Ridder – do you feel that the UKis a fitting home for your music?I think that in the UK, music is listened to without any“philosophical contamination” which has been accumulatedin Germany through many years of dominance of certainconstitutive institutions (which are still important here).Music is perceived in the UK (and other countries) on amore impartial level, without the concept of how musicMUST BE composed for our time. I have the impression thatit’s judged on only the one condition: is it captivating ornot? In this sense I feel very “at home”.

AN INTERVIEW WITH… TORSTEN RASCH

21

‘Music is perceived in the UK (andother countries) on a more

impartial level, without the conceptof how music must be composed for

our time. I have the impressionthat it’s judged on only the one

condition: is it captivating or not?In this sense I feel very “at home”.’

TORSTEN RASCH, PHOTO CREDIT: MAURICE FOXALL

22

NEW WORKS FROM THE PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENT

ORCHESTRALJULIAN ANDERSONFantasias (2009)orchestra. Duration 23 minutes. 4(III & IV = picc, IV = picc detuned ! tone).3(III = ca).3(II =Bb cl detuned ! tone, III = Ebcl + bcl).3(III = cbsn) - 4.tpt in D (= Bb ptpt).3 in C (II = tptdetuned ! tone).3.1 - perc(4) - harp - pno (=cel) - synth (=pno sound; detuned ! tone) - strings.FP: 19.11.09, Severance Hall, Cleveland, USA: Cleveland Orchestra/Jonathan Nott

JONNY GREENWOODDoghouse (2010)string trio and orchestra. Duration 23 minutes. solo violin, viola, cello - 2222 - 4331 - perc(3) -harp - strings. FP: 28. 2.2010, Invitation concert, BBC Maida Vale, London, UK: BBC CO, RobertZiegler. Score and parts for hire

JONATHAN HARVEY80 Breaths for Tokyo (2010)Orchestra. Duration 18 minutes. 4(III+IV=picc).2.oboe d’amore.3.3 - 4331 - perc(5):mar/high.cym/med-high bamboo cluster/microtonal mark tree/5 Taiwan temple bowls (varyingsizes) with marble/2 cym/mcas/high brass chimes/vib/large BD/spring coil/low cym/low tam-t/highglass chimes/high crot/med bamboo cluster/high tam-t - 2 harps - pno - electric organ - CD operator- strings (14.12.10.8.6). Commissioned by Suntory Limited for Suntory Hall International Programfor Music Composition 2008. FP: 30.8.2010, Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Japan: Tokyo PhilharmonicOrchestra. Score and parts for hire

CHAMBER ENSEMBLEJULIAN ANDERSONTransferable Resistance (2010)brass ensemble. Duration 2 " minutes. 4.2 tpt in D.4 tpt in Bb.2.2 btrbn.2. Commissioned by theRoyal Society to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the founding of the Society. FP: 30.6.10,Royal Festival Hall, London, UK: LPO Brass/Neville Creed. Score and parts on hire

DAVID MATTHEWSActaeon (2010)narrator and ensemble. Duration 14 minutes. narrator - tsax - tpt - pno – vln. Text: ‘Tales fromOvid’ translated by Ted Hughes (English). Commissioned with support from Arts Council England, PRSfor Music Foundation, RVW Trust and Holst Foundation. FP: 4.5.10, Brighton Festival, Brighton, UK:Counterpoise (Eleanor Bron (narrator)/Alexandra Wood (vln)/Deborah Calland (tpt)/Kyle Horch(sax)/Iain Farrington (pno)). Score and parts for hire

INSTRUMENTALOLIVER KNUSSENOphelia’s Last Dance (2010)solo piano. Op. 32. Duration 9 minutes. Commissioned by the Gilmore International KeyboardFestival for 2010 Gilmore Artists Kirill Gerstein, with funds from the Russell L. Gabier Fund. FP:3.5.2010, Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA: Kirill Gerstein.Exclusive until 3.5.2011. Please contact promotion@fabermusic.com for further information.

OPERATORSTEN RASCHThe Duchess of Malfi (2010) Opera. Duration 72 minutes. Duchess (M) Ferdinand (CT) Cardinal (hB) Bosola (Bar) Julia (hS).3(II+III=picc).2.ca.2.bcl.2.cbsn - 4331 - timp - perc(3):glsp/vib/xyl/t.bells/crot/tgl/claves/ratchet/sleighbells/tamb/wdbl/4 okedoh/hyoshigi/kotzumi/5 tom-t/5 log drums/small Chinese cym/2 susp.cym/gongs/2 tam-t/SD/BD - harp - cel - strings (min12.10.8.6.5) - sampler (or SATB chorus) Sub-plot instrumentation: 1111 - 2221 – 0000. Text:Original Work: John Webster Libretto: Ian Burton (English). Commissioned by the English NationalOpera. FP: 13.7.2010, Great Eastern Quay, London, UK: Co-production between English NationalOpera and Punchdrunk. Felix Barrett (Artistic Director)/Maxine Doyle (Associate Director)/StephenHiggins (Conductor). Score and parts for hire

CHORALJULIAN ANDERSONBell Mass (2010)Double SATB choir and organ. Duration 17 minutes. Text: Liturgical (Latin). Commissioned by theDean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey, as part of the 450th anniversary of the Abbey’s CollegiateCharter (granted by Elizabeth I in 1560). FP: 29.6.2010, Westminster Abbey, London, UK: The Choirof Westminster Abbey/James O’Donnell. Score on special sale from the hire library

TANSY DAVIESAs with Voices and with Tears (2010)SATB choir, string orchestra and electronics. Duration 23 minutes. Text: Walt Whitman: Dirge for TwoVeterans (English). Commissioned by Portsmouth Grammar School. FP: 13.11.10, PortsmouthCathedral, Portsmouth, UK: Portsmouth Grammar School/London Mozart Players/Andrew Cleary. Scoreand parts on hire

HOWARD GOODALLThe Selfish Giant (2010)narrator, childrens’ choir and orchestra. Duration 20 minutes. 2(II=picc).2(II=ca).2(II=bcl).1 -2100 - timp - perc(1 or 2): susp.cym/xyl/cabassa/BD/tam-t/wind machine/SD/finger cym/marktree/wdbl - cel - harp - organ - strings. Text: Oscar Wilde/Howard Goodall (English). Commissionedby the Brighton Festival. FP: 1.5.2010, Brighton Festival, Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Brighton, UK:Kolade Agboke/Brighton Festival Youth Choir/Brighton PO/Howard Goodall. Score, vocal score andparts for hire

ALEXANDER L’ESTRANGEAnd the stones sing (2010)mezzo-soprano, SATB chorus, percussion and strings. Duration 14 minutes. perc(1):tgl/wdbl/SD/mark tree/susp.cym - strings. Text: Adey Grummet (English). Commissioned byPresteigne Festival of Music and the Arts Limited supported by the Joan Hughes Memorial Fund. FP:28.8.2010, Presteigne Festival, St Andrew’s Church, Presteigne, UK: Clare McCaldin/The JoyfulCompany of Singers (Artistic Director, Peter Broadbent)/Presteigne Festival Orchestra/George Vass.Full score, vocal score and parts for hire

STRING ORCHESTRADAVID MATTHEWS/EDWARD ELGARString Quartet (2010)string orchestral arrangement of the Elgar String Quartet. Duration 27 minutes. Commissioned by thePresteigne Festival. FP: 26.8.10, Presteigne Festival, St Andrew’s Church, Presteigne, Powys, UK:Presteigne Festival Orchestra/George Vass. Score and parts for hire

STRING QUARTETTHOMAS ADÈSThe Four Quarters (2010)string quartet. Duration 15 - 20 minutes. Commissioned by the Carnegie Hall Corporation. FP:12.3.11, Isaac Stern Auditorium/Ronald O. Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall, New York, USA: EmersonString Quartet. Score and parts on special sale from the hire library

PETER SCULTHORPEString Quartet No 18 (2010)Duration 19 minutes. Jointly commissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival for the TokyoQuartet and by Peter Doyle for the Flinders Quartet . FP: Australia: 5.6.10, Montsalvat Barn Gallery,Melbourne, Australia: Flinders Quartet. UK: 2.9.10, Edinburgh International Festival, Usher Hall,Edinburgh, UK: Tokyo Quartet. Score and parts on special sale from the Hire Library

P 13 FROM 1ST MOVEMENT OF JULIAN ANDERSON’S ‘FANTASIAS’

Behind Bars by Elaine Gould

Behind Bars is theindispensable referencebook for composers,teachers and studentsof composition,editors, and musicprocessors. In the mostthorough andpainstakinglyresearched book to bepublished since the1980s, specialist musiceditor Elaine Gould

provides a comprehensive grounding in notationalprinciples. Behind Bars covers everything frombasic rules, conventions and themes to complexinstrumental techniques, empowering the reader toprepare music with total clarity and precision. Withthe advent of computer technology, it has neverbeen more important for musicians to have readyaccess to principles of best practice in this dynamicfield, and this timely book will support theendeavours of software users and devotees of hand-copying alike. The author’s understanding of, andpassion for, her subject has resulted in a book thatis not only practical but also compellingly readable.Supported by 1,500 music examples of publishedscores from Bach to Xenakis, this seminal and all-encompassing guide encourages new standards ofexcellence and accuracy.

An endorsement from Sir Simon Rattle

‘Elaine Gould in this wonderfulmonster volume, has written theequivalent of the Grove Dictionary forNotation. It is an extraordinaryachievement, and if used by the nextgeneration of composers and copyistswill be a blessing for hard workingand long-suffering performerseverywhere! Every chapter presentssolutions and rules that will make ourlife easier, save rehearsal time and

frustration, and willultimately lead tobetter performances.What is importantfor a musician is tobe able to spendrehearsal time onthe music itself,without thehindrance of tryingto decipher it. Theclarity Elaine asksfor is not a matterof dry rules orcustoms: it is partof the livingtexture itself. I notonly welcome her bookunreservedly, but I would also praythat it becomes a kind of Holy Writ fornotation in this coming century.Certainly nobody could have done itbetter, and it will be a reference formusicians for years to come.’

About the authorElaine Gould has been SeniorNew Music Editor at Faber Musicsince 1987, in which capacity shehas edited the complex andvaried scores of such composersas Oliver Knussen, JonathanHarvey, George Benjamin, ColinMatthews and Thomas Adès.Before this she was a free-lancecopyist, specialising in copyingcontemporary music for severalleading British music publishers.She is among the most highlyrespected music editors currentlyworking in the field.Get your copy.

‘BEHIND BARS’ BY ELAINE GOULD

23

COMPANY NEWSNew website launches in Autumn 2010

Faber Music is proud to announce thelaunch of its new website. There are newfeatures including audio streaming, anonline store, composer video profiles, onlineperusal scores, an event calendar and more.Please visit www.fabermusic.com to get aflavour of our new look website!

Fortissimo E-newsletter

To coincide with the launch of the newwebsite, Faber Music will be updatingselected readers by the means of afortissimo e-newsletter with more immediateand recent news and information. To signup for this mailing, please write to:Promotion@fabermusic.com supplying yourfull name, position, organisation and emailaddress.

‘Musicians deserve the verybest that the language ofnotation can provide, andthe most elegant layoutthat can be achieved; in

this way they will be free togive their best in a

performance. Behind Barsaims to provide the tools

for this purpose.’

Elaine Gould

24

HOWARD GOODALL‘Love Story’ triumphs at Chichester andnow transfers to the West End!Love Story is an affecting new musical by HowardGoodall, to a book and lyrics by Stephen Clark, afterthe celebrated novella by Erich Segal. It premiered inChichester on 29 May, where it was lauded by thenational press and is now transferring to London’sWest End. It previews at the Duchess Theatre from 27November, before opening on 6 December andrunning until 26 February 2011. West End star MichaelBall will be making his producing debut:

‘(Goodall) … turns its overwrought story ofsentimentality into a finely wrought mood piecethat pulses with sensitivity…

It is fully 90 minutes into a 110-minute showbefore we get to that leukaemia will claim herbody but not before she has worked her way intoyour heart. Emma Williams, whose emotionalintelligence matches the lyrical clarity of herrapturous singing is a big reason for that and sois the gorgeous wash of Goodall’s magnificentmelodies. You may find yourself in tears.’

Sunday Express (Mark Shenton), 13 June 2010

‘The genius of turning this into a musical is thatthe songs offer welcome moments of interiority inthe hectic narrative onslaught, giving crucialemotional heft and access into the hearts andminds of the lovestruck duo.

And it’s not just any songs we’re talking about,but plangent, beautifully crafted and sung pieces.The haunting opening number What Can YouSay? deserves to become a classic.’

Evening Standard (Fiona Mountford), 8 June 2010

‘The Selfish Giant’ delights familyaudience at Brighton FestivalOn 1 May, a packed Brighton Dome saw Goodallconduct the premiere of The Selfish Giant, a 20-minutework for narrator, children’s choir and orchestra,based on the celebrated story by Oscar Wilde. The

piece was commissioned by the Brighton Festival, andGoodall’s concert launched the 2010 festival with theperformance by the Kolade Agboke (narrator),Brighton Festival Youth Choir and BrightonPhilharmonic Orchestra. The Selfish Giant is an idealintroduction to the orchestra for young audiences,with a prominent part for organ (the Giant) andcolourful timbres conjuring up the passing of theseasons in the Giant’s garden, all this plus poignantmelodies for the children’s choir. It would make anideal pairing with long-established classics such asPeter and the Wolf and The Snowman.

‘Pelican in the Wilderness’ rides high inthe Charts‘Pelican in the Wilderness’ is Goodall’s third discrecorded with Enchanted Voices, a hand-picked female-

voice choir parexcellence. Sitting high inthe classical charts sinceits release on the ClassicFM/UCJ label on 10 May, itis a collection of 13settings of the Psalms,with accompanimentfrom the Tippett Quartet,and Daisy Fancourt onorgan/keyboard. The

recording’s healing powers have been much publicised– the CD was also reported in the UK national press tobe the music of choice for both David Cameron andNick Clegg, as they hatched out the final terms of thenew coalition Government!

‘Goodall’s melodic gift is well to the forethroughout the disc… This is superior, diatonic,ultra-legato easy listening, albeit heartfelt andhonest, though there are times when Goodallalmost out-Rutters his senior composing colleague,in terms of sweetness. The instrumentalaccompaniments are beautifully and luxuriouslyplayed.’

Gramophone (Malcolm Riley), July 2010

US premiere for Gabriel Prokofiev’s‘Concerto for Turntables’Gabriel Prokofiev’s US profile is firmly in theascendancy. His NonClassical label is nowdistributed by Naxos USA, and, he featured at theSXSW festival in 2009. He has also enjoyed recentfeatures at Wordless Music in New York, and in Julythis year hosted NonClassical club nights at LePoisson Rouge (NY) and in Baltimore andPhiladelphia.Now, his orchestral music will be heard stateside, asthe US premiere of his Concerto for Turntables &Orchestra is to be given by the enterprising PresentMusic ensemble in Milwaukee. The composer willtravel from the UK for the concert on 18 September.

SSeelleecctteeddffoorrtthhccoommiinnggppeerrffoorrmmaanncceessEternal Light: ARequiem2.10.2010, Holy Rood Church,Swindon, UK: Swindon ChoralSociety/Robin Nelson

(Dutch premiere)9.10.2010, Gouda, TheNetherlands: Laus Deo/JanStulp24.10.2010, Temple Sinai,New Orleans, LA, USA: JoelColman/Loyola UniversityChorus & Orchestra

(Swedish premiere)6 & 7.11.2010 (3 perfs),(Andreaskyrkan, Stockholm,Arsta Church hall, Stockholm &Enskede Church, Stockholm),Sweden: Tina Bergholm/DavidAler/Con Spirito/Arsta ChamberChoir/Tafvelin LightOrchestra/Lars-GunnarSommarbäck7.11.2010, West End UnitedMethodist Church, Nashville,TN, USA: The ChancelChoir/Don Marler13.11.2010, Grace & HolyTrinity Episcopal Church,Richmond, VA, USA: ImmanuelEpiscopal Church/Jimmy Hicks14.11.2010, PortsmouthCathedral, UK: PortsmouthGrammar School/LondonMozart Players/Andrew Cleary20.11.2010, ArundelCathedral, UK: The AngmeringChorale/George Jones

Love Story(West End premiere)27.11.2010-26.2.2011,Duchess Theatre, London, UK

New work(world premiere)20.12.2010, ‘Carols forCandlelight in aid of CancerResearch UK’, All Saints’Church, Weston-Super-Mare,Somerset, UK:DeChorum/Jonathan Manners

Eternal Light: ARequiem &Spared4-6.2.2011, St JosephCathedral, Groningen; BonifaceChurch, Leeuwarden &Willibrord Church, Utrecht, TheNetherlands: Koorprojekt Opus/ Anne Sollie

Eternal Light: ARequiem & Newwork (world premiere)26.2.2011, Lincoln Cathedral,UK: Bishop GrossetesteUniversity College

GABRIEL PROKOFIEV

25

‘Eternal Light’ & new choral commissionsIn the two years since Eternal Light: A Requiem waspremiered, it has been performed over 150 times bymore than 60 different choirs in the UK, USA, Australia,Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland. Itcontinues to gain critical acclaim:

‘… this work is a melodic gem: comforting,soothing, and extremely hopeful. Goodall’smelodic gifts are present in every bar, and it iswell nigh impossible to come away from hearingthe work without feeling that one is somehowuplifted… If you like the Rutter Requiem – and Ilove it – this one will also have intense appeal,and really is just as good.’

Fanfare (Steven E. Ritter), 12 March 2010

NIGEL HESSNew Hess suite: ‘The TV Detectives’We are delighted to announce representation of NigelHess’s The TV Detectives, an 8-minute orchestral rompthrough some of the composer’s most memorable TVthemes, including Maigret, Dangerfield, Campion,Wycliffe and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. Score andparts are now available from the Faber Music HireLibrary.

‘Silent Nights’ release29 November sees the release of ‘Silent Nights’, a newseasonal CD on Classic FM’s own label. Featuring the

composer at the piano,with the strings of theRoyal PhilharmonicOrchestra, it’s a tranquiland reflective collectionof well-known Christmascarols and songs, skilfullyarranged by Hess. FaberMusic will be releasing amatching publication forsolo piano.

ALEXANDER L’ESTRANGEPresteigne Festival commission forL’EstrangeAnd the stones sing is a 14-minute choral-orchestralwork by Alexander L’Estrange, a commission from thePresteigne Festival, where it premiered on 28 August.Festival Director George Vass conducted The JoyfulCompany of Singers, Festival Orchestra and mezzosoloist Clare McCaldin. The commission celebrates the500th anniversary of the celebrated Presteigne Tapestryin St Andrew’s Church and depicts Christ’s entry intoJerusalem. The text, by Adey Grummett, takes the16thC Flemish tapestry as its inspiration.

‘Zimbe!’ premieres in the US and isreleased on CDFollowing the premiere of And the stones sing,L’Estrange travelled to Carmel, Indiana where heattended the US premiere of Zimbe!, his 40-minuteAfrican-inspired choral cantata. Threeperformances were given by The Carmel RepertoryTheatre and Carmel Community Choir under thebaton of Darren S Herring. L’Estrange and hiswife, singer Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, also gavechoral workshops at the universities of DePauwand Indiana.

Zimbe! was also released on CD in July thisyear, on the Andagio label. The Zimbe! Singers,Haileybury Lower School Choir and Call Me Al JazzQuintet were conducted by Joanna ForbesL’Estrange. For more info visit www.zimbe.net

STEPHEN WARBECKTwo new film suitesNewly available are two orchestral suites by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck perhaps bestknown for his scores to Shakespeare in Love andCaptain Corelli’s Mandolin (both already availablefrom the Faber Music Hire Library).

Charlotte Gray starred Cate Blanchett in awartime espionage drama based on the best-sellingnovel by Sebastian Faulks. Warbeck’s 21-minutesuite perfectly captures the brooding atmosphereof war-torn France, with solo roles for violin andpiano.

Princess Ka’iulani is a historical biopic aboutthe legendary Hawaiian princess who foughtresolutely to reinstate the Kingdom of Hawaiifollowing the overthrowing of the monarchy in1893. The film premiered at the Honolulu FilmFestival in October 2009 and will be released onDVD on 14 September. The four-movement suitelasts 11 minutes.

Christmas Ideas!Looking for ideas for Christmas concerts? Newand recent repertoire available includes NigelHess’s seasonal orchestral toe-tapper AChristmas Overture, The Manchester Carolsfor SATB choir and small orchestra (or SSAand small ensemble) by Carol Ann Duffy andSasha Johnson Manning, and brand-new isAnthony Bolton’s A Garland of Carols (forupper voices and harp, a touching homage toBritten’s A Ceremony of Carols, see p.24).

More info & perusal materials:musicfornow@fabermusic.comFollow us on Twitter: fabermusic_mfn

NNeeww WWoorrkkss ffrroommMMuussiicc ffoorr NNooww

OORRCCHHEESSTTRRAALLHOWARD GOODALLThe Selfish Giant (2010)after Oscar Wilde, for narrator, childrens’choir and orchestra. Duration 20 minutes.2(II=picc).2(II=ca).2(II=bcl).1 - 2100- timp - perc(1 or 2) - cel - harp - organ –strings. Commissioned by the BrightonFestival. FP: 1.5.2010, Brighton Festival,Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Brighton, UK:Kolade Agboke/Brighton Festival YouthChoir/Brighton PhilharmonicOrchestra/Howard Goodall

JONNY GREENWOODDoghouse (2010)String trio and orchestra. Duration 23minutes. Solo violin, viola, cello - 2222 -4331 - perc(3) - harp – strings.Commissioned by the BBC. FP: 28.2.2010,Invitation concert, BBC Maida Vale, London:BBC Concert Orchestra, Robert Ziegler

NIGEL HESSThe TV Detectives (2003)Suite for orchestra, featuring themes fromthe TV programmes Dangerfield, Campion,Wycliffe, Maigret & Hetty WainthroppInvestigates. Duration 8 minutes.Picc.2.2.ca.2.bcl.asax.2 - 4.3(I=crt inBb).2.btrbn.1 - timp - perc(3) - harp - gtr(acoustic & electric).bgtr - soprano voice -pno.synth - strings

GABRIEL PROKOFIEVConcerto for Turntables& Orchestra (2006)Duration 21 minutes.1(=afl).1(=ca).1(=bcl).0 -1.2.1.btrbn.0 - perc(4) incl timp – strings.Commissioned by Chimera Productions. FP:26.9.2007, Scala, London, UK: DJYoda/The Heritage Orchestra/Jules Buckley

STEPHEN WARBECKPrincess Ka’iulani Suite(2009)Suite for orchestra from the feature film.Duration 11 minutes. 1.2(II=ca).2.1 -3.1.1.btrbn.1 - timp - perc(2) - harp - pno– strings. FP: 17.10.09, Neal BlaisdellConcert Hall, Honolulu, HI, USA: HonoluluSO/Gerard Schwarz

CCHHAAMMBBEERR EENNSSEEMMBBLLEEDEREK BERMELCanzonas Americanas(2010)Chamber ensemble of 17 players (withmedium voice). Duration 17 minutes.1(=picc).1.1.1 - 1110 - perc(2) - elec gtr- medium voice (mvt 4 only) - pno - strings(db=elec bass). Commissioned andpremiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.FP: 4.5.2010, Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA,USA: Luciana Souza/Los AngelesPhilharmonic New Music Ensemble/GustavoDudamel

CCHHOORRAALLALEXANDER L’ESTRANGEAnd the stones sing(2010)Mezzo-soprano, SATB chorus, strings andpercussion. Duration 14 minutes. Text: AdeyGrummet (Eng). perc(1) – strings.Commissioned by Presteigne Festival ofMusic and the Arts Limited supported by theJoan Hughes Memorial Fund. FP:28.8.2010, Presteigne Festival, St Andrew’sChurch, Presteigne, UK: Clare McCaldin/TheJoyful Company of Singers (Artistic Director,Peter Broadbent)/Presteigne FestivalOrchestra/George Vass

THOMAS ADÈSMazurkassolo pianoPlaying score 0-571-52011-1 £7.99

THOMAS ADÈSConcert Paraphrase on Powder Her Facesolo pianoPlaying score 0-571-52006-5 £14.99

GEORGE BENJAMINDuetpiano and orchestraFull score 0-571-53469-4

JONNY GREENWOODPopcorn Superhet Receiverstring orchestraFull score 0-571-52204-1 £14.99

JONATHAN HARVEYTendrilchamber ensemble of 11 players Full score 0-571-51342-5 £29.99

COLIN MATTHEWS/CLAUDE DEBUSSYDebussy Preludes: Général Lavine -l’eccentrique, Danseuses deDelphes, Les sons et les parfums,Brouillards & OndineorchestraFull scores 0-571-53019-2 £7.99, 0-571-53008-7 £7.99, 0-571-53014-1£7.99, 0-571-53009-5 £7.99 & 0-571-53020-6 £7.99

DAVID MATTHEWSConcerto in Azzurrocello and orchestraFull score 0-571-52059-4 £29.99

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMSThe Wasps performing edition of complete incidental music and settings of text from theplay by Aristophanes for vocal soloists, male chorus and orchestra, originallyused for stage production and now, with narrator, forming a concert workVocal score 0-571-53190-3 £24.99

JOHN WOOLRICHThe Theatre Represents a Garden,Nightchamber orchestraFull score 0-571-53147-4 £16.99

BENJAMIN BRITTENString Quartet No 2; String

Quartet No 3; Three DivertimentiThe Elias Quartet

Sonimage SON 10903

Complete String QuartetsBritten Quartet

Brilliant Classics 9168

Three DivertimentiEmperor String Quartet

BIS SACD-1540

HOWARD GOODALLPelican in the WildernessEnchanted Voices/Tippett Quartet/Howard Goodall

Classic FM

The SeasonsThe Tippett Quartet with Patrick Savage

EMI Classics

JONATHAN HARVEYString Trio/String Quartet No 1/String

Quartet No 2/String Quartet No 3/String Quartet No 4

Arditti QuartetAeon AECD 0975

COLIN MATTHEWSScherzettoEndymion Ensemble

NMC D160

COLIN MATTHEWS/CLAUDE DEBUSSY

The Debussy PreludesHallé Orchestra/Mark Elder

Hallé

DAVID MATTHEWSWinter Passions; Terrible Beauty;

Clarinet Quartet; Marina; String Trio;String Trio No 2

Susan Bickley/Stephan Loges/The Nash Ensemble/Lionel FriendNMC Recordings D 152

PETER SCULTHORPEInto the Dreaming

Aleksandr TsiboulskiNaxos

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMSSancta Civitas

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/The Bach Choir/David HillNaxos

ALEXANDER L’ESTRANGEZimbe! (premiere recording)

The Zimbe! Singers/Haileybury Lower School Choir (conducted by QuentinThomas)/The Call Me Al Jazz Quintet (led by Alexander L’Estrange)/

Joanna Forbes L’EstrangeAndagio CD001, for purchase at www.zimbe.net

24

SELECTED NEW PUBLICATIONS & RECORDINGS

NICHOLAS KENYON THE FABERPOCKET GUIDETO BACH978-0-571-23324 £8.99

The music of J.S.Bach has aunique power and attractionsome 300 years after it waswritten. From annualperformances of the greatPassions and BBC Radio 3’shugely successful BachChristmas, to its use in adverts,films and populararrangements, the imaginativestrength of Bach’s musiccontinues to draw listeners toexplore its mysteries.

This new Pocket Guide looksat all Bach’s music, sacred andsecular, and explores why hespeaks so profoundly to our ageabout both the spiritual and thesensual in life.

Among the features of thiseasy-to-use book:

• BACH: THE MUSIC WORK BYWORK

• PERFORMING BACH TODAY

• BACH ACROSS THE CENTURIES

• BACH’S INSTRUMENTS

• BACH: THE LIFE YEAR BY YEAR

Accessible and easy to use, Nicholas Kenyonprovides for the first time an up-to-date survey ofall Bach’s major works in the light of the latestresearch, from Masses to Cantatas, Concertos toSuites, and recommends the best CDs and furtherreading.

‘No book can ever haveprovided so manyessentials about agenius’

Daily Telegraph

IAN BOSTRIDGE A SINGER’SSCRAPBOOK

9780571 252459 Hardback £15.99

Ian Bostridge is one of theoutstanding singers of our time,celebrated both for the quality ofhis voice and for the exceptionalintelligence he brings to bear onthe interpretation of the repertoireof the past and present alike. Yethis early career was that of aprofessional historian, and ASinger’s Scrapbook takes a look atthe multifaceted world of classicalmusic through the eyes ofsomeone whose career as asinger has followed a uniquetrajectory. Consisting of shortessays and reviews written since1997, some in diary form, itranges widely over issuesserious (music andtranscendence) and not soserious (the singer’s battleswith phlegm), while inevitablydiscussing many of thecomposers with whom

Bostridge has become identified, such asBritten, Henze, Janácek, Schubert, Weill and Wolf.

Ultimately it returns to the theme of his earlierwork on 17th century witchcraft - what place canthere be for the ineffable in a world defined by aniron cage of rationality?

Including a Foreword by the eminentsociologist, Richard Sennett, A Singer’s Scrapbookis an intriguing glimpse into the mind andmotivation of one of Britain’s best loved musicians.

‘Achieving that rarest offeats in the scholarlyworld: taking a well-worn subject andensuring that it willnever be looked at inquite the same wayagain’

Noel Malcolm, Times Literary Supplement onWitchcraft and its Transformations

27www.faber.co.uk

BOOKS ON MUSIC FROM FABER & FABER

28

Head OfficeFaber Music Ltd

Bloomsbury House74–77 Great Russell St

London WC1B 3DA

Tel: +44(0)207 908 5310Fax: +44(0)207 908 5339

information@fabermusic.comwww.fabermusic.com

Promotion tel: +44(0)207 908 5311/2

promotion@fabermusic.com

DistributionCentre

FMDistributionBurnt Mill

Elizabeth WayHarlow, Essex

CM20 2HX

Tel: +44(0)1279 82 89 89Fax: +44(0)1279 82 89 01

trade@fabermusic.comHire tel:

+44(0)1279 82 89 07/8Hire fax:

+44(0)1279 82 89 02hire@fabermusic.com

USA/CanadaSchott Music Corp & European

American Music Dist LLC254 West 31st Street,

15th FloorNew York, NY 10001

Promotion tel: (212) 4616940Promotion fax: (212) 8104565

Rental tel: (212) 4616940Rental fax: (212) 8104565

Cover photo credit: Julian Anderson

© Maurice Foxall

Designed and edited by Lis Lomas

SALES PUBLICATION NEWS

www.fabermusic.com

Margaret Rizza (b.1929) isquite a remarkable figure.Now in her 80s, she onlybegan to compose in 1997,in her late 60s, but in thatrelatively short space oftime has risen to become amajor personality in theworld of Christian choralmusic, with substantial salesof both her printed andrecorded music, including achart-topping recording on

the UCJ label, which gained airplay on Classic FM. Allthis has followed an illustrious career as an opera singer,in which she sang professionally for 25 years, under thename of Margaret Lensky, and sang at many of theleading operatic venues, under such conductors asBritten, Stravinsky and Bernstein.

As a singing teacher she then taught at the GuildhallSchool of Music and Drama (1977-94) and was closelyinvolved with Dartington International Summer School,giving masterclasses and vocal workshops over manyyears up until 2008.

Margaret’s contemplative choral music has beenwidely acclaimed, not only in the UK, but also abroad.She has given many seminars and conferences featuringher music in the USA, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia,and Ireland, as well as leading many choral and vocalworkshops in the UK. In 2007 she was commissioned byHarry Christophers to write a work for The Sixteen. Thiscommission resulted in something of a departure for hermusic as it began to inhabit a more contemporarysoundworld. The resulting Ave Generosa was recordedby those forces on their much-lauded CD A Mother’sLove, and performed by them at the Queen ElizabethHall, London in 2008.

Available in print this summer are Ave Maria, MarySlept, Veni Jesu and O Sapientia, all of which feature on anew CD of her choral music, due to be released at theend of the year.

0-571-53540-2 AAvvee MMaarriiaa SATB unacc. £2.99 0-571-53541-0 MMaarryy SSlleepptt SATB unacc. £2.99 0-571-53542-9 OO SSaappiieennttiiaa SATB unacc. £2.99 0-571-53543-7 VVeennii JJeessuu SATB, organ and cello £2.99

David Bednall (b.1979) is abusy composer andorganist, combining anextensive freelance careerwith the position of SubOrganist at BristolCathedral, PhD Studies inComposition with ProfessorJohn Pickard at BristolUniversity and theDirectorship of TheUniversity Singers. Hestudied with Naji Hakim

and David Briggs and was Assistant Organist at WellsCathedral.

David was also Organ Scholar at The Queen’sCollege, Oxford and then at Gloucester Cathedral. Healso spent periods there as Acting Director of Music andActing Assistant Organist and was closely involved withthe Three Choirs Festival. He won prizes inimprovisation and performance at the examination forFellow of The Royal College of Organists and has givenParisian recitals at La Trinité and Notre-Dame, and inmany English cathedrals.

As a composer, the CD of his choral music “Hail,Gladdening Light” (Wells Cathedral Choir and MatthewOwens) was Gramophone ‘Editor’s Choice’. A numberof his works have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4whilst recent work has included Missa Sancti Paulicommissioned by St Paul’s Cathedral for the LondonFestival of Contemporary Church Music andcommissions for the new music wells 68 – 08 festival. In2008 his Requiem was premiered in St James’s Church,Spanish Place, London with St Mary’s School, Calne,Edward Whiting (director) and Philip Dukes (viola) andwas recently given its US premiere in St Mary The Virgin,Times Square, New York. The same forces recentlyreleased the work on Regent Records to great acclaim. Inaddition, Wells Cathedral Choir has just released afurther recording of his choral music on Regent entitledFlame Celestial.

All four of the works we are publishing this year areavailable on the “Flame Celestial” recording. Moreinformation can be found at www.davidbednall.com

0-571-53550-X O PPrraaiissee GGoodd iinn HHiiss HHoolliinneessss SATB/organ £2.99 0-571-53551-8 HHaaiill,, GGllaaddddeenniinngg LLiigghhtt SSAATTBB £2.99 0-571-53552-6 TThhee SSoouullss ooff tthhee RRiigghhtteeoouuss SATB £2.50 0-571-53553-4 IIff YYee LLoovvee MMee SATB unacc. £2.50

‘A Garland of Carols’ –New for ChristmasWe are delighted to makeavailable in print A Garland ofCarols, by Anthony Bolton.Described by the composer asa homage to Britten, AGarland of Carols is a 45-minute seasonal cycle scoredfor treble voices and harp,and takes as it model Britten’sown A Ceremony of Carols.

Bolton will undoubtedlybe a new name to manyFortissimo readers. He is better known as one of theUK’s most successful fund managers and only in recentyears has he returned to composition, following studieswith leading composers, Colin Matthews and JulianAnderson. A Garland of Carols has been recorded onGuild Records in performance by Oxford Voices andMark Shepherd with Sioned Williams on harp.