September 2013
I am curating a ‘Some Recent Silences’ show with Apartment House as part of the Out Hear series at Kings Place. The concert combines four highly original young composers from the UK, US and Australia with three influential older figures, all of whom make use of silence (or near-silence) in musically interesting and diverse ways. Here’s the programme:
- G. Douglas Barrett – A Few Silence
- Gregory Emfietzis – DIY 1
- Mathias Spahlinger – 128 erfüllte augenblicke
- Ben Isaacs – allone
- György Kurtág – Dumb Show
- Charlie Sdraulig – Close
- Michael Pisaro – Fade
The concert will take place on 22 September. Further details to come.
There’s a Facebook page if you’re into that sort of thing.
August 2013
The paperback edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Music is scheduled for publication on 15 August.
BBC Proms – 15 August. Tonight’s concert programme includes my composer biography on Penderecki, and my note on his Concerto grosso for 3 cellos and orchestra.
BBC Proms – 23 August. Tonight’s concert programme includes my composer biography on Panufnik.
BBC Proms – 29 August. Tonight’s concert programme includes my note on Peter Eötvös’s Second Violin Concerto, ‘DoReMi’, here receiving its UK premiere.
May 2013
I’m hosting a roundtable discussion and pre-concert interviews with Matthew Shlomowitz, James Weeks, Aaron Cassidy, Claudia Molitor, Richard Glover and Stephen Chase. It’s all part of the launch party for EXAUDI’s new CD, released on the Huddersfield Contemporary Records label. Date: 4 May, venue: Only Connect Theatre, Kings Cross.
March 2013
I have a third programme note in the Philharmonia’s Woven Words celebration of Lutosławski – this time instrumental duos and brass quintets.
I wrote the booklet essay for the London Sinfonietta’s world premiere of Steve Reich’s new, Radiohead-inspired work, Radio Rewrite. An extended version of this note, exploring the nature and significance of current trends in Reich reception was published on New Music Box.
I gave a short talk on contemporary Swiss music at the London Ear Festival of Contemporary Music, on Sunday 24 March, before the evening concert by Basel’s Ensemble Phoenix. Venue was the Cello Factory, 33–4 Cornwall Road, Waterloo.
As part of the build-up to the London Ear festival, I hosted a one-hour show on Resonance FM on Wednesday 13 March, 8pm–9pm. The whole show has been archived to Soundcloud.
February 2013
Barbara Lüneberg’s new CD, Beyond (Coviello Classics, COV 61302) is released, including sleevenotes I co-wrote with Barbara.
Two concerts in the Philharmonia’s Lutosławski Centenary series will include my programme notes: string quartets by and before Lutosławski, and works for piano.
Resonus Classics’ album of choral music by Hafliði Hallgrímsson (RES 10117) is released. The download-only release features my sleevenotes, which are also available for free from the label.
I travelled to Huddersfield for a few days early in the month to cover ELISION’s activities with young and student composers. I also had a chance to interview the young Australian composer Luke Paulding.
January 2013
Anna Clyne’s Night Ferry receives its UK premiere from the BBC SO. Programme booklet includes my short profile of Clyne.
Extended review of Birmingham Opera’s production of MITTWOCH published in Tempo.
December 2012
Radio Rambler passed 200 subscribers.
I contributed a selection of alternative festive listening to the OUP blog.
My article ‘Some Recent Silences’ (originally published on NewMusicBox) is published in Swedish in the magazine Nutida Musik.
November 2012
Michael van der Aa wins the prestigious Grawemeyer prize for Up-close. Read my programme note for the work, commissioned by the composer, here.
October 2012
BBC Scottish Orchestra perform Grażyna Bacewicz’s Concerto for String Orchestra, to which I contributed the programme note.
September 2012
My edition (the sixth) of the Oxford Dictionary of Music is published by OUP.
‘Just Inside the Green Line’, an article on Cyprus’s Pharos Contemporary Music Festival, is published in the Journal of Music.
