Rebecca Saunders – still (UK Première)
Tonight saw the UK première of the latest work by Rebecca Saunders, her violin concerto still. Saunders’ music has been a growing musical passion of mine for a while; as such, i’ve already begun a...
View ArticleMix Tape #24 : Noir
It’s time for a new Mix Tape, & once again it reflects my current predilections & listening habits. Film noir, & particularly its musical analogues, are much on my mind at present, so the...
View Article5:4 at HCMF 2012 – Ensemble Resonanz
The first day of my weekend at HCMF ended back where it had begun, in St Paul’s Hall, for a late-night concert by Ensemble Resonanz, conducted by Peter Rundel. The concert was broadcast live on Radio 3...
View Article5:4 at HCMF 2012 – Arditti Quartet
Two months may have passed, but memories of the all-too-brief weekend i spent at HCMF 2012 are alive & well; so let’s pick up where i left off. The second day of my HCMF experience began once again...
View Article5:4 at HCMF 2013 – Séverine Ballon
Today’s first concert was given by French cellist Séverine Ballon. Her recital comprised UK premières by Hèctor Parra & Mauro Lanza & a world première by Rebecca Saunders, together with a...
View ArticleRebecca Saunders – Void (World Première)
To bring my Lent Series to an end, i’ve chosen a work rather fitting to the general atmosphere of Easter Eve, Rebecca Saunders‘ Void, for two percussionists and chamber orchestra. Saunders was recently...
View ArticleHCMF 2016: Walking with Partch, Klangforum Wien + Arditti Quartet
From queries to plings: following an opening night that raised more questions (and objections) than its respective composers perhaps intended, Saturday night at HCMF moved emphatically in the direction...
View ArticleHCMF 2016: Trombone Unit Hannover, Klangforum Wien
The palpable buzz surrounding events at this year’s HCMF featuring music by composer-in-residence Georg Friedrich Haas (of an order considerably greater than that of the previous few years) continued...
View ArticleRebecca Saunders – murmurs (UK Première)
Since the trace is not a presence but the simulacrum of a presence that dislocates itself, displaces itself, refers itself, it properly has no site; erasure belongs to its structure. And not only the...
View ArticleRebecca Saunders on record (Part 1)
Alongside the individual pieces i’m focusing on in this Lent Series, i’m also going to be providing an overview of as much as possible of Rebecca Saunders’ music that has been released commercially....
View ArticleRebecca Saunders – Stirrings (UK Première)
i’ve already used the word ‘obsessive’ in this Lent Series, and i’m sure i’ll be using it again in due course, but it’s important to note that the strain of obsession that repeatedly rears its head in...
View ArticleRebecca Saunders on record (Part 2)
In continuing my survey of recordings of Rebecca Saunders‘ music, i’m turning my attention now to works that are earlier than everything i’ve explored so far. Stirrings Still, released in 2008 on the...
View ArticleMix Tape #43 : International Women’s Day
As today is International Women’s Day, for my March mix tape i’ve allowed myself to indulge in a celebration of fabulous music by women composers and musicians. Compared to most of my mix tapes, this...
View ArticleRebecca Saunders – still (World Première)
The next piece i’m looking at in my Lent Series celebrating the music of Rebecca Saunders is something of an exception on 5:4, as it’s a work i’ve written about before. Saunders’ violin concerto still...
View ArticleRebecca Saunders on record (Part 3)
Continuing my survey of recordings of Rebecca Saunders‘ music, i’m looking today at a cluster of pieces featured on compilations as well as a couple of standalone releases. The last work i wrote about,...
View ArticleRebecca Saunders – Alba (UK Première)
As i’ve noted in previous articles in this Lent series, there are very strong and clear themes and interests – obsessions, even – running through Rebecca Saunders‘ music, with concomitant aspects of...
View ArticleRebecca Saunders on record (Part 4)
Before i conclude my survey of the available recordings of Rebecca Saunders‘ music, i want to flag up some omissions. There are three works that i’m not able to discuss at this point as i haven’t yet...
View ArticleRebecca Saunders – Skin (UK Première)
…this is the room’s essence not being now look closer mere dust dust is the skin of a room history is a skin the older it gets the more impressions are left on its surface look again… These words,...
View ArticleHCMF 2018: Ensemble Musikfabrik, Christian Marclay: To be continued
On the opening night of last year’s Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, i remember pondering about the shift in tactic regarding the festival’s opening gambit. In 2017, there was a move away from...
View ArticleHCMF 2018: Ensemble Musikfabrik, Christian Marclay: Investigations
It’s not unusual, considering HCMF’s openness to stepping outside the bounds of convention, for a new work at the festival to have to overcome how extraordinary it is. That was certainly the case in...
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