Machine for Contacting the Dead: a playlist for Halloween

Catrinas of the Día de los Muertos, inspired by the illustrations of José Guadalupe Posada

José Guadalupe Posada’s “Gran calavera eléctrica” (Grand electric skull), c.1910

By Lawrence Dunn, 24 October 2022

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“music like sonic archaeology: digging forcefully into the ground, to reach ancestral spirits”

Lawrence Dunn, 17th December

From Buxtehude, Bach and Handel, to contemporary composer Liza Lim, we take a tour of the myriad forms of composers’ handwriting and calligraphy – and how music makes itself on the page.

Changing the face of modern music: the Arditti Quartet at 50

Tim Rutherford-Johnson, 22nd May

For five decades, Irvine Arditti has been at the forefront of new music for string quartet. Ahead of concerts at Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Arditti talks about his many collaborations with composers – including a long friendship with Toshio Hosokawa.

With pipes, drums and fiddles: a Ligeti playlist

Lawrence Dunn, 26th May

Born 100 years ago, the music of Hungarian composer György Ligeti is varied and multiplicitous, displaying a voracious curiosity and a multifaceted imagination.

Eight women composers to watch

Lawrence Dunn, 8th March

A playlist presenting a multiplicity of musics from eight women composers from around the world, with premieres in 2023.

Electric dreams: Sound Unwrapped 2023 at Kings Place

Bachtrack, 22nd November

With events ranging from contemporary classical to early music and electronica, Kings Place’s Sound Unwrapped 2023 is a mind-expanding exploration of combinations of acoustic sound and electronics.

Bachtrack top ten: Frédéric Chopin

Mark Pullinger, 1st March

Ten works revealing the paradox of Chopin: a composer outwardly delicate, inwardly steely; rooted in Polish dance rhythms, yet formed in Parisian sophistication.

Lawrence Dunn

Lawrence is commissioning editor at Bachtrack. He is a composer, improviser, pianist and writer. He has taught at Cambridge, Huddersfield and Sheffield universities. He has written music for, among others the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Slagwerk Den Haag, Philip Thomas, Juliet Fraser, Ilya Gringolts, Plus-Minus, Exaudi, Apartment House and Explore Ensemble.