At home with eclectic cool: The Hermes Experiment at SJSS

By Christopher Woodley, 30 September 2022

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“rarely have I heard a harp sound so angry, its wires strangling the air”

Reviewed at Smith Square Hall, London on 28 September 2022

Programme to include:

Strozzi, Tradimento! (arr. Werner)

Meredith, Fin Like a Flower (arr. Schofield)

Coult, I Find Planets

Shaw, Plan & Elevation (arr. Denholm)

Wallen, gun, gun, gun

The Hermes Experiment, Bass Piece

Witter-Johnson, Draw the Line

Hall, Befalling (arr. Pashley)

Leith, Uh Huh, Yeah

The Hermes Experiment

Héloïse Werner, Soprano

Oliver Pashley, Clarinet

Marianne Schofield, Double Bass

Anne Denholm, Harp

LA Phil celebrates the California spirit with Andrés Orozco-Estrada

Cameron Kelsall, 3rd May

The program features Maria Dueñas in Korngold's Violin Concerto and a moving tribute to LA native Michael Tilson Thomas

****1

Denis Kozhukhin: captivating storytelling with the London Symphony

Clare Varney, 1st May

At the Konzerthaus Dortmund, Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO are joined by Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin to plunge into the depths of despair in Bernstein’s melancholic The Age of Anxiety.

***11

Eric Lu brings scintillating Chopin to Singapore

Chang Tou Liang, 1st May

A world premiere by Wang Chenwei, familiar Chopin and a rare outing for Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta make for satisfying fare in Jahcun Wong’s Singapore Symphony programme.

****1

BBC Philharmonic’s bold but unbalanced Stravinsky and Adams

Leighton Jones, 1st May

Balance issues mar an otherwise compelling programme from John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

***11

Yuja Wang with the Mahler CO: between lyricism and volatility

Edward Sava-Segal, 1st May

Yuja Wang and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra frame Chopin’s E minor concerto with two Prokofiev works, the First Symphony and Second Piano Concerto.

****1

Echoes of Albion: Julian Bliss joins Chromatica at Wilton’s Music Hall

Mark Valencia, 30th April

An uncluttered evening of English music includes Gerald Finzi’s gorgeous Clarinet Concerto and Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge.

***11

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Christopher Woodley

Christopher’s professional background is in the public sector, and includes a spell in music librarianship. A composer, he is a keen follower of contemporary music and has attended all but four editions of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, including the first concert in 1978. Other musical passions include a fascination with the “bad boys” of the New Complexity fixation, particularly the god-like Brian Ferneyhough – arguably the best thing to have come out of Coventry. When not listening to Boulez, Christopher relaxes by frequenting the fields, orchards, woodlands and pubs on the Weald of Kent, where he lives.

At home with eclectic cool: The Hermes Experiment at St John's Smith Square