London Contemporary Orchestra at the Reverb Festival

By Paul Kilbey, 05 March 2012

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Reviewed at The Roundhouse, London on 3 March 2012

Xenakis, Metastaseis

Prokofiev, Concerto for Bass Drum and Orchestra (European Premiere)

Greenwood, Doghouse

Stockhausen, Studie 1

Vivier, Orion

London Contemporary Orchestra

Hugh Tieppo-Brunt, Conductor

Joby Burgess, Percussion

Gabriel Prokofiev, Electronics

Daniel Pioro, Violin

Robert Ames, Viola

Oliver Coates, Cello

Glass' complete exploration of Bowie's Berlin Trilogy

Gus Mitchell, 9th May

Glass and Bowie meet again in the concluding chapter of his Berlin Trilogy symphonies at the Royal Festival Festival

****1

An apocalyptic spectacle from Robert Ames and the LCO

Timmy Fisher, 31st October

Excellent performances of Scelsi's Uaxuctum and John Luther Adams' prescient Become Ocean were by accompanied by an impressive, but ultimately distracting audiovisual display.

***11

Grey reverie and awkward electronics

Danny Riley, 6th September

The LCO and Actress present tantalizing textures, while new works of placid emotion envelop the senses.

***11

London Contemporary Orchestra Soloists at the Royal Albert Hall

Paul Kilbey, 10th July

Contemporary classical music is happening in all manner of unexpected venues in London at the moment, from Peckham car parks to pubs. But it isn't just getting edgier – it's also getting more respectable, if last night's suave affair in the Royal Albert Hall's Elgar Room is anything to go by.

****1

Grisey and Suckling in Shoreditch Church

Paul Kilbey, 12th December

Reading Gérard Grisey’s programme notes on his masterpiece Vortex Temporum is not the most agreeable experience. The reader is informed that the work is structured around ‘three basic forms’: ‘the original event – a sinusoidal wave – and two continuous events, an attack with or without resonance as well as a sound held with or without crescendo’.

Avant-garde echoes meet minimalist soundscapes in Hallé concert

Pwyll ap Sion, 26th February

Jonny Greenwood’s genre-defying music is given a powerful performance by violinist Daniel Pioro and members of The Hallé Orchestra under Hugh Tieppo-Brunt.

****1

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Paul Kilbey

Paul was Reviews Editor at Bachtrack from 2012 to February 2014. He has written on music and culture for publications including Culture Wars, the Huffington Post, the Independent and the Guardian. He holds BA and MPhil degrees in music from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and is particularly passionate about contemporary music of all types. His website is here.