London Contemporary Orchestra Soloists at the Royal Albert Hall

By Paul Kilbey, 05 September 2012

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Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall: Elgar Room, London on 10 July 2012

Berio, Sequenza IXa, for clarinet

Harvey, Homage to Cage, à Chopin (und Ligeti is auch dabei)

Cage, Excerpts 7pm to 8pm

Cole, Simulacrum

Benjamin, Three Miniatures for Solo Violin

Adès, Darknesse visible

Xenakis, Psappha

Feldman, The Viola in my Life III

London Contemporary Orchestra

Scott Lygate, Clarinet

Antoine Françoise, Piano

Robert Ames, Viola

Daniel Pioro, Violin

Joely Cragg, Percussion

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 at the Reverb Festival

Paul Kilbey, 3rd March

There's classical music, and there's pop. You can throw as many violins into the bridge section as you like, and you can amplify the orchestra all you want as well. It's unfortunate, but a certain divide looks set to stay.

****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’.

Françoise-Green Piano Duo at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival

Simon Rees, 16th May

Piano duo Antoine Françoise and Robin Green perform a challenging, innovative and entertaining lunchtime recital.

****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.