Finding the balance? Psappha with Ligeti, Kurtág and more

By Hugh Morris, 28 September 2018

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Reviewed at Stoller Hall, Manchester on 27 September 2018

Lutosławski, Variations on a theme by Paganini, for piano and orchestra

Bartók, Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion, Sz.110

Kurtág, Scenes from a Novel, for soprano and ensemble, Op. 19

Ligeti, Aventures

Ligeti, Nouvelles Aventures

Psappha

Nicholas Kok, Conductor

Gillian Keith, Soprano

Jessica Gillingwater, Vocals

Alexander Robin-Baker, Baritone

Psappha and The Hebrides Ensembles celebrate 25 years

David Smythe, 9th November

Psappha and The Hebrides Ensembles celebrate 25 years of music-making with a new commission, a tribute to Maxwell Davies and Schoenberg’s soulful Verklärte Nacht.

****1

Pleasure: A refreshing operatic experience

Chris Garlick, 12th May

So many things are right about Mark Simpson's new opera Pleasure, receiving its London debut at the Lyric Hammersmith.

****1

Phoenix Dance Theatre in London

Jaime Robles, 19th November

Each piece in Phoenix Dance Theatre's Linbury Studio programme was a short study on interaction – from the extremely personal to the cosmic and metaphysical.

***11

Kevin Puts’ Silent Night given its UK première

Richard Wilcocks, 30th November

Opera North's triumphant UK première production of Silent Night by Kevin Puts is directed at Leeds Town Hall by Tim Albery and conducted by Nicholas Kok.

*****

Monsters of the mind: Idomeneo at the Buxton Festival

Mark Pullinger, 8th July

Stephen Medcalf directs a coherent staging of Mozart’s opera seria in which Idomeneo’s inner demons are to be battled.

***11

Pleasure: A refreshing operatic experience

Chris Garlick, 12th May

So many things are right about Mark Simpson's new opera Pleasure, receiving its London debut at the Lyric Hammersmith.

****1

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Hugh Morris

Hugh is a freelance writer and composer based in Manchester. He contributes to a range of publications in the UK and US, including GRAMMY, Jazzwise, Reverb, The Sampler, The Calvert Journal and The Big Issue across music, politics and society. He also works for London-based jazz label Whirlwind Recordings, and for Manchester music charity Olympias Music Foundation.

Finding the balance? Psappha with Ligeti, Kurtág and more at Stoller Hall