An apocalyptic spectacle from Robert Ames and the LCO

By Timmy Fisher, 02 November 2018

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“There was much to be applauded in this fascinating foray into the apocalypse”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 31 October 2018

Scelsi, Uaxuctum "The legend of the Maya city which they themselves destroyed for religious reasons" (UK première)

Adams, Become Ocean

London Contemporary Orchestra

London Contemporary Orchestra Choir

Robert Ames, Conductor

Universal Assembly Unit, Visuals

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

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

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’.

Game on! Success for first Prom devoted to the global genre

Roy Westbrook, 1st August

If music is ever heard in a post-apocalyptic world, surely this is how it will sound.

****1

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Timmy Fisher

Timmy read musicology at Durham University, studying composition with Richard Rijnvos. He has written for Gramophone and The Spectator, and composes for both film and the concert hall. He has a special interest in contemporary choral music, and co-hosts The Classical Music Pod with Sam Poppleton, available on iTunes and Spotify. Follow him on twitter at @timmy_fisher.