SoundState: A bright future for new music at the Southbank

SoundState: A bright future for new music at the Southbank

A quick skim through Bachtrack’s 2018 statistics will reveal a more than sedentary attitude towards programming. The most performed living composer, Arvo Pärt, only entered the fray at number 46, whilst his female counterpart, Kaija Saariaho, was ranked a staggering 190th. It was, then, with some relief that I joined a packed audience at the Royal Festival Hall for the first in multiple offerings from SoundState – the Southbank Centre’s brand-new festival, committed exclusively to performing new music.

Read the full review on Bachtrack.

Mark Bowden's Sapiens: humanity in music from the London Sinfonietta

Mark Bowden's Sapiens: humanity in music from the London Sinfonietta

I can’t claim to have much prior experience of Mark Bowden – save for a few whispers amongst the au courant of my university’s music department, and a vague sense of some well received discs which, as is so often the case, I never got round to listening to. But as the final movement of his Sapiens sputtered into nothingness, leaving an enraptured audience grappling with the speculative message of Yuval Noah Harari’s second book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, I felt both foolish to have overlooked Bowden’s music, and deeply fortunate to be present for the world première of this, his latest work.

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Seeking new horizons with the Royal Philharmonic

Seeking new horizons with the Royal Philharmonic

“Did you get your hearing aid to work, Ian?” “I didn’t need it in the end!” Just one scrap of conversation overheard in the lobby of Cadogan Hall after last night’s Hungarian bonanza, which – and I’m inclined to agree with Ian – was not lacking in oomph.

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Re-imagining: A showcase for innovation, both old and new at Kings Place

Re-imagining: A showcase for innovation, both old and new at Kings Place

To describe this afternoon’s programme without raising eyebrows is rather like how I imagine the pioneer of the peanut butter and jam sandwich felt when justifying their discovery.

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Polymath composers and their extra-musical successes

Polymath composers and their extra-musical successes

We all knew that one student at school who seemed to miraculously excel at everything: they played in the football team, sang in the choir and starred in the school play, effortlessly straddling the full spectrum of achievement much to the envy of the rest of us. 

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Banksy’s stunt wasn’t even original – and why we should support ads on Sydney Opera House

Banksy’s stunt wasn’t even original – and why we should support ads on Sydney Opera House

Read it on the The Spectator website here

Photo credit: Christian Mehlführer

Participation Starts with Inspiration: heritage protection must not trump disabled access

Participation Starts with Inspiration: heritage protection must not trump disabled access

Many of the UK’s churches and performance venues are poorly equipped for the disabled, often because heritage law prohibits alteration. This goes against principles of inclusion within Christianity and music-making

The African-American Spiritual: Across the Atlantic and Back

The African-American Spiritual: Across the Atlantic and Back

The Spiritual has been borrowed, developed and reimagined across countless musical cultures. Here’s a glance at just a few examples of its incredible journey.