News/Events » LMM recommends...
LMM recommends...
...music events around London town that have caught our eyes and ears...
›Simón Bolívar String Quartet
Catch this quartet while you can! Made up of former pupils of the world - famous and widely emulated El Sistema programme, tickets are bound to sell fast.
Date 8 September
Time 7.30pm
Venue Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre
Tickets £9-£30
For more info (incl. a short video) and to book tickets click here http://bit.ly/aAQXQK
›Plaid & Southbank Gamelan players
Mixing electronic music with a gamelan orchestra. Apparently the '...the effect is bewitching...' (Drowned in Sound) - put together with a beautiful East London Victorian warehouse venue and I'm sold.
Date 8 September
Venue Villlage Underground
Tickets £14.50
http://bit.ly/9wF8KS
›Tansy Davies Prom 72
To give you an idea of what an occasion this Prom is, there are a total of THREE events surrounding it: an introduction to the composer with performances of her chamber works, the Prom itself where her BBC commissioned work 'Wild Card' will have its World Premiere and an after-party organised by Non-Classical. *Phew*
Composer Portrait
Date 8.09.2010
Time 5.15pm
Venue Royal College of Music
Prom
Date 08.09.2010
Time 7pm
Venue Royal Albert Hall
Tickets £7-£35
http://bbc.in/9OK52J
After-Party with Non - Classical
Date 08.09.2010
Time 9pm-12am
Venue Hoop and Toy pub, Kensington
Tickets £3 with flyer/ £4 without
http://bit.ly/9gdMtE
›King's Place Festival
London Sinfonietta players perform Thomas Adès chamber works
What a wonderful programme! Players from an ensemble dedicated to the promotion of new music perform chamber repertoire by one of Britain's most prolific contemporary composers. Aside from high calibre artists, on a more pragmatic note, the concert is also 45 mins long with no interval (good for school nights), start time 8.30pm (no need to rush your drink) and it's only £4.50. Great stuff.
Date 09.09.2010
Time 8.30pm
Venue Hall Two, King's Place
Tickets £4.50
http://bit.ly/9zjaut
›Surreal House
This is one of the best exhibitions I have ever seen: a jubilant, life- affirming exploration and celebration of the absurd and surreal, with a central theme of the home and architecture. Leave many hours to explore!
Date until 12.09.2010
Time all day
Venue Barbican Centre
Tickets £10
http://bit.ly/a0mnBr
›Chopin: The Course
..and finally, a Polish excursion in honour of our LMM Artist Agata Szymzewska.
Date until 12.09.2010
Time all day
Venue St. Katherine's Dock, Wapping
http://bit.ly/aGhqvI
//SUMMERTIME!!//
THE PROMS
All of us at LMM towers are extremely excited by the start of the Proms season on Friday 16.07.2010. Here are a few we think are just too good to miss
›Prom 1
Date 16.07.2010
Time 8pm–9.30pm
Venue Royal Albert Hall
Tickets £8–£44, price band B or Prom for £5
Featuring BBC Symphony Orchestra, resident ensemble of the Proms, opening this year’s Proms with a celebration of Mendelssohn’s 150th Anniversary as they perform ‘Symphony of a thousand’ for voice and orchestra.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/1607.shtml
›Prom 15
Date 28.07.2010
Time 7.30pm–c10.05pm
Venue Royal Albert Hall
Tickets £7–£35, price band A or Prom for £5
This event features the London premiere of composer Colin Matthews’ Violin Concerto, which happily combines two of LMM favourite things; London and violins! On the same billing is a composition by Luke Bedford, composer in residence at our the Wigmore Hall, our partners. The concert is opened by Stockhausen ‘Jubilee’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/2807.shtml
›Prom 42
Date 17.08.2010
Time 7pm–9.15pm
Venue Royal Albert Hall
Tickets £7–£35, price band A or Prom for £5
This Prom features the world premiere of Huw Watkins’ violin concerto, a BBC commission. The soloist will be Alina Ibragimova, not just a bright light on the classical scene, but also often accompanied by Huw Watkins in recital.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/1708.shtml
›Prom 49
Date 22.08.2010
Time 4.00pm–c5.30pm
Venue Royal Albert Hall
Tickets £7–£35, price band A or Prom for £5
Tonight the spotlight falls on Broadway as Prom 49 celebrates the incredible repertoire of American musical partnership, Rogers and Hammerstein. Conductor John Wilson leads a programme including excerpts from Carousel, Flower Drum Song, Oklahoma!, The King and I and The Sound of Music.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/2208.shtml
Family Events
›RCM Sparks Summer Spring Board short courses
Royal College of Music
Wed 28 – Fri 30 July, ages 13-15 (including a group trip to the Proms on 29 July)
Wed 4 – Fri 6 August, ages 16-18 (including a group trip to the Proms on 4 August)
Kick-start your summer with some inspirational music-making with our creative partners, RCM. With the support of workshop leaders and a team of young RCM musicians, experience the RCM’s state-of-the-art facilities while you improvise, jam, compose, create and perform a new incredible piece inspired by music from the BBC Proms. For all abilities and musical styles.
›Fantastic Mr Fox, Opera Holland Park
26 July – 14 August 2010
Tickets cost £5 per adult and £2.50 for children under 16 years
Opera Holland Park
Opera Holland Park present this magical opera for families, using the atmospheric Yucca lawn of Holland Park as a natural scenic backdrop.
With glorious melodies framing the story of the wily Mr Fox and his bid to outwit his farmer neighbours this is an enchanting hour of entertainment for audiences of all ages.
07.07.2010 - 15.07.2010
›The English Concert Master Class 2010
The Foundling Museum
5-8.07.2010
Free
The first English Concert Master Class for young harpsichordist-directors takes place next week at the Foundling Museum in London, from 5-8 July.
Four aspiring young musicians will work intensively with The English Concert, Harry Bicket, Laurence Cummings and solo singers in a range of Baroque repertoire, culminating in a final concert on Thursday 8 July at 7.30pm, in which all students direct The English Concert in Master Class repertoire.
›Pleasure’s Progress – The Piazza
Royal Opera House
Friday 9 and Saturday 10 July 2010, 7.00pm and 9.00pm
£?
This event, inspired by the work of William Hogarth, will utilise music, dance and voice to provide a satirical and entertaining comment on the human condition. The spirit of Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress, Marriage-a-la-Mode and Gin Lane will be represented here. With a libretto by Alasdair Middleton, music by Paul Englishby and contemporary designs by Jon Bausor, Pleasure’s Progress has all the ingredients for an unusual and inventive evening, with a collision of styles and influences from classical singing to not-so-classical dance.
›The Cardinall’s Musick
Wigmore Hall
Monday 12 July 2010, 7.30pm
£15 - £30
During Spain’s Golden Age, the Virgin Mary was a popular subject with some of the country’s finest artists, writers and composers. Francisco Guerrero was known as ‘el cantor de Maria’. Much of his highly characterful music was dedicated to the Virgin, from well-crafted four-part pieces to the more splendid double-choir numbers. This event sets Guerrero alongside his contemporaries and colleagues Morales, Esquivel, Vivanco, Alonso Lobo and the brightest star of all, Tomas Luis da Victoria.
›Postcards from America – A Concert of New Music by Female American Composers
St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Tuesday 13 July 2010, 1.00pm
Donations
This exciting performance will feature Michelle Fiala on oboe and William Averill on piano. The programme will consist of works by American composers Beverley Lewis, Susan Kander and Alyssa Morris. This fresh and invigorating lunchtime treat is the perfect way to pass an hour of a stressful day.
›Musical Dominion of Louis XIV
Handel House Museum
Thursday 8 July 2010, 6.30pm
£7.50 - £9
Anna Kucharska will perform a programme for solo harpsichord looking at the greatest composers associated with the Court of Louis XIV as well as pieces of English and German music written under the influence of French style and forms. Music to include Partita No. 4 in D major by J.S. Bach, suites by L. Couperin, J.J. Froberger, H. Purcell, J. Blow as well as J.H. d'Anglebert's arrangements of Lully's orchestral pieces.
30.06.2010 - 06.07.2010
›The Poetry of Jorge Luis Borges
King’s Place
Thursday 1 July 2010, 6.20pm
£6.50
Of all the writers who helped shape the Latin American Boom of the 1960’s, few are as well known as Jorge Luis Borges. This evening’s event, a lecture by the poet and essayist Hector Dante Cincotta, will shed light on the essence of Borges’ poetry, and on his role one of the greatest voices of Argentina.
›Icarus at the Edge of Time
Southbank Centre – Royal Festival Hall
Saturday 3 July 2010, 7.30pm
£10 - £30
This performance, featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Brian Greene, Philip Glass, Al and Al and Marin Alsop, reinterprets the classic Greek myth of Icarus. Based on Brian Greene’s book, the story is set in space in the future. A score by Philip Glass and a cinematic input from Al and Al promises to make this event a multi sensory experience.
›Havana Cultura Live – New Cuba Sound
Barbican Hall
Tuesday 6 July 2010, 7.30pm
£10 - £20
The purpose of this event is to celebrate and document Cuban music since the glory days of the Buena Vista Social Club era. It also coincides with DJ Gilles Peterson’s latest release. The Barbican will host an evening of Cuba's freshest musical talent - from Latin, afro jazz and fusion to hip hop, funk, reggaeton and R&B. Powered by Roberto Fonseca's acclaimed band, the night features Cuban star Danay (described by Gilles Peterson as 'Cuba's Jill Scott').
23.06.2010 - 29.06.2010
›Dirty Projectors & Alarm Will Sound: The Getty Address
Barbican Hall
Friday 25 June 2010, 8.00pm
£15 - £25
This exciting collaboration is one not to be missed. Dirty Projectors, a Brooklyn based experimental rock group led by Dave Longstreth, will join forces with Alarm Will Sound, a twenty member contemporary chamber orchestra. The formers 2005 album, The Getty Address, will form the focal point for the evening, and selected songs from the 2009 album, Bitte Orca, will also be performed. This is the programme’s first European engagement, but its previous two US bookings were completely sold out.
›Versailles and the 24 Violons du Roi
Royal College of Music
Friday 25 June 2010, 6pm
£5 - £8
This will be the first appearance in 250 years for a very special group of instruments. The ’24 Strings’, founded in 1626 under Louis XIII, is often regarded as the world’s first orchestra. Unfortunately, most of the original instruments have been lost, but they have been recreated by expert luthiers. The evening will include music by Lully, Marais and Rebel.
›Paco Peňa – Flamenco sin Fronteras
Sadler’s Wells
Tuesday 29 June until Saturday 3 July, 7.30pm
£10 - £38
Flamenco guitarist Paco Peňa returns to Sadler’s Wells to perform his new show, directed by Jude Kelly. The show will feature 12 musicians, additional singers and dancers, and guest artists from Venezuela. The aim of the event is to explore the many dance styles which emerged through the migration of Spanish performers to Latin America c.1900.
14.06.2010 - 20.06.2010
›Elena Urioste Recital, LMM Awards Artist
Queen’s Gate Terrace, SW7
Thursday 17 June 2010, 7pm
£20, includes a pre-concert reception from 7pm and interval drinks
Elena has been consistently gaining recognition as an artist to watch from an early age. Since making her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at 13, she has appeared with major orchestras throughout the United State including the Cleveland Orchestra and the Boston Pops. Most recently, earlier this month, she dazzled US audiences with her Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut under the baton of Sir Mark Elder In 2009, she made her UK debut with a Wigmore Hall recital, as the launch of her LMM Award. This summer she will be participating in the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival In the US and the Sion-Valais International Festival in Switzerland.
-To purchase tickets by post: please send a cheque made payable to ‘London Music Masters’ and marking ’17 June Recital’ on the reverse to the following: Charlotte Hintzen, London Music Masters, 3 London Wall Buildings, London Wall, London EC2M 5SY
-To purchase tickets by email: please email Charlotte Hintzen on chintzen@londonmusicmasters.org to reserve. Tickets can then be paid for on the evening of the recital; credit cards are not accepted.
›OperaShots: Entanglement / A Ring A Lamp A Thing / Ingerland
Royal Opera House
Friday 18 – Saturday 26 June 2010, 7.30pm
£11 - £20
This event, comprising three short contemporary operas, was conceived in order to raise the profile of opera through commissions from artists with established reputations in non-operatic fields. Sawheny, a producer, songwriter, DJ, orchestral composer, flamenco guitarist and classical/jazz pianist, will present his creation; Entanglement. The opera was inspired by Schrödinger’s Cat experiment, and focuses on a moment suspended in time experienced by a woman about to read a pregnancy test. A Ring A Lamp A Thing, by Orland Gough, is a solo operatic piece for a single female voice treated electronically. Finally, Ingerland, by Jocelyn Pook, will explore and recreate the frenzy of energy felt at a football match.
›Film and Talk: The Music of Terezín
Wigmore Hall
Saturday 19 June 2010, 4.00pm
£3 or free with separate evening concert ticket
This event will comprise a film directed by Simon Broughton focusing on the music played and composed in Terezín 1941–1945, and talks with Zdenka Fantlova and Helga Weissova-Hoskova, both Terezín survivors. The concentration camp of Theresienstadt, or Terezín in Czech, is now known as a shocking example of Nazi propaganda. At the time, it was promoted as a kind venue to send Jews to, and forced the inmates to create art and music which the Nazis then showcased to the Red Cross. In reality the prisoners were starving and in constant fear for their lives. This film and discussion will celebrate the music they produced under inhumane conditions.
›Study Day with the Viola da Gamba Society
King’s Place
Saturday 19 June 2010, 2.00pm
£17.50
Famous for circumnavigating the globe and repulsing the Spanish Armada, Francis Drake included musicians as part of the crew on his voyages. Viol expert Dr. Ian Woodfield will give a lecture on this topic, followed by a discussion. The composer Orlando Gough will then join him for a talk on The World Encompassed.
Family Events
Young London: Into Music
19 & 20 June 2010, 12 pm – 10pm
Free Entry
Young London: into Music is one of the main stages at Paradise Gardens, a free multi-art form festival presenting the best of East London and International talent. Young London: Into Music is a Create 10 project bringing together new music from 5 different host boroughs and the best Youth Music organisations.
Not Just for Grown-Ups: Xenakis Unbound
19 June 2010 10.30am – 6.30pm
Free entry
Awaken your musical senses with a fun family day of activity and chance musical encounters. Throughout the day, explore Xenakis’ extraordinary music through games, talks and workshops, followed by a performance of Pléïades, his percussion masterpiece composed for six soloists and based on the mathematical organisation of sound.
Interactive games
10.30am – 4.30pm
Musical Encounters
10.30am – 12.00pm
Junk percussion workshops
11.00am – 12.30pm & 1.30pm – 3.00pm
Meet the sixxen
1.30pm – 2.30pm
Pléïades Performance
5.30pm – 6.30pm
07.06.2010 - 13.06.2010
›E4 Udderbelly: The Freestyle Project
Monday 7 June 2010, 8.30pm
Southbank Centre, off Queens Walk South, between the Royal Festival Hall and London Eye
£11 - £14
Beardyman has gathered together a selection of the greatest lyrical freestylers for tonight’s performance. Beardyman made his name due to his impressive beatboxing skills and also his musicality and innovative use of live looping technology, and incorporation of different genres and elements in his stage performances. This evenings event should prove even more energetic and diverse as Beardyman interacts with both audience and special guests on stage to create and electric improvised atmosphere.
›Re:mix: Curated by Steve Pretty
Monday 7 June 2010, 7.45pm
The Forge Arts Centre
Free entry: donation based
Re:mix is a monthly night exhibiting the work of both established and emerging artists. Musicians from every conceivable genre will share the spotlight with artists, writers and comedians. Performers will showcase their signature work alongside experimental pieces and finally will collaborate with each other at the end of the night.
›Bounce’s Insane in the Brain
Monday 7 – Sunday 27 June 2010, Matinees and Evenings
Sadler’s Wells
£10 - £36
This event stems from an innovate interpretation of Ken Kesey’s masterpiece One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. This excellent piece of literature has been reinvented as a play, a film, and now as a performance of contemporary dance theatre. Within the confines of a psychiatric hospital, break-dancing becomes a means of artistic expression, and more importantly, of rebellion against the tyrannical Nurse Ratched. The performance will also feature, among others, the music of Missy Elliot, Dizzee Rascal, Gotan Project and Cypress Hill.
>Joe Turner's Come and Gone
27 May - 03 July 2010
Young Vic
£22.50
After seven long years, Herald Loomis has been released from Joe Turner’s slave gang. Now he is scouring Pittsburgh for the wife he left behind. And for the road that will lead him to freedom and his rightful place in a new world.
David Lan directs an extraordinary cast featuring Delroy Lindo, star of many hit films including The Cider House Rules, A Life Less Ordinary, Get Shorty and Malcolm X. He appears alongside Adjoa Andoh star of the Oscar-nominated Invictus and Danny Sapani, star of E4's Misfits. The ensemble also features acclaimed TV and theatre actors Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Petra Letang (Naomi in EastEnders) as well as rising stars Nathaniel Martello-White, Demi Oyediran and Riann Steele.
Family Events
Bon Voyage
12 June 2010, 11.am
Adults £8
Children £6
Family of four £22
Pack your bags and join Southbank Sinfonia and Kevin Hathway as they explore Europe’s musical treasures. The orchestra will discover Irish delights, sing in Austria, play castanets in Spain and dance the cancan in Paris.
Family Concert – Elias String Quartet
12 June 2010, 11.00
Adults £7
Children £4
Step into a musical time machine with the young, charismatic Elias String Quartet and presenter, Sam Glazer, as they lead you on a journey of discovery from the 17th century to the present day. Join in with fun activities for the whole family!
› Eastern Promise Evening
Tuesday 1 June 2010, 7.30pm
Royal Opera House
£6 - £14
The purpose of this event is to explore the huge influence that lands east of the Black Sea have had on Western Opera and Ballet. Il turco in Italia, Aida, Artaxexes and Tamerlano are just some examples of the impact the East has had on both composers and choreographers. Tonight, Sarah Lenton and John Snelson will explore the music and plots which fascinated Europe focusing particularly on opera.
› The London Theatre: Music and Musicians
Sunday 6 June 2010, 3pm
Handel House Museum
£11 - £13
This event will focus on the musicians working in London theatres playhouses during the time of Handel’s residence and their compositions. Music will be performed by the ensemble in residence, Spirituoso, and will include works by Paisable and Sammartini. The ensemble features Ricardo Barros on harpsichord, Lisete da Silva on recorders and Nicholas Stringfellow on viola da gamba.
› Electric Hotel
Wednesday 2 until Saturday 19 June 2010, 9.45pm
Sadlers Wells (King’s Cross Central)
£15
Electric Hotel, a uniquely designed outdoor event, will incorporate dance, music, visuals and interaction with a huge outdoor set to make the performance unforgettable. The action will take place against the unusual backdrop of the last remaining Victorian ironwork Gas Holder at King’s Cross Central, and in a four storey temporary structure. Sitting on the outside looking in and wearing headphones, the audience will become voyeurs and eavesdroppers, spying on the residents of the rooms and watching their lives unfold behind closed doors.
Family
›Family Ignite with Albert’s Band
Monday 31 May 2010, 12 am or 3pm
Royal Albert Hall
Free
›Children’s Keys, Cakes and Coffee
Sunday 6 June 2010, 11am
The Forge
Adults £10 with coffee and cake, £7 just music
Children £7 with cake and drink, £4 Just music
24.05.2010 - 30.05.2010
›Alina Ibragimova violin; Cédric Tiberghien piano
Tuesday 25 May 2010, 7.30pm
Wigmore Hall
£12 - £24
This is a great opportunity to hear two talented young musicians from the BBC New Generation Artists Scheme. Both have had successful solo careers to date, and this evenings’ programme of Beethoven violin sonatas will surely prove the perfect platform for them to perform in partnership.
›The Two Moors Festival: Tenth Birthday Fundraising Concert
Wednesday 26 May 2010, 7.30pm
Cadogan Hall
£10 - £35
This remarkable festival has enjoyed great success since it’s inception in 2001 and will no doubt continue for a long time to annually promote both classical music and the areas in which it takes place; Dartmoor and Exmoor. Originally founded to bring some cheer in the wake of the Foot and Mouth outbreak a decade ago, it has truly become that catastrophes’ silver lining. Featuring renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and other talented performers, this fundraising birthday bash can only serve to encourage attendance at the festival itself in October.
› Sound & Silents: Greta Garbo in The Temptress
Thursday 27 May 2010, 7.30pm
King’s Place
£9.50 - £24.50
Natalie Clein and John Lenehan, through their virtuosity on cello and piano, tell here a passionate and fiery love story set in Paris and Argentina. This event is part of the Sound and Silent series from Birds Eye View. This charity, founded as a short film event in 2002, has gone from strength to strength and are now developing year-round activity with our First Weekenders Club, BEV Labs, touring programme and online community.
›Bobby McFerrin & The London Vocal Project
Saturday 29 May 2010, 8.00pm
Barbican Centre
£20 - £35
This performance marks the latest recording from the remarkable Bobby McFerrrin entitled VOCabuLarieS. This record has been described as ‘music for the 21st century’, and incorporates a huge range of stylistic influences, including classical, jazz, gospel, world music and R&B. This performance is sure to have the energy and joyful quality that the 10 time Grammy winner is renowned for, and will also showcase the carefully composed score that has been several years in the making for this record
Family
›Family Play Day: ‘Budding Maestros’ 
29 May 2010
Royal Academy of Music
10.30am – 12.00pm (Children of 5-7 years)
12.00 pm– 3.30pm (Children of 8-11)
Free entry: No ticket required but booking is essential.
Join Sabina Netherclift as she leads an interactive, family friendly workshop exploring the art of conducting. This fun-filled day has been inspired by the Academy’s current museum exhibition, ‘Orchestral Magicians’ and gives you the chance to experience the excitement of leading a group of musicians.
›Mark Padmore Family Concert
29 May 2010, 11 am
Wigmore Hall
Adults £7, Children £4
Enjoy the brilliant tenor Mark Padmore, in an entertaining programme featuring a surprising cast of creatures! See if you can you spot the hippopotamus in the mud or spy the stallion splashing through the ford. There will also be a chance to join in, so make sure you warm up your voices!
17.05.2010 - 23.05.2010
›Ensemble Amorpha
19 May 2010, 7.30pm
The Forge Arts Centre
£10 - £12
This chamber music ensemble features a group of highly successful individual musicians who have recently come together in order to bring contemporary music from around the world to the UK. They specialise in performing pieces by living composers and collaborate with a wide range of talented names. The line up for this event includes Untitled Duo by Luke Styles, a new work by Evangelia Rigaki, Rebecca Clarke's Prelude, Allegro and Pastorale, Monodia by Roberto Rusconi along with works by Bach and Poulenc.
›London Concert Choir: The Glory of Italy
21 May 2010, 7.30pm
St. Martin-in-the-Fields
£6 - £24
The London Concert Choir, founded in 1960, has over 100 members and a wide range of expertise in performing many genres of classical music, from unaccompanied church music to large scale choral works. Who better then, to take on compositions from some of the giants of Italy’s illustrious musical history? Choice cuts from Pergolesi, Palestrina, Monteverdi, Verdi, Gabrieli and Rossini will make this event unforgettable.
›The Royal Ballet: Chroma / Tryst / Symphony in C
22 May-11 June 2010, 12/3/7.30pm
Royal Opera House
£4 - £65
Here, the Royal Ballet continues its exciting programme of presenting threefold short ballet performances featuring outstanding music and choreography. Chroma features music composed by Joby Talbot and arranged by the White Stripes. In Tryst, music composed by James Macmillan complements a classically influenced piece of choreography from Christopher Wheeldon. Finally, Symphony in C provides an uplifting finish alongside Bizet’s musical score.
Family
›The Fabulous Flutterbys
1 May – 4 July 2010
Little Angel Theatre
Adults: £10, Children/Concessions: £8 & School Groups: £5 with one free adult ticket for every 10 children.
The Fabulous Flutterbys is a brand new production following the adventures of two very different caterpillars who eat their way to success! This creepy crawly delight has been created by the imaginative mind of celebrated jazz legend, Barb Jungr.
›LSO Discovery Lunchtime Concert
21 May 2010, 12.30pm – 13.15pm
LSO St Lukes
FREE ENTRY
The LSO are again opening up their doors for another free, family friendly, Discovery concert. These regular Friday concerts have been created for everyone to enjoy, from regular concert-goers to those looking for an introduction to classical music, including young audience members of the future.
10.05.2010 - 16.05.2010
›London Symphony Orchestra / Valery Gergiev with Vadim Repin
12 May 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
£7 - £32
The main focus of this event will be to premiere James MacMillan’slatest work; a Violin Concerto. The performance also marks the composer’s 50th birthday. In order to complement the new piece, three classic compositions which pushed boundaries at the time of their composition, will be showcased along side Debussy’s Prélude á l'après-midi d'un Faune (1894) remains an exciting piece to this day, not only because of the quality of the music, but also because it heralded such a turning point in musical composition. Stravinsky’s dramatic Symphony of Psalms (1930) will then be contrasted with his Symphony in C (1940).
›Debut Sounds: London Philharmonic Orchestra and Foyle Future Firsts
Friday 14 May 2010, 7.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall
Debut Sounds presents an exciting opportunity to discover young talent at the highest level. Join LPO members and inspiring young instrumentalists from Foyles Future Firsts as they perform new sound worlds created by LPO Young Composers.
›Something Happening: The Place 40th Anniversary Celebrations
15 & 16 May 2010, all day, The Place
Tickets £10 per session, £25 for any three sessions, £40 for all five sessions
In celebration of their 40 year anniversary The Place are putting on a series of over 60 performances from the choreographers and dancers for whom the venue is a creative home and artistic laboratory.
›Classical Guitar: Gabor Podhorszky @ The Forge
16 May 2010, 11.00 am, The Forge Arts Centre
£4 - £12
Gabor Podhorszky, the Hungarian-born, London-based guitarist will perform an exciting selection from a diverse and impressive classical repertoire. Featuring works form Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Kaspar Mertz, Joaquin Roderigo and Astor Piazzolla, the event will take the audience from Baroque Germany to Hungary, Spain and finally to twentieth century Argentina. Gabor Podhorszky studied Baroque guitar and historical performance at postgraduate level at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. He also won first prize at the Transylvania International Guitar Competition in Cluj-Napoca, Romania in 2007.
Family
›Crash, Bang, Wallop! Goldilocks
Saturday 15 May 2010, Cadogan Hall
11 am – Creative and musical activities
12 pm – Concert
Adults £8, Children £6
Enter the wicked world of Roald Dahl’s Goldilocks with musicians from the City of London Sinfonia, as they play Kurt Schwertsik’s musical setting of the well-loved story. Lively presenter James Redwood will lead you through the wonderland. Be sure to arrive early and get involved in the musical activities beforehand!
›Junk Jam Day
Saturday 15 May, Wigmore Hall
10.30 am
Visit Wigmore Hall, one of our creative partners, and spend the day making your own instruments from junk and getting inspired by professional percussionists! Join composer Duncan Chapman for this day of family fun!
04.05.2010 - 09.05.2010
›Philip Miller: REwind: A Cantata for Voice, Tape and Testimony
6 May, 7.30pm
Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre
£15 - £25
This event will evoke the suffering and trauma of the era of Apartheid in South Africa, utilising vocal soloists, a string octet, a chorus and projected images. Despite the harrowing subject matter, the aim of the performance is to celebrate the resilience of the South African spirit and document the atrocities it endured. The composer, Philip Miller, has mixed operatic and traditional South African musical styles, and combined them with historical documentation and digital art to create a thought provoking and emotional piece.
›The Royal Ballet: Electric Counterpoint / Asphodel Meadows / Carmen
5 - 15 May, 1/7/7.30pm
Royal Opera House
£4 - £55
This award winning set of three short ballets features a wonderful mix of traditional, classical music and dance and contemporary innovation. Christopher Wheeldon’s Electric Counterpoint utilises digital video recordings of soloists, shown behind the live performance, so that the dancers become their own corps de ballet, accompanied by music from JS Bach and Steve Reich. Asphodel Meadows features Poulenc’s Double Piano Concerto. A witty interpretation of the story of Carmen accompanied by Bizet’s well loved music completes the performance. A diverse and exciting event not to be missed.
›Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, new commission for The Curve
open daily until 23 May 2010, 11am-8pm, 10pm on Thursdays
The Curve Art Gallery, Barbican Centre
FREE
This French born artist, trained as a musician and composer, provides here a truly captivating mixture of art and music. This walk through aviary, featuring free flying zebra finches and furnished with electric and bass guitars and cymbals, provide the visitor with an interactive aural and visual experience. No two visits will be the same as the movements of both birds and people create a spontaneous soundscape based on the everyday activities of the finches. The 600,000 Youtube hits this installation has received in just 4 weeks stands as testimony to its popularity, but nothing can beat experiencing the atmosphere of the event in person.
Family
›LPOFunharmonics
8 May 2010
Royal Festival Hall
11.30am-12.30pm
Child £4-7
Adult £8-14
Join our creative partner, the LPO, for an exciting morning of music making!. This family friendly concert takes you around the world with seven pieces inspired by travel. You will also have the opportunity to try out orchestral instruments, get your face painted and be part of a human orchestra!
›LSO Discovery Morning
8 May 2010
LSO St. Luke’s
10am
£3
Babies under 12 months go for free
A fun-packed morning for families with children under 8. A chance to take part in a variety of musical activities, including gamelan, music technology workshops, meeting LSOplayers and an informal concert in the Jerwood Hall.
26.04. – 02.05.2010
›OAE: ‘Monteverdi’s Vespers’
27 April 2010, 7.00pm, Southbank Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hall
£6 - £35
Not only do Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 showcase the composers’ talent for creating immensely enjoyable music, but they are also an excellent example of the transitional nature of Monteverdi’s works, straddled as he was between the Renaissance and the Baroque. Although the subject matter of the work is religious, the composition does not fail to be theatrical and exciting.
›‘Dance3’ : Tanja Raman & Dbini Industries / Darren Ellis / Douglas Thorpe / State of Flux Dancefilm Company
29 – 30 April 2010, 8.00pm
The Place, Robin Howard Dance Theatre
£5 - £15
Dance3is a new touring venture from the National Dance Network. This event will see it present three short dance performances from young emerging choreographers. Tanja Raman’s ‘(RE)Traces’ is based upon a theme of memories and is accompanied by a vivid electronic soundscape. ‘Sticks & Bones’, the brainchild of Darren Ellis, was created around the concept of the human body striving for rhythmic perfection through the medium of dance. Finally, Douglas Thorpe’s creation, ‘A Mind as Beautiful’ explores the experience of schizophrenia and features his trademark speed, rhythm and precision in the choreography.
›Chamber Concert: King's College
Featuring a composition by Paul Evernden-husband of Angela(one of LMM's Bridge Project violin tutors) !
Friday April 30th 2010 at 7pm
Entrance free - everyone welcome
The Great Hall, King's College London, Strand Campus
Programme to include works by George Benjamin, Silvina Milstein, Paul Evernden and Karol Szymanowski.
Family
>LSO: Weekly workshops for under-5s
26 April 2010
LSO St Lukes
Tickets: £77.50 per term
One ticket covers all ten weeks, starting Monday April 26
Join Vanessa King for this series of ten weekly 45-minute workshops for under-5s, with musicians from the LSO. Make music and have fun with your child using percussion instruments, singing, rhymes, movement and puppets.
Babies (approx 12-18 months): 10-10.45am
Cruisers (approx 18 months-three years): 11am-11.45am
Toddlers (approx 3-5 years): 12-12.45pm
›LSO: informal classical concert series
30 April 2010
12.30 – 13.30
LSO St Lukes
Free Entry
Join London Symphony Orchestra for the first in a new series of informal concerts exploring the world of classical music. This concert features John Adams's Shaker Loops for string septet, linking with the series of inspiring Adams concerts at the Barbican in March.
›Simon Ellis, Leaving
23 – 24 April 2010, 12.00pm, 3.00pm, 7.00pm
The Place, St. Pancras Station, (exact location will not be advertised)
FREE EVENT
Simon Ellis, an independent choreographer, performer and teacher since 1996, is based in the UK and Australia. This event will involve eight performers working in synchronized duets to explore the actions and images that underpin the everyday drama of leaving and being left behind. The times listed above are guidelines and a precise location won't be broadcast, so Leaving's incidental audience will consist of travellers and passers-by.
›Will Dutta, featuring special guests Plaid, Max de Wardener, John Richards and visual artist Quayola
24 April 2010, 7.45pm, Southbank Centre, Purcell Room
£15
Will Dutta is creative producer of Chimera Productions, Blank Canvas curator, pianist and collaborator and well known for fusing modern dance music and classical, contemporary and experimental art music. This performance will showcase his latest collaborative work for piano and electronics, ft. special guests Plaid, Max de Wardener and John Richards alongside music by Adams, Messiaen and Satie.
›Insight Club: Orchestra in the Age of Enlightenment; ‘Monteverdi’s Orchestra’
25 April 2010, 3.00pm, Southbank Centre, Sunley Pavilion
£10 (incl. tea/coffee and cake)
Ahead of the performance of Monteverdi's Vespers on 27 April, this workshop will look at Monteverdi's orchestra, including demonstrations and talks about cornetts and sackbuts. This is a rare opportunity to witness the birth of the orchestra, and as the OAE are specialists in playing period music on period instruments, they are the ideal choice to conduct this event.
Family Events
›London Schools Symphony Orchestra Family Concert
21 April 2010, Barbican Hall
£7/12/15/20
Berlioz Harold in Italy, Op 16
Franck Symphony in D minor
Robin O'Neill conductor
Joshua Hayward viola
London 's premier youth ensemblepresent two symphonic masterpieces from nineteenth century France. Franck's abstract radiance counterpoises Berlioz's impressionistic response to the travels of Byron's romantic hero, Childe Harold. The performance features Joshua Hayward, one of the orchestra's brightest young talents, playing solo viola.
›Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Family Concert
24 April 2010, Barbican Hall
£7 adults, £4 under 16s
Suitable for aged 7+
Bruno Maderna Serenade for a Satellite
Music by Luciano Berio, Param Vir, David Lang, Peter Wiegold and Charlotte Bray.
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
Peter Wiegold musical director
Graeme Miller artist / theatre-maker
Lore Lixenberg mezzo-soprano
This concert will take you on a thrilling journey through new soundscapes, launching off with Bruno Maderna’s Serenade for a Satellite and then visiting the extraordinary musical worlds of composers Luciano Berio, Param Vir, David Lang, Peter Wiegold and Charlotte Bray.
Conducted and presented by Peter Wiegold, with some added theatre from the whimsical imagination of Graeme Miller, and performed by the brilliant BCMG, this is a varied and exciting introduction to contemporary music.
There will be fun activities for all the family in the foyer before the show, so do go along a little earlier!
w/b 12.04.2010
› ‘Who did Beethoven think he was?’ Beethoven and Art
15 April 2010, 8.00pm, King's Place
£4.50
Dr. Roderick Swanston, lecturer at Birkbeck University and former lecturer at King’s College London and the Royal College of Music, will lead this illustrated talk on Beethoven and portraiture. The discussion will address the questions of who Beethoven thought he was and who we consider him to be. Beethoven was one composer who possessed an iconic image as well as sound, both characterised by a stormy and romantic atmosphere. This talk will debate whether or not this development was intentional in Beethoven’s career and also the wider issue of artistic representation of composers and music in the Romantic era.
› ‘G Project’
The Forge Arts Centre
£8, £6 for students, £4 for children under 12
The G Project is a recently formed duo comprising cellist Gabriella Swallow and percussionist Genevieve Wilkins. Both musicians are extremely experienced and successful in their own right, having in common their ability to break the boundaries of their perceived classical stereotype. Belfast -born Gabriella Swallow earned her BMus and MMus at the Royal College of Music, going on to perform with many high profile ensembles and forming the award-winning Sans Souci Piano Trio. Australian born pianist and percussionist Genevieve Wilkins has been involved with many percussion performance groups, including ‘Ensemblebash’ and has also undertaken much educational work and is currently an Outreach Mentor for the Royal College of Music. The G Project will perform an exciting and eclectic program of renowned and upcoming British Composers in their official debut concert at The Forge Arts Centre. The duo will be premiering works by Mark-Anthony Turnage, Jonathan Cole, jazz virtuoso Andrew McCormack, Solfa Carlile and Adam Caird. They will also be joined by turntablist Shiva Feshereki in a premiere of her work 'Critical Delusions'.
› Bach Cello Suits: Jean-Guihen Queyras
Wigmore Hall
£12, concessions £10
Canadian born French cellist Jean-Giuhen Queyras specialises in playing his instrument unaccompanied, in order to demonstrate the capacity of the instrument. In this performance he will play a selection from Bach’s Cello Suites, still the definitive compositions for showcasing the virtuosity both of instrument and player, and the genius of the composer. Over two performances in one day, these extraordinary Baroque pieces by the composer who best summed up this exciting era in his works, will undoubtedly reinvigorate audiences’ appreciation for the cello.
Family Event
› RCM Sparks, Easter Family Music Day
13 April 2010, from 9.45am
Free, but tickets required. Suitable for age 6+
The Royal College of Music, an LMM creative partner, is running a fun-packed day of music-making open to the whole family! This is a fantastic opportunity to work with a team of talented RCM musicians and learn more about music through exciting, hands-on workshops such as creating a choir-in-a-day and playing the RCM gamelan.
To join in the fun please contact the RCM box office