Livestream: British Composers

Together with Jonathan Stockhammer, Ensemble Modern takes a stroll through recent British music on Sunday, March 14, 2021. Originally scheduled at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, this concert must take place without a live audience present, due to the extended ban on live events with audiences; therefore it will be streamed live from the hr-Sendesaal. On March 17 and March 21, 2021, the video recording will be available as a repeat.

Such a journey of discovery through British music from the late 1970s onwards must include Harrison Birtwistle’s playful mechanical instrumental theatre “Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum” (1977/78) as well as the “Songs without Voices” which Oliver Knussen, who died in 2018, painted with impressionist brushstrokes, and the colourful “Three Inventions” for chamber orchestra (1994) by George Benjamin. With Helen Grime and Laurence Osborn, two composers of the younger generation are also represented. In “Automaton for Harpsichord and Ensemble” (2019) Laurence Osborn explores the antagonism and harmony between audible sound-generating mechanics and a player, which is particularly noticeable in the case of the harpsichord. In Helen Grime’s “Piano Concerto” (2017), the piano’s variety of sound is expanded by percussion and harp and juxtaposed with a wind and string duo, each of which unfolds independently, interweaving their sound with the piano group into multi-faceted polyphony. The work will be led by the current conducting fellow of the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA, Felix Schauren.

Tickets for the livestream on March 14, 2021 and its replays (March, 17 and 21, 2021) can be purchased via Reservix using a pricing system based on solidarity. Viewers have a choice between the beginner’s price of 5 Euros, the regular price of 10 Euros and the supporter’s price of 30 Euros. Ticket purchases close one hour before the beginning of the digital event. The streams may also be viewed for up to 48 hours after the event’s original starting time.

Dates:
—> 14.03.2021, 20 Uhr, Livestream from hr-Sendesaal
—> 17.03.2021, 20 Uhr, Replay
—> 21.03.2021, 20 Uhr, Replay

Programme:
Harrison Birtwistle: Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum (1977/78)
Helen Grime: Piano Concerto for piano and ensemble (2016–17)
Laurence Osborn: Automaton für Cembalo und Ensemble (2019)
Oliver Knussen: Songs without Voices op. 26 (1991-92)
George Benjamin: Three Inventions for Chamber Orchestra (1993-95)
Ensemble Modern
Jonathan Stockhammer, Dirigent (neu, anstelle von Sir George Benjamin)
Felix Schauren, Dirigent (Helen Grime)
Hermann Kretzschmar, Klavier | Ueli Wiget, Cembalo
Hessischer Rundfunk Videoproduktion und Streaming

Gefördert durch die Deutsche Bank Stiftung. Die Mitwirkung von Studierenden der IEMA wird ermöglicht durch die Friedrich Stiftung. Mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Ensemble Modern Patronatsgesellschaft e.V.

Sir George Benjamin talks to Ensemble Modern
Experience more about the programme and the composers in an interview with Sir George Benjamin, who conceived the programme, and Ensemble Modern's violinist Jagdish Mistry.