Principal Sound Festival, St John's Smith Square
Modernist music by Morton Feldman, Luigi Nono and new British composers breaks the sound barrier
Violinist Aisha Orazbayeva does things differently
The great American composer Morton Feldman took 20th-century music into new spheres, with translucent, ethereal sounds. His work includes Rothko Chapel, a musical response to that artist's own spectral world. Since his death at only 61 in 1987, Feldman's magical music has been taken up by a younger generation of fans, and continues to influence new composers.
In a series of concerts over one weekend at St John's Smith Square, the second Principal Sound Festival explores his music, that of the Italian minimalist Luigi Nono, and also tucks in new pieces by today's leading composers for both the voice and instrumentalists. These include settings of fragments from Virginia Woolf's The Years by Linda Catlin Smith, sung by the brilliant Exaudi, famous for their precision music-making.
The festival opens (16 Feb, 7.30pm) with a showcase of performers from across the three days, among them the soprano Juliet Fraser who is accompanied by two pre-recorded versions of herself in Feldman's Three Voices.
Because Schubert was important to Feldman, pianist Mark Knoop (17 Feb, 4pm) pairs Feldman's last work for the instrument with a late Schubert impromptu. He is then joined by radical violinist Aisha Orazbayeva to perform music by Bryn Harrison.
Later that evening (17 Feb, 7pm) is a rare London appearance by the Montreal-based Bozzini Quartet to perform one of Nono's late masterpieces, Fragmente Stille, an Diotima, alongside a quartet by Claudia Molitor inspired by lines from Rilke.
The closing concert by Exaudi and Explore Ensemble (18 Feb, 7pm) features music by Feldman, John Cage, Salvatore Sciarrino, and György Kurtág plus Rebecca Saunders' Molly’s Song 3 – Shades of Crimson and Linda Catlin Smith's Virginia Woolf piece, Uncertain for eight voices.
This soundworld breaks through conventional horizons and takes audiences into a whole new musical realm. Think of it as the musical equivalent of abstract painting.
A Festival Pass covering all five concerts costs £40
In a series of concerts over one weekend at St John's Smith Square, the second Principal Sound Festival explores his music, that of the Italian minimalist Luigi Nono, and also tucks in new pieces by today's leading composers for both the voice and instrumentalists. These include settings of fragments from Virginia Woolf's The Years by Linda Catlin Smith, sung by the brilliant Exaudi, famous for their precision music-making.
The festival opens (16 Feb, 7.30pm) with a showcase of performers from across the three days, among them the soprano Juliet Fraser who is accompanied by two pre-recorded versions of herself in Feldman's Three Voices.
Because Schubert was important to Feldman, pianist Mark Knoop (17 Feb, 4pm) pairs Feldman's last work for the instrument with a late Schubert impromptu. He is then joined by radical violinist Aisha Orazbayeva to perform music by Bryn Harrison.
Later that evening (17 Feb, 7pm) is a rare London appearance by the Montreal-based Bozzini Quartet to perform one of Nono's late masterpieces, Fragmente Stille, an Diotima, alongside a quartet by Claudia Molitor inspired by lines from Rilke.
The closing concert by Exaudi and Explore Ensemble (18 Feb, 7pm) features music by Feldman, John Cage, Salvatore Sciarrino, and György Kurtág plus Rebecca Saunders' Molly’s Song 3 – Shades of Crimson and Linda Catlin Smith's Virginia Woolf piece, Uncertain for eight voices.
This soundworld breaks through conventional horizons and takes audiences into a whole new musical realm. Think of it as the musical equivalent of abstract painting.
A Festival Pass covering all five concerts costs £40
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| What | Principal Sound Festival, St John's Smith Square |
| Where | St John's Smith Square, 30 Smith Square, London , SW1P 3HF | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Victoria (underground) |
| When |
16 Feb 18 – 19 Feb 18, five concerts, times vary |
| Price | £15- £25 |
| Website | https://www.sjss.org.uk/events/three-voices |