✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Classical Music

Genesis Suite, Rattle and the LSO, Barbican

On 13 Jan 18, 7:30 PM – 9:40 PM

A rare chance to catch a piece with not just one but seven composers, with the chance to see Sir Simon Rattle in action

By Claudia Pritchard on 6/1/2018

Sir Simon Rattle is bringing music seldom heard to the Barbican. Photograph: Tristram Kenton
Sir Simon Rattle is bringing music seldom heard to the Barbican. Photograph: Tristram Kenton
Genesis Suite, Rattle and the LSO, Barbican Genesis Suite, Rattle and the LSO, Barbican Claudia Pritchard
One of the touchiest collaborations in musical history took place on South Lucerne Boulevard, Los Angeles, in November 1945, when rival composers Schoenberg and Stravinsky, despite the best efforts of organisers to keep them apart, came face to face at rehearsals for a grand project in which both had taken part – but without, until that moment, meeting.


The Genesis Suite was the idea of another, less well-known musician, Nathaniel Shilkret, who invited six other composers to write a movement each illustrating episodes from the first book of the Bible. Arnold Schoenberg took chaos, Shilkret himself came up with the creation, Darius Milhaud depicted the brothers Cain and Abel, and Stravinsky delivered Babel.


The United States had been a haven for artists fleeing the mainland of Europe as fascism spread, and their energy and creativity fed into American culture in all media – especially film, music, and visual art. But being fellow arrivals did not necessarily make them best friends, as the cool atmosphere at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre showed.


Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra play the largely forgotten Genesis Suite in a concert that is given special visual interest by the creative director Gerard McBurney.


Rattle and the LSO have reached new heights since the conductor took up his new role as music director in 2017. Equally committed to shedding new light on classics in the repertoire and to introducing audiences to new and unjustly neglected work, from his very first concert at the Barbican, music-lovers have gone to the concert hall expecting just that bit more, and have not come away disappointed.


Bernstein's Wonderful Town, which brought the Rattle/LSO 2017 music-making to an end, was a spectacular success. (Let's hope for something comparable in the run-up to Christmas 2018: watch Culture Whisper for updates.)


Also on the programme on 13 January is one of the best-loved works by another emigre, Belá Bartók. His Concerto for Orchestra, first performed the year before the Genesis Suite, is a wonderfully robust piece, rich with melody and texture, and a marvellous piece to enjoy live in the concert hall, because of its extensive use of the percussion. In the lovely fourth movement Allegretto, the timpani have to change notes within in every second – and that's as good to look at as it is to hear.


If you haven't heard Rattle and the LSO in action together yet, this would be a great place to start.

by Claudia Pritchard

What Genesis Suite, Rattle and the LSO, Barbican
Where Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS | MAP
Nearest tube Barbican (underground)
When On 13 Jan 18, 7:30 PM – 9:40 PM
Price £15 - £55
Website Click here for more information and booking



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 3–5 February
Things to do in London this weekend: 3–5 February
Gemma Arterton in Funny Woman, Sky Max (Photo: Sky)
What to watch on TV this week
London exhibitions on now — Peter Doig, Courtauld Gallery
Top 15 exhibitions on now in London

Editor's Picks

Vladimir Jurowski draws unforgettable sounds from the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Photo: Simon Jay Price
Classical Music 2018: the best orchestras, soloists and concerts
Madama Butterfly opens Glyndebourne's 2018 season. Photo: Clive Barda
Best Opera 2018: divas, dramas and dates for your diary
Champion of British music: Sir Simon Rattle, new music director of London Symphony Orchestra. Photograph: Hugo Glendinning
Sir Simon Rattle to the rescue: the new international currency is music
Jorg Widmann, composer and clarinettist, takes up residence at Wigmore Hall
The best chamber music at Wigmore Hall: song, soloists and ensembles
Sir Simon Rattle is bringing music seldom heard to the Barbican. Photo: Hugh Glendinning
London Symphony Orchestra 2017/18: Concerts to book now
The Dunedin Consort performs Bach's St Matthew Passion on 23 March
The best of Bach: inspiring music by outstanding singers and players
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

Barbican

London Symphony Orchestra

Sir Simon Rattle

Schoenberg

Stravinsky

You might like

  • Sir Simon Rattle conducts the second of the three Half Six Fix concerts at the Barbican, 21 Dec. Photograph: Hugh Glendinning

    Half Six Fix, London Symphony Orchestra and guest soloists, Barbican

  • American soprano Michelle DeYoung sings Fricka in Das Rheingold. Photograph: Kristen Hoebermann

    Das Rheingold, Royal Festival Hall

  • Sir Simon Rattle has transformed the London Symphony Orchestra overnight. Photo: Tristram Kenton

    Mahler 9, Rattle and the LSO, Barbican

  • German-born Jörg Widmann writes, performs and talks about music in an inspiring way. Photo: Marco Borggreve

    Jörg Widmann Season, Wigmore Hall

  • Ellie Bradbury, Sholto McMillan and Rhian Lois as Flora, Miles and the Governess. Turn of the Screw, Open Air Theatre

    Britten's The Turn of the Screw, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre review ★★★★★

  • Nicky Spence as Nikita attacks fellow prisoner Salim Sai in From the House of the Dead. Photo: Clive Barda

    Janáček's From The House of the Dead review ★★★★★, Royal Opera House



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×