Updates, multifarious

There has been so much interest in our appearances at Latitude Festival on 18 and 19 July that I thought you might like to know what we are planning to play:

BACH Brandenburg Concerto no. 3
PIAZZOLLA Autumn from Four Seasons in Buenos Aires
REICH Duet
VIVALDI Concerto for Four Violins in B minor from L’estro armonico
PIAZZOLLA Summer from Four Seasons in Buenos Aires
BACH Concerto for Two Violins
with, as a possible encore,
RAUTAVAARA The Fiddlers

Perfect, whatever the weather!

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'It is Ibragimova's ability to pick out those melodies and shape them with deceptively unfussy nuance that makes her mesmerising.' Erica Jeal in the Guardian the other day, reviewing Alina Ibragimova's two concerts of bach's solo repertoire, part of the City of London Festival, in which we are playing tonight.

Esa-Pekka Salonen's Stockholm Diary

The virtuosic Stockholm Diary for string orchestra was commissioned by the Stockholm Concert Hall Foundation for the Stockholm Phiharmonic Orchestra and Stockholm Chamber Orchestra to mark the occasion of Esa-Pekka Salonen's Composer Portrait at the Konserthuset in Stockholm October 2004. Salonen's work receives its UK premiere in our concert tomorrow night at the Mansion House in London. You can see the full programme here.

Not one, not two, but six pianists

Anna Meredith has written Left Light for two pianos and Britten Sinfonia; commissioned by BBC Radio 3, it will receive its world premiere at our Prom on 9 August. We will be joined by no fewer than six pianists: Katia & Marielle Labèque, Simon Crawford-Phillips & Philip Moore, Lydia & Sanya Biziak. Full repertoire here, but as well as Anna's new piece, there are works for two pianos by Mozart and Lutosławski.

The afternoon of 9 August seems many hot, lazy days away, but I am flagging this concert up now because it is selling fast and I don't want you to miss out on tickets!

With Henning Kraggerud at the City of London Festival

We are joined by Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud for our concert on Thursday at the City of London Festival. The movements of Vivaldi's ever-popular Four Seasons are interspersed with works by Erik-Sven Tüür, Einojuhani Rautavaara and Esa-Pekka Salonen, reflecting this year's festival theme, which focuses on 'the latitude of 60°N, connecting the Northern Isles of Scotland to the Baltic shores of Russia through music and other artforms. Like London, the northern cities of Kirkwall, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and St Petersburg are historic maritime trading places and are also vulnerable to rising sea-levels as a consequence of climate change. We explore the nature of these northern places through the work of world-class dance and music performers, classical music composers and other artists. The environment and sustainability are common themes running through the Summer Festival.'

Botanic Garden celebrations for Cambridge University Press

Our brass players are performing in the University Botanic Garden later today, at a garden party to celebrate the 425th anniversary of one of our major sponsors, Cambridge University Press. As I write, a major thunderstorm is passing over Cambridge, but this being England in June, there is every chance of it blowing over and the sun shining later.

To Wyastone with Alina Ibragimova: Bach Plus

We return to Wyastone on 28 June for another performance of our Bach Plus programme, with Alina Ibragimova:
JS Bach Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F minor
Berg Lyric Suite
JS Bach Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor*
JS Bach Art of Fugue (movements)*
György Kurtág Signs, Games and Messages*
JS Bach Violin Concerto No. 2 in E*

The concert contrasts four of Bach's works with two seminal 20th-century pieces by Berg and Kurtág. The unsurpassed master of counterpoint – the language of the Baroque – Bach wrote his 'Art of Fugue' as a definitive exploration of the fugue form. Three Bach concertos are played by ‘scorchingly good’ (The Times) young Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova. Kurtág acknowledges his debt to Bach in his Signs, Games and Messages, which includes ‘Hommage à J.S.B.’, an exploration of a Bach-like melodic line.

‘With Ibragimova, every tone colour is at her fingertips, yet she's never the mechanical doll. She's already gone beyond superb technique; she feels and lives the music.’ The Times

Parthenogenesis at ROH: last two performances

'...but most of MacMillan’s score, which is superbly played by the Britten Sinfonia under the composer’s direction, is much more jolting, visceral and jittery: harsh, quickfire bursts of instrumental dissonance, or sweet, smeary consonances that are, if anything, even more disconcerting.' Richard Morrison in the Times on James MacMillan's Parthenogenesis (you can read his full review here). It is a dark tale, but with those searing moments which MacMillan creates with such intensity. Some critics have suggested the work is not really an opera; I disagree - it is certainly cerebral, but Katie Mitchell's production unpicks an 'unrealistic' story to make you think carefully about its central issues: the conflict between genetic science and virgin birth, what is a contemporary angel, and the uncomfortable mother-daughter relationship.
Amy Freston and Stephan Loges are the singers, and James MacMillan conducts.

Some tickets are still available for tonight and for the final performance tomorrow, 18 June.