Stravinsky vs. Mozart

Ahead of our programme entitled Stravinsky & Neo-Classicism featuring Barbara Hannigan this May, Britten Sinfonia programme note writer, Jo Kirkbride explores the classical line of descent from Mozart to Stravinsky;


If Mozart and Stravinsky were both alive today, it’s unlikely that they would be friends. Although both their music and their careers share many common themes, the two had strong – and opposing – opinions when it comes to the meaning of music.

For Stravinsky, music was not about expression:

(C) Boosey & Hawkes

Stravinsky: ‘I consider that music is, by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at all, whether a feeling, an attitude of mind, a psychological mood, a phenomenon of nature, etc... Expression has never been an inherent property of music. That is by no means the purpose of its existence.’




But Mozart could hardly disagree more:

Mozart: ‘Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.’







Despite their differences, Stravinsky learned a lot from his predecessor and many of his greatest works owe their inspiration to Mozart’s masterpieces. Stravinsky was also outspoken about his respect for Mozart’s genius:

Stravinsky: ‘I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt like de Kooning, who was asked to comment on a certain abstract painting, and answered in the negative. He was then told it was the work of a celebrated monkey. “That's different. For a monkey, it's terrific.”’

Both found fame with their large theatrical spectacles, and both were no stranger to controversy. When La clemenza di Tito was premiered in September 1791, the audience – who were more familiar with Mozart’s thrilling opera buffa – responded less than enthusiastically and the mood was best summed up by Empress Maria Louisa, who famously dismissed it as ‘German hogwash’. The audience were a lot less polite at the premiere of The Rite of Spring – its subject was considered so scandalous that it caused a riot in the theatre, and the Musical Times later wrote in their review that ‘practically, it has no relation to music at all as most of us understand the word.’

In the mid-1920s Stravinsky began to explore the music of the past in what became known as ‘neoclassicism’. Although the name is misleading, as this period encompassed much more than just the classical era, Mozart became a central figure in Stravinsky’s look back at western classical music history. For Stravinsky, this period was characterised by delicate, stripped-down forms and procedures, and he abandoned the large orchestras demanded by his previous ballets (such as Petrushka and The Rite of Spring). More importantly, he revisited classical and baroque techniques, pitting classical harmonic principles against the new sound worlds of the twentieth century.

It wasn’t just the music that he borrowed from Mozart either. The story of The Rake’s Progress is another incarnation of the Don Juan legend, which was made most famous in Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. Stravinsky’s work is unmistakeably a homage to Mozart’s original: it is scored for the same forces as Don Giovanni and imitates many of the hallmarks of Mozart’s operatic style, including the traditional recitative and aria forms. Only the harmonic language gives away its modern birth date, and even this is sometimes distorted to affect a more convincing portrayal of the classical style.

So what of the suggestion that Stravinsky’s neoclassical works are just cheap rip-offs of Mozart’s best party pieces? Stravinsky had his own answer for that:

Stravinsky: ‘Lesser artists borrow, greater artists steal.’

(c) Jo Kirkbride

Britten Sinfonia perform Stravinsky & Neo-classicism with Barbara Hannigan on Tuesday 5 May at Birmingham Town Hall, Wednesday 6 May at the Barbican, Saturday 9 May at Saffron Hall and on Tuesday 12 May as part of the Brighton Festival. For full details and to book tickets click here.

Divine Purcell, engaging Woolrich - Sinfonia Student Carl reviews

John Woolrich at 60: Britten Sinfonia @ Cambridge 21/11/14

Divine Purcell, engaging Woolrich

Rich strings and pulsating rhythms transcended the concert hall, serving as an exposition of the thought processes and sources of inspiration for one of today’s great living composers. 

The pre-concert talk was a perfect introduction to the music of John Woolrich, for those who were not already familiar with his work. An engaging presentation, together with the help of the Britten Sinfonia Academy students performing two inspiring works, In the Mirrors of Asleep and Stealing a March, helped give an informative overview of the composer’s style, however it was unfortunate that the composer could not be in Cambridge for the pre-concert talk due to a sudden back injury. We wish him well in his recovery.

The introduction of Purcell and Wolf songs for soprano and strings and solo strings was sublime, with Woolrich’s arrangements of both coming to life in the hands of Britten Sinfonia. The string sound was beautiful, and the leadership of Thomas Gould was well-judged. Susanna Hurrell did an admirable job, standing in for Sophie Bevan at the last minute. Her voice was well-suited to the Purcell, and blended majestically with the orchestra.

Soprano Susanna Hurrell with the orchestra.

The two arrangements provided the perfect backdrop for John Woolrich’s first work of the evening, Ulysses Awakens, an intriguingly named work featuring solo viola, performed with consummate skill by Clare Finnimore. The work featured harmonies identifiable with both the Purcell and the Wolf, however it brought an endearing modal feel, hinting at a folk-type sound. Both beautiful and lively, to the listener the work was a pleasure. 

The first half closed with an admirable performance of Stravinsky’s Eight Miniatures, with Duncan Ward instructing the ensemble well, and with the composer’s ineffable sense of humour and rhythm pervading the work, so as to create a pleasing performance, and a spectacular Per pieta, non ricercate, by Mozart. Hurrell was again wonderful. 

The second half could be seen as being perhaps more conventionally judged, with the lengthy first section contrasted with a relatively brief final period, including two works which functioned symbiotically, so as to create a cohesive performance. Stravinsky’s Dumbarton Oaks, a neo-classical favourite, was effervescent and sparkling in its wit, with engaging rhythms heightening interest. The audience seemed once again enthused, following their mid-concert snooze. The star of the show, however, was Woolrich’s Violin Concerto, a fabulous and endearing work, which was performed in style by Thomas Gould, under the fantastic leadership of Duncan Ward. Ward’s simple yet effective conducting - efficient is perhaps the word - suited the work beautifully, as he brought a clarity to the music that was much-needed. The violin enjoys much interplay with the orchestra in this interesting work, particularly with the marimba, which was well-judged.  

Thomas Gould and Duncan Ward receiving applause after Woolrich's Violin Concerto.

The performance was well-received, and one cannot help but suggest that the applause given to the works of Woolrich was equal to that of the well-established repertoire, indicating the composer’s relevance today. A fitting celebration, and exploration, of the man, and the composer, as he turns sixty this year.

Carl Wikeley (Sinfonia Student 2014-15)

What's in a Miniature?

Francisco Coll

On Sunday 2 November Britten Sinfonia premiere a new work by young Spanish composer, Francisco Coll. Entitled Four Minatures, the piece will be conducted by Thomas Adès and performed at Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden. Francisco Coll studied at the Valencia and Madrid Conservatoires before moving to London as a private pupil of Thomas Adès (his only pupil to date), and a student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In this blog post we find out a little more about the piece he has written, which has been co-commissioned by Britten Sinfonia and Saffron Hall. Musicologist Ramón Sánchez Ochoa reveals all;


In painting, the miniature is a delicate thing; small and more often than not serving as a book illustration. The Four Miniatures of Francisco Coll, pieces of two to three minutes duration each, both are and are not ‘miniatures’ in a conventional sense. Slight dimensions – yes - and displaying a painstakingly thorough construction, but not illustrating anything per se; not directed towards an outside reality but rather sufficient within their own sonic effervescence. These are paradoxical ‘miniatures’, then, which simultaneously focus and enlarge, dilate and condense, the popular elements that inspire them. In his engagement with the vernacular, Coll does not follow the watchword of earlier Spanish composers such as Pedrell: he is not searching for the quintessence, the subtle perfume, of popular song. Rather, it is the obvious, the ‘obvious’ tradition which he takes and transmutes - sifting it through his unique and unusual aesthetic sensibility.

The first miniature opens with wild, frenzied chords whilst the frenetic movements of fandango evoke the distant echoes of heels and palms. Coll’s is a black and white Andalucismo, without picturesque flowery patios, close to a sound hallucination. While the violin clutches at a few ethereal pizzicati, the melodic line undoes itself through an elusive hocketting, a flickering between the eerie and the dreamlike, which ends in utter silence, met with knowing (and characteristically Hispanic) winks.

In the second miniature’s slow introduction, double and triple-stops stretch the violin’s torn voice which seems to both state and retract, reaffirm and refuse. After the rhythmic dissonances their tortured tango rhythm arises - not a tango de salón but an X-ray (the magnetised resonance) of an expressionist tango with all its coarse rhythms and cadences. After the storm comes the calm: following its initial arpeggios of the third miniature a lament for the violin arises before being gradually torn apart by glissandi. Of all the four pieces this is the one steeped most deeply in flamenco, with its augmented-second leaps which positively smack of the Andalusian cadence. Like a fine spring rain, the melodic line is diluted between the figurative and abstract (if these words have any meaning at all in music): it is a subtle pointillism between the known and the unknown, between what is said and what is guessed.

A frantic wind crosses the work’s final pages: brief repeated cells, like movie frames stuck in a deranged projector, move from near-inaudible pianissimos to the most extreme fortissimo, contrary and unrequited impulses that arise from the negation of their selves. Bar by bar, an imperfect circle surrounds, envelops and intoxicates us, carrying us with it. The Four Miniatures run like lightning. After the final notes we are left perplexed and fascinated by the distance between lyricism and harshness, between the fog and the foreground, poised on that thin, flinty edge that separates the serious from the comic.

Ramón Sánchez Ochoa

The concert takes place on Sunday 2 November at Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden and alongside the premiere of Coll's new work the programme features Thomas Adès' own violin concerto, Concentric Paths and his Piano Quintet alongside Stravinsky's Suite for Small Orchestra and Sibelius' Six Humoresques. Click here for more info and to book tickets.

Britten Sinfonia Academy - Fitzwilliam Museum residency

 

Last weekend, Britten Sinfonia Academy performed as part of the Fitzwilliam Museum’s Sunday concert series.  Britten Sinfonia Academy is a new ensemble giving young classical musicians from the East of England an opportunity learn and develop their chamber skills alongside some of the UKs top chamber musicians. In addition to performing at the Fitzwilliam, the ensemble were resident in the museum for the weekend, giving more time for the young musicians to explore the museum and to explore the context and relevance of its artifacts to their music.

Britten Sinfonia Academy member, Andrew reports on the weekend:

"Last weekend Britten Sinfonia Academy made their way to the Fitzwilliam Museum for rehearsals, which culminated in a concert on Sunday afternoon. On arrival on Saturday morning, we started to rehearse some small ensemble work in the grand spaces available to us in the museum. We ran through and refined previously rehearsed works during the morning, and progress was greatly enhanced by the discovery of the kettle midway through the morning! We worked especially on Stravinsky’s Suites for Small Orchestra throughout the day, for which we came together as a large ensemble.

 

In the afternoon we were guided on two tours around the museum, in which we studied paintings from the time of the composers of our works, to give us context on the music that we were preparing to perform. I think everyone found that this helped us to find character in our pieces, and I was surprised at how much that I learnt on these tours.

 

 

After battling through hoards of keen participants in the Cambridge Half Marathon on Sunday morning, rehearsals commenced with final tweaks being added to our performances. We made the long trek upstairs to the gallery where we were to perform with our instruments in the early afternoon, after eating far too much cake in our break beforehand! The hall was full for our performance, with spectators even gathering at the back of the hall to get a glimpse of the chamber music that we were presenting. Everyone really enjoyed performing in the concert, and felt that all of the pieces ran smoothly. The concert ended with an arrangement of Piazzolla’s Oblivion, which was rehearsed and performed solely by members of the Academy."

To find out more about Britten Sinfonia Academy click here

Performance on 3: tonight

Our Night Music project will be broadcast tonight on BBC Radio 3 at 19.00 in Performance on 3. Presented by Tom Service, it was recorded at the Queen Elizabeth Hall last Monday, with music by Stravinsky, Birtwistle, Handel, Britten and John Woolrich. You can still read the programme notes and follow the texts on our website. Mark Padmore and Maxim Rysanov are the soloists.

Night Music

Mark Padmore joins Britten Sinfonia for a programme exploring the theme of night, with music by Birtwistle, Stravinsky, Britten, Woolrich and Handel. Full details are here. The concerts are in Cambridge on Thursday, Norwich on Friday, London next Monday, and Southampton next Tuesday. The literary delights equal the musical ones, with texts by Milton, Shelley, Tennyson, Coleridge, Middleton, Wordsworth, Owen, Keats and Shakespeare. Watch out for Mark's own analysis of the programme in next Saturday's Guardian Review.

Berio, Bartok, Prokoviev, Stravinsky.....chamber works on BBC Radio 3

You can hear some great chamber music - some familiar works, some less well-known: all taken from concerts we gave in Cambridge back in the 2006-07 season - next week on BBC Radio 3. During Afternoon on 3, when five of this year's Proms get early repeats, the interval slots will include Berio's Folksongs (at c.4pm on Monday 4 August), Prokoviev's Overture on Hebrew Themes and Stravinsky's Three Songs from William Shakespeare (at c.3.45pm on Tuesday 5 August), Falla's Harpsichord Concerto (c.4.10pm on Wednesday 6 August), works by Bach and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (c.4.05pm on Thursday 7 August), and Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale Suite and Bartok's Contrasts (at c.3.55pm on Friday 8 August). If you miss these gems when they are broadcast they will be available for a further seven days on iPlayer, and I'll put the links up as next week progresses in our Recent Broadcasts slot.

Masaaki Suzuki in London tonight

A besuited, rather severe Stravinsky: what a contrast with the joyous, entertaining music of Pulcinella.

We have our second concert with Masaaki Suzuki tonight, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. There are still some tickets available: book here. Music by Mozart, Britten and Stravinsky, including a complete performance of the aforesaid Pulcinella. There is also a London premiere: Stravinsky's arrangement of Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor.

The concert bursts with wonderful tunes and larger than life characters, ranging from the dishonest hunchback Pulcinella, the stupid but aspirational Tom Rakewell and his alter ego Nick Shadow, and the lively characters that appear in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni.

Singers Rachel Nicholls, Toby Spence and Roderick Williams join Britten Sinfonia.

Insight into Stravinsky and neo-classicism

Audiences attending our Pulcinella concert on 28 April in Cambridge will have the opportunity to join Ryan Wigglesworth and John Hopkins – lecturers at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Music – as they lead a discussion offering an insight into a fascinating period of 20th Century music. The two works by Stravinsky in the programme - Pulcinella and The Rake’s Progress – herald the beginning and end of what is widely known as his neo-classical period, when he turned consciously to the music of his predecessors, reviving musical language and structures from earlier times. This event will introduce audiences to the historical and musical context behind this stylistic development, with musical examples to illustrate the discussion.

The event will begin at 6.15pm at West Road Concert Hall, and will be open to all concert ticket holders. At 7.00pm, you will be able to stay on for our usual 'In conversation' event in which conductor Masaaki Suzuki and soloist Carolyn Sampson will give their perspective on the evening’s music. This will finish at 7.30pm, with the concert starting at 8.00pm.

Boxing Day broadcast

Our final concert of 2007 was in Norwich last Thursday and our first of 2008 (in Krakow) is not until 13 January, but dedicated fans of Britten Sinfonia need not despair. Our BBC Prom, given last July, is repeated on BBC Radio 3 at 22.15 on Boxing Day. Shakespeare-themed, it includes music by Mendelssohn, Korngold, Stravinsky, Bridge and Shostakovich. Full details of the original concert and transmission are here. Masaaki Suzuki - with whom we work in April for the first time - also has a Prom repeat, on Christmas Day at 22.25, when he conducts his Bach Collegium Japan in church Cantatas from Bach's time in Leipzig.

Enjoy!

New York, New York

David Butcher, our Chief Executive, went to New York to work on In the Spirit of Gil and Miles. Here are his reflections on his visit, with insights into how this project has been developed.

'I'm writing this listening to the latest Sinfoniacast, which brings back some memories of meeting Gil Goldstein in New York recently. Was it only three weeks ago? I was over discussing future Britten Sinfonia projects with a number of key venues: Lincoln Centre, Brooklyn Academy of Arts, 92Y and Carnegie Hall (now run by ex-LSO chief Clive Gillinson, on fine form, and, rumour had it, preparing for his first New York marathon). It was the last day of my visit and Gil and I had arranged to meet at my hotel for the interview and from there to lunch in his favourite NYC Italian restaurant (Trattoria Dell’Arte at 900 Seventh Avenue) to catch up on progress. The familiar "Hey David" rang across the foyer as Gil negotiated a crowded hotel foyer weighed down by various scores and bags. Following lunch, it turned out, he was off to his house in Long Island to work in isolation.


Gil Goldstein is probably the ideal collaborator for a contemporary take on the famous Gil Evans and Miles Davis partnership. He worked closely with both men and is today one of the most respected arrangers working in jazz – taking on the Gil Evans mantle perhaps, although he’d demur at the comparison? Just look at the people he's arranged for and you're into a who’s who of jazz. I was quickly aware, too, that Gil's an interviewer's dream: one stumbling question from me and we’re off with slalom replies on all levels recounted with discernment, insight and hilarity in equal measure.

Romero Lubambo awaits us and, though we’ve only spoken on the phone before, his avuncular warmth and wide smile are unsurprising. He's one of Brazil's most celebrated guitarists and, along with Luciana Souza and Alex Acuna, is one of Gil’s first choice musicians for our collaboration. It’s quickly evident that they’ve all been in close touch on the ‘phone and are all fired up about the project.

Gil has retained a similar orchestration to the originals whilst adding more flutes and a few strings, and, significantly, has replaced Miles’ trumpet with voice – and an amazing one at that – that of Luciana Souza. I’d vaguely come across her via Grammy nominated Brazilian songs. She’s also known for her collaboration with Golijov and performances of Falla’s El Amor Brujo with the New York Philharmonic. A few weeks earlier, Gil pointed me to Herbie Hancock’s latest album For Joni which features luminaries including Tina Turner, Norah Jones, the eponymous Joni Mitchell and, singing Amelia, Luciana Souza. I listened. Spookily, Luciana in Amelia sounds more (to me) like the Joni in Hejira – the original album from which it comes - than Joni in For Joni! I admit to a minor dalliance with Ms Mitchell’s music during those distant early-80s student days, and was drawn to dig out and play my old LP, much to the amusement of my children. Whatever, it’s clear to me why Gil was so convinced and inspired by Luciana’s flexibility and range to take on the pioneering and original move of replacing Miles’ flugelhorn with Luciana’s voice.

Back at lunch, and Luciana, it transpires, has been singing sections of “Concierto de Aranjeuz” second movement and discussing the finer points of phrasing with Gil down the line from her home in LA the previous night. Gil, at this point, had been putting the finishing touches to his arrangement of Bachianas brasileiras No.5 and poor Romero, frustratingly, was trying to get through at the same time to recommend a piece he and Luciana perform as a duo.

Over pasta (Gil), fish (Romero) and lasagne (me) we talk around a number of practicalities relating to the project - rehearsals, venues, amplification, flights, hotels, but, for me, it’s fascinating to hear about Gil’s progress now that he’s so obviously completely absorbed in orchestrations. I almost feel the spirits hovering. He’s had exclusive access to original scores thanks to a strong (and generous) relationship with Gil Evans’ son Miles - yes, named after you know who. Gil’s established many inaccuracies between the score and studio recording of the Concierto de Aranjeuz which he’s been studying. He’s also found a score in the archive that’s never been performed, so will be including this piece in the programme – great, a Gil Evans world premiere! Every time I speak to Gil, there’s a new slant or thrilling development in the project, making its genesis so different from many other BS projects, where we know years in advance about artists and programme. I guarantee things will change right up to the first performance, but it makes it all the more exciting (if nerve-wracking).

I tell Gil that, later in our season, we’re giving London premières with conductor Maasaki Suzuki of some Stravinsky arrangements of Bach Prelude and Fugues written close to his death. Full details are here. Gil’s eager to see the scores, particularly as he’s about to arrange Bach’s Ricercare 3 from the Musical Offering. It’s obvious that his knowledge of composers such as Bach and Stravinsky is as well informed as his understanding of Evans or Gismonti. Such pluralism brings a fresh insight to our project and to so-called classical music in general.

Weighed down by puddings and gratis chocolates (but buoyed up by double expressos) we head off into New York’s steely light: Gil to Long Island; Romero to rehearse with Diana Reeves – with whom he’s about to tour – and me, with just enough time before my flight, to dive into Phoenix Stone & Beads on 5 West 37th, for a present for Susie, my wife. This unprepossessing store is an Aladdin’s cave of precious stones at unbelievably low prices (humungous pearls for $20). I choose (unusually wisely as it turns out) some seraphinite stones from Siberia, sometimes called angel stone due to an (as yet unproven) ability to communicate with angelic forces. Allegedly, they also improve the circulation of the blood, assist with general "colds and chills" and help with weight loss (not relevant in this case of course!). Surprising they’re not more widely known really, although they simply look rather pretty to me. Another tip from polymath GG: who else?'

Book now for In the Spirit of Gil and Miles : Saturday 24 November at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and Tuesday 27 November at the Town Hall in Birmingham.

Britten Sinfonia at Lunch in Birmingham

A new city for our Britten Sinfonia at Lunch series, to join Cambridge, London, Norwich and Krakow: Birmingham. The newly-refurbished Town Hall is the setting on Wednesday 21 November for the first of five concerts between now and March. Thomas Gould, Joy Farrell (clarinet) and Huw Watkins (piano) play works by Stravinsky, Watkins, Michael Zev Gordon and Bartok. Full details are on our Britten Sinfonia website, and ticket information is available from the Town Hall. The concert is at 13.00 and tickets are just £7.50 (£5 concessions).

Sunday Times: This was a top-rate concert performance in its own right

There have been some excellent reviews for the Michael Clark Company Stravinsky project at the Barbican last week. Here is another thoughtful contribution, from David Dougill in today's Sunday Times. You can read some of the other coverage on our website. It has been a great project for Britten Sinfonia to take part in; next week we move on to prepare for 'In the Spirit of Gil and Miles'. Bookmark this blog to keep up with our news.

The last two performances with Michael Clark Company

Just two more shows with the Michael Clark Company at the Barbican, tonight and tomorrow: there is very limited ticket availability, but do try for returns here. Check the reviews on the Britten Sinfonia website.

Backstage at the Barbican

Our Concerts Officer, Hannah Green, is managing our residency at the Barbican Theatre: 'Looking after an orchestra in a pit rather than a concert hall is a totally different experience, both for orchestra manager and players – especially when said pit is 5 levels underground with no fresh air or windows, like backstage at the Barbican! However, once you acclimatise to the bunker-like existence, working in the pit can become exhilarating and fun.

For the past two weeks the Britten Sinfonia string section, pianists and percussionists have been rehearsing and performing with Jurjen Hempel, conductor, and the dancers from the Michael Clark Dance Company for the final in the trilogy of Michael Clark’s Stravinsky Project.

The most challenging task in the pit for this project was to work out how to fit everything and everyone in and this was no mean feat! Apollo had a much larger string group than Britten Sinfonia has ever used before with 8 1st violins, 8 2nd violins, 6 violas, 8 cellos and 4 double basses! This in itself would not have been such a problem to fit in if it were not for the 4 timpani, xylophone, huge bass drum and, not forgetting, the 4 grand pianos that had to remain at the back of the pit ready to be rushed into place during the interval, ready for Rite of Spring and Les Noces!

Once everything was fitted into the pit, albeit very cosily, the players arrived, and sitting so close together, with just lit music stands for light, there became a real sense of camaraderie. This grows with each rehearsal and performance and our players, who usually do not get the opportunity to see each other so often, get to know each other well.

Being able to watch rehearsals take place is an added bonus when managing a project and I felt this feeling of unity and friendship from the orchestra really permeated through their playing and out into the theatre for the audience to experience whilst watching the dance, all combining to create an incredible performance.'

Silky string-playing

An early review for our Stravinsky collaboration with the Michael Clark Company - Mark Monahan in the Telegraph: 'You know you've witnessed something special on stage when 25 minutes whizz by with the speed of a lightning bolt and you sorely want to see it again, immediately. Such was the impression left by I Do, the third, final, all-new part of Michael Clark's three-year Stravinsky project.............

Throughout the evening, the music-making – all live – was excellent, with conductor Jurjen Hempel coaxing silky string-playing from the Britten Sinfonia in Apollo, sharp pianism in Rite, and sterling work all round in Les Noces. Close your eyes and it could have been a concert performance. But my, what you'd have been missing out on..............'

Read the full review here.

Contact the Barbican for tickets (not many left!) for the remaining performances this week.

John Bickley

Richard Morrison in The Times last week summed up well a central element of the Britten Sinfonia philosophy: 'How refreshing to find a full house for a concert with the dread names of Schoenberg and Karl Hartmann on the programme. It’s a signal of the trust that the Britten Sinfonia has forged with its audiences. The regular punters know that, however unfamiliar the repertoire or disconcerting the leaps across era or genre, this adventurous chamber orchestra will always put across the music with flair and commitment.'

He came to our concert in Cambridge with Alina Ibragimova - repeated later in the week in Norwich and London - and we know from our audience feedback that many of you agree with him: you can read the full review here. Karl Hartmann's Concerto Funebre was both a discovery and a revelation for many, and Alina's impassioned yet controlled playing made a huge impression.

This week and next we are with the Michael Clark Company at the Barbican Theatre. His three year Stravinsky Project culminates with a new work, I do, presented alongside O and Mmm… in one highly charged evening. I do, set to Les Noces, concludes Clark's dialogue with Stravinsky in the affirmative, confirming and celebrating the marraige between classicism and modernism, tradition and innovation - a marriage which is at the heart of both Stravinsky's music and Clark's compelling choreography.

Last night was the first preview, and there are eight more shows: tonight, and then on 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 November. Tickets available online.

John Bickley