From London’s Barbican:
Mon 5 Mar, 7.30pm, Barbican Hall SOLD OUT
Andrew Bird + Dosh
The series kick-starts with Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist and lyricist Andrew Bird who makes a rare UK appearance to celebrate the release of his much anticipated new album Break It Yourself (out in March 2012). Bird is a trained violinist as well as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, who has spent nearly his entire life in music and has made appearances around the world. Support comes from experimental Minnesota-based musician Martin Luther King Chavez Dosh, known in music as Dosh .
http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=12841Fri 16 Mar, 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Nico Muhly, Owen Pallett, Britten Sinfonia & guests
On 16 March, Britten Sinfonia gives the world premiere performances of Nico Muhly ‘s Cello Concerto, featuring Oliver Coates , and of Owen Pallett ’s Violin Concerto, featuring Pekka Kuusisto . The concert also includes the European premiere of Missy Mazzoli ’s Violent, Violent Sea and a reprise of Muhly’s recent, collaborative 802 Tour featuring Sam Amidon , Owen Pallett and Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman) amongst the special guests.
http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=12613Tue 20 Mar, 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Bang On A Can All-Stars: Field Recordings
World Premiere Performance with Mira Calix, Christian Marclay, Nick Zammuto
One of the world’s foremost new music groups, Brooklyn-based collective Bang on a Can celebrate 25 years of irreverent new music, bringing together some of the most adventurous music-makers around today. On 20 March, Bang on a Can All-Stars present the fascinating new project Field Recordings , featuring world premiere performances of specially-commissioned pieces by some of the world’s most questioning musical thinkers – from the indie pop world ( Tyondai Braxton , Nick Zammuto from The Books), the art world (Christian Marclay), electronica (Mira Calix) and contemporary classical (Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Evan Ziporyn). Each composer/artist has been asked to find something that has been recorded before and interact with it in order to create something new, building a bridge between the present and the past.
http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=12842Thu 22 March, 8pm, Barbican Hall
Krzysztof Penderecki and AUKSO Tychy Chamber Orchestra
Music by Jonny Greenwood and Krzysztof Penderecki
Leading avant-garde composer, Krzysztof Penderecki makes his first Barbican appearance in over 12 years, for an outstanding collaboration featuring music by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. This special concert, which is accompanied by a striking contemporary video and lighting design, features two pieces from the Polish master -Polymorphia and Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima – which inspired Greenwood to write the other two pieces performed on the night, Popcorn Superhet Receiver and 48 Responses to Polymorphia.
http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=12902Mon 2 April, 7.30pm, Barbican Hall, Tickets £12.50-22.50
The Mountain Goats with Anonymous 4: Transcendental Youth
An exciting new partnership between the Mountain Goats and renowned vocal group Anonymous 4, who are celebrating their 25th anniversary, features Transcendental Youth – new songs from John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats. These songs explore the mournful voices of an imaginary small community in Washington State, telling the stories of the isolated and the lost in motels and apartment complexes around Snohomish County. They are heard here in special arrangements for voices, piano, and guitar by the acclaimed musical polymath, Owen Pallett. The evening begins with a short solo Mountain Goats set, followed by Anonymous 4 performing selections from their rich catalogue in a programme curated by both Darnielle and A4, and concludes with the collaborative performance of Transcendental Youth.
http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=12885Mon 9 Apr, 7.30pm, Barbican Hall SOLD OUT
Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner & Nico Muhly
Featuring New Trombone Collective and Navarra String Quartet
Sufjan Stevens , Nico Muhly and Bryce Dessner – three of the most defining creative minds of New York’s inspirational musical landscape – come together on 9 April in what promises to be an exceptional collaboration. Also featuring the New Trombone Collective and the Navarra String Quartet they present the UK premiere of a unique song cycle for voice, string quartet and trombones with vocals from Sufjan Stevens. The concert opens with a series of beguiling string quartets – most of them UK premieres.
http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=12843Sun 15 Apr, 8.00pm, Barbican Hall
The Sinking of the Titanic
Featuring Gavin Bryars Ensemble & Philip Jeck
Composed in 1969 and first recorded for Brian Eno’s Obscure label, Gavin Bryars’ The Sinking of the Titanic was inspired by reports that the ship’s string ensemble continued to play the hymn tune Autumn as the vessel sank in April 1912. A special concert at the Barbican Hall on 15 April 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the tragedy and features a performance of the piece by the Gavin Bryars Ensemble with Philip Jeck on turntables, t hroughout which the ensemble weave refrains from Autumn with layers of Jeck’s sample-based materials. Central to the experience are newly-commissioned, and haunting projections of archival images curated by US artists Bill Morrison and Laurie Olinder .
http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=12612
Related articles
- Kronos Quartet, Barbican Hall, review (telegraph.co.uk)
- BBC Symphony Orchestra / Barbican Hall – review (telegraph.co.uk)
avantmusicnews.com 