Watch a film of the New Music 20×12 composers talking about their commissions

You can experience all 20 commissions across one weekend at Southbank Centre from 13-15 July. Don’t miss your chance to get involved in talks, debates and workshops, as well as a unique opportunity to book a one-to-one composer surgery with one of the New Music 20×12 composers.

Find out more / book tickets

PRS for Music Foundation’s New Music 20×12 is a UK-wide commissioning programme initiated by Jillian Barker and David Cohen, and delivered in partnership with the BBC, LOCOG and NMC Recordings.

A pulsing jungle is created live on stage

During our Music Nation Weekend (3-4 March 2012), enter an urban jungle in an extraordinary mix of sampled sounds, texts and music brought to life by a young vibrant orchestra in Surrogate Cities.

Listen to our Music Nation podcast giving you a taste of whats in store for Surrgoate Cities:

Also during the Music Nation weekend, experience a musical mash-up of jazz and classical with The Nu Civilsation Orchestra or enjoy a relaxed late-night concert plus DJ in the OAE’s The Night Shift.

If you thought you knew what orchetras were about, think again.

The Greatest Video Games Music performed by the LPO – Conductor Andrew Skeet’s recording diary

The LPO’s 2011/12 classical season at Southbank Centre kicks off in style with something a little bit different. We’ve had music from films and TV, but now the LPO are bringing the Greatest Video Games Music to the Royal Festival Hall.

Experience total orchestral immersion in the worlds of Angry Birds, Elder Scrolls, Zelda, Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog, Little Big Planet and more.

An album of the music will be released in the autumn and conductor Andrew Skeet has given us a run-down of the first day’s recording.

Andrew Skeet and the LPO

Just finished day one of recording with the LPO.  Phew!  Bit of a marathon but it was very cool.  I guess none of the players knew what to expect really and at this stage they are only hearing part of the story because we have yet to add in brass and woodwind and of course the percussionists (without whom no games music would be complete!)  They were brilliant and enthusiastic and even helpful after pretty much 11 hours of recording.

So, we were in Angel Studios on Upper Street in Islington, which is like a little brother to Abbey Road and Air Lyndhurst I suppose in that it is a little more compact and bijou but none the worse for that.  Excellent studio and very friendly and at least there is somewhere decent to eat and drink after a session which is very important …. But it was a really full room with about 48 string players plus some brass and woodwind in the evening.  Luckily the air-con was working.  Oh and piano and harp of course – and me conducting.

It was incredible to hear all the music coming to life; Metal Gear Solid starting its epic journey, Fallout surprisingly exciting (in a filthy, sleezy sort of way) given that it was not my favourite going into the sessions.  What else was good?  My new arrangements of Angry Birds and Tetris certainly amused me and there was some absolutely glorious string playing from the guys and girls in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Uncharted.  It’s going to big and beautiful when it’s all done.

Now I have to force myself to get back in front of the computer and start sorting out the stuff for the big sessions on the 22^nd August where we have the whole damn lot of them together in one room making some fine noises.  This is when it all gets very epic with some Final Fantasy favourites, some Warcraft.   Also I met the American composer Jason Graves last week and very excitingly he has agreed to send me over a suite from his score for Dead Space which is weird and wonderful.  I haven’t played this game but apparently it is super scary and even the usually phlegmatic 20 year old Joss, who is a sort of consultant for me on this, says he never plays it at night time.  Just too scary – and Jason’s score is a lovely mixture of wild and dark string effects but also some beautifully lyrical writing.  Can’t wait!

Right, back to doing battle with Legend of Zelda Theme before heading off to hear some Ravel at the Proms after which as usual I shall have to do some “not worthy” soul-searching about my orchestration because as everyone knows it doesn’t get any better than Monsieur R. (…. well it depends on my Super Mario Bros orchestration turns out – maybe I’ll give the old boy a run for his money yet!).

Andrew Skeet

You can hear these new arrangements live in concert with the London Philharmonic Orchestra on 2 September 2011 at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. Get tickets here.

Ether 2011: Digital artist Klaus Obermaier on revamping The Rite of Spring

Klaus Obermaier, digital artist behind The Rite of spring in 3D, in conversation with Southbank Centre’s Head of Contemporary Culture, Gillian Moore.

GM: How have you managed to integrate a live dancer, live orchestra and screen?

KO: Stereo cameras and a complex computer system transfer the dancer Julia Mach to a virtual three-dimensional space. Time layers and unusual perspectives overlay one another and multiply themselves, enabling a completely new perception of the body and its sequences of movements. Real-time generated virtual spaces communicate and interact with the dancer. The human body is once more the interface between reality and virtuality. By means of 32 microphones the entire orchestra is integrated in the interactive process. Musical motifs, individual voices and instruments influence the form, movement and complexity of both the 3D projections of the virtual space and those of the dancer. Music is no longer the only starting point, it is the consummation of the choreography.

GM: What do you hope the audience will take away from the performance?

KO: First of all I hope the audience will have a great experience. Stereoscopic projections create an immersive environment, which permits the audience to participate much more closely in the performance than in traditional theatre settings. And of course it will raise some questions about our modern lives and the authenticity of experience in the light of the ongoing virtualisation of our habitats.

Catch Rites: Stravinky’s The Rite of Spring with 3D visuals live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall as part of Ether 2011 on 23 April. Get tickets here

Ether 2011: Rites – The Rite of Spring live in 3D

Ether has a history of bringing together seemingly the most unlikely of collaborators. This year is no different with Stravinsky’s seminal The Rite of Spring played live by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra plus Klaus Obermaier’s stunning 3D visuals on a screen behind the orchestra. Julia Mach dances live to the music – a nod to Stravinsky’s original vision of his work as a ballet –  and her movements are interpreted in real-time into the visuals.

Have a look at this video to see what we mean. If you haven’t seen or heard The Rite of Spring live before, this is one not to miss.

 

 

 

Catch Rites: Stravinky’s The Rite of Spring with 3D visuals live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall as part of Ether 2011 on 23 April. Get tickets here

Ether 2011: Louis Andriessen on his Ether premiere

Louis Andriessen, photo: Francesca Patella

London Sinfonietta’s Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits composer Louis Andriessen in his Amsterdam studio to discuss his work to be performed tonight at Ether 2011, including the UK premiere of Anaïs Nin a new work for singer, ensemble and film and De Staat (The Republic) his 1976 work of jazz-infused politically charged minimalism.

 

Hear London Sinfonietta play Louis Andriessen at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on 14 April as part of Ether 2011. Get tickets here

 

London Sinfonietta with Beat Furrer and Naomi Pinnock

London Sinfonietta with Beat Furrer and Naomi Pinnock

On Tuesday 18 January 2011 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London Sinfonietta presents the world premiere of Naomi Pinnock’s Words as part of the ensemble’s first concert of 2011, In Portrait: Beat Furrer.

Furrer mentored Pinnock on the London Sinfonietta’s Blue Touch Paper scheme for emerging composers, and Words is the resulting piece – an enigmatic score for ensemble and baritone, with cimbalom and harp echoing each other amid a buzz of strings. Like Furrer’s Nuun (also performed at the concert), there is a shadowlike feel to the music. It’s a spare but intensely crafted piece, and Pinnock has clearly been inspired by the older composer’s striking use of voice and text, and is influenced by a similar range of non-musical artforms, from fine art to poetry.

Beat Furrer

On a cold day in November 2010, Naomi met with the London Sinfonietta musicians to further develop a piece which had its roots in the idea of memory, poetry and language. With clear ideas about the sounds she wanted to create, this was not a rehearsal. Instead, Naomi worked with the players to experiment, toying with different playing techniques and stretching the instruments (and the musicians!) to create new sounds and effects. The ensemble filmed the workshop – a piece of music in the making – and the finished video is now available to view on the London Sinfonietta website.

London Sinfonietta with Beat Furrer and Naomi Pinnock at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on 18 January 2011. Get tickets here.