We compare and contrast the life of John Adams with that of Igor Stravinsky in our previous blog post, ahead of our concert on Thursday night at Cadogan Hall.
Name
John Coolidge Adams
Age
65
Nationality
American
Background
His father taught him how to play the clarinet, and he was a clarinetist in community ensembles as a young boy. He began composing at the age of ten with his music first performed publically when he was 14 years old. Studied at Harvard University where he was awarded two degrees. He received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his orchestral work, On the Transmigration of Souls, a memorial to the September 11 attacks.
Breakthrough Moment
Acknowledged for bringing contemporary history to the opera house with his post-modern operatic works Nixon in China (1987), The Death of Klinghoffer (1991) and Doctor Atomic (2005). A recent survey shows him to be the most frequently performed living American composer of orchestral music.
CLS performance
Gnarly Buttons is his concerto for clarinet and small orchestra, written for and premiered by our Principal Conductor Michael Collins, and featuring the banjo, mandolin and guitar! Grand Pianola Music was inspired by a dream in which he found himself driving down Interstate 5, being approached by two of the world's longest Steinways! It unusually features two pianos and three female voices sing a wordless harmony.
Stravinsky & John Adams
Thursday 18 October, 7.30pm
Cadogan Hall, London
Stravinsky Octet
John Adams Gnarly Buttons
John Adams Grand Pianola Music
Tickets from £15
Box Office: 020 7730 4500/cadoganhall.com
Ahead of our concert on Thursday night at Cadogan Hall, we take a quick look at the life of one of the twentieth century's most influential composers: Igor Stravinsky.
Name
Igor Feodorovich Stravinsky
Age
130 (if still alive!)
Breakthrough Moment
The Firebird, a ballet, premiered in Paris in 1910 that first brought him to international prominence. His third ballet The Rite of Spring is often seen as one of the major landmarks in classical music history, as it is often cited as the beginning of modernism and established Stravinsky as the most radical composer of his age.
City of London Sinfonia Performance
His Octet is widely seen as one of the most influential pieces of chamber music. It is scored unusually for woodwind and brass instruments and is regarded as marking the start of Stravinsky's neoclassicsm compositions. American composer Aaron Copland who attended the premiere, later commented “No one could possibly have foreseen . . . that the Octet was destined to influence composers all over the world.”
Stravinsky & John Adams
Thursday 18 October, 7.30pm
Cadogan Hall, London
Stravinsky Octet
John Adams Gnarly Buttons
John Adams Grand Pianola MusicMichael Colllins conductor/clarinetTickets from £15
Box Office: 020 7730 4500/cadoganhall.com
September saw the start of our 2012/13 concert season with a return trip to the Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford on Avon, and the start of the second series of CLoSer on 19 September, with Guest Artists the Katona Twins at Village Underground.
Our Wellbeing through Music concert series returned to Great Ormond Street Hospital after a short summer break, with one of the children commenting that conducting our players was "the funniest thing ever!"
Principal Conductor Michael Collins & the orchestra rehearse at Wiltshire Music CentreOur String Quartet at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital
Our new cushions make their Village Underground debut!
The hugely talented Katona Twins perform at CLoSerThe new series of CLoSer started on 19 September
We love this audience snap of our strings performing at CLoSer!
Images by Becca Newman, James Berry & Andrea Zapata
We asked our outgoing Marketing Intern Anna, to give us her review of the first CLoSer of series two
Last week City of London Sinfonia returned to Village Underground, the unique home of the informal CLoSer concert series, for a second year.
At a glance the basement venue is an odd choice for a classical music concert, but when colourful cushions, vibrant musicians and an excited audience are added, the venue comes alive! Its prime location in the up and coming Shoreditch area is great for attracting creative locals, but is also an appealing spot to visit for those who live further afield. Our CLoSer audiences consist of a wide range of people, young and old, with mixed levels of musical knowledge and varied experiences of classical music, but who all wish to share their love of music in the informal and relaxed environment that CLoSer provides.
The programme for this first concert had a distinctly American feel to it and Michael Collins, City of London Sinfonia’s Principal Conductor, delved straight into the Stravinsky Concerto in D with a high level of excited energy. The City of London Sinfonia strings played with a commitment to this energetic and rhythmic concerto, evidenced by the sight of a loose bow hair flying around in the violins. The second movement was beautifully melodic and reminiscent of a romantic ballet, rather than the sacrificial dance that Stravinsky is known for. This came to an abrupt end in the third movement which presented a pulsating rhythm and a mischievous melody in the violins, creating a tense mood and putting me on the edge of my cushion!
We then welcomed Guest Artists the Katona Twins to the stage to perform Piazzolla’s Hommage à Liège. The Hungarian guitar duo were joined by a dissonant string accompaniment which filled the brick underground with a wonderful resonant sound. The music was intricate and detailed and the pair played with style and apparent ease. At one point the cellos, double bass and guitar duo used their instruments as drums to create a powerful rhythm which built up to an explosive finale which caused excitement to ripple through the room.
The Twins took centre stage for two further pieces from De Falla’s El Amor Brujo suite - The Magic Circle and Ritual Fire Dance . These were full of emotion and with the help of the relaxed atmosphere and the close proximity to the guitar duo, the audience were able to connect to the musicians from their own cushioned corner. In quieter moments the music was played with grace and intimacy, and the louder moments were confident and passionate.
As an encore, the twins played Piazzolla’s Autumn in Buenos Aires, joined by a tango dancing couple who highlighted the sensual and smooth character of De Falla’s music with their movement.
Michael Collins returned for the final piece of the night, to much delight of the audience. The opening of Copland’s Clarinet Concerto was magical, calming and soothing. Michael did a sterling job as both clarinettist and conductor, seamlessly transforming from one role to the other throughout. As always, his playing was flawless and animated and the string players were exceptionally engaging.
The post-concert atmosphere was fantastic with many audience members staying to chat with the musicians, bursting with their thoughts on the evening. The only disappointment is that we’ll have to wait until February for the next one!
Tickets are now on sale for the next two CLoSer concerts on Wednesday 13 February and Wednesday 10 April 2013.
Tickets: £15 (includes one free drink)CLS FIVER (16-25 year olds): £5 (pre-register with marketing@cls.co.uk)Box Office: 020 7377 1362/spitalfieldsmusic.org
Images: James Berry
Ever wondered what our players listen to in their spare time? Whether they prefer Bach or Berlioz? Which instruments they admire? What makes their mouth water?!
Find out more about our basoonist Joanna Graham, in our quick fire round...
Composer
It is impossible to have a favourite composer because music affects one differently according to ones mood or circumstancance. However, having said that, there is one composer I would find difficult to live without and that is Bach. I play something of his on the piano nearly every morning
Opera
My favourite opera this year is Ravel's double bill of L'Heure Espagnol and L'Enfant et les Sortileges
Instrument (other than your own!)The didgeridoo
Concert venue
In this country, Cadogan Hall
Cake
My carrot cake
He was born March 1921 in Mar del Plata, a small village on the coast just South of Buenos Aires in Argentina. He lived in New York City with his family from 1924 to 1937. When he was eight years old, his father bought him the gift of a bandoneón (the Argentine version of the concertina, related to the accordion).
“I got very happy because I thought it was the roller skates I had asked for so many times. It was a letdown because instead of a pair of skates, I found an artifact I had never seen before in my life. Dad sat down, set it on my legs, and told me, 'Astor, this is the instrument of tango. I want you to learn it.'”
At first Piazzolla was not very impressed, but his neighbour Bela Wilda, a student of Rachmaninov, taught him how to play this peculiar instrument. Piazzolla was particularly inspired by the music of Bach.
Aged 17, Piazzolla moved to Buenos Aires where he joined a tango orchestra and began his career as a bandoneónist. He went on to study in Paris with the legendary composition teacher Nadia Boulanger, before returning to Argentina to perform, compose and direct numerous ensembles. Later in life he performed around the world in Greece, Amsterdam, London and New York.
Piazzolla’s life came to a sad end when he suffered a stroke in Paris in 1990, leaving him in a coma. He died in Buenos Aires just two years later, never regaining consciousness.
Our opening concert for the second CLoSer series features Guest Artists the Katona Twins. But who are the men involved in this unique duo? Here’s a quick snapshot:
Name
Peter and Zoltán Katona
As August draws to an end, we look back on another month and wonder where the summer went. With Autumn fast approaching, we are now looking forward to our new concert season, and are particularly excited about the return of CLoSer on 19 Sep.
Here are some snaps from the past few weeks, including our Sea and Sky Family Day at the Idea Store Whitechapel, our Jewish Care Home chamber concerts, and our brass quintet at the Paralympic Torch Celebration in Needham Market, Suffolk.
A young boy is shown how to play the cello at the Idea Store in Whitechapel The Bumblebee ears were out for the Sea and Sky Family Day Trumpets at the ready! Our string quartet performing at a Jewish Care Home in StanmoreThe City of London Sinfonia brass boys performing at the Paralympic Torch Celebration in Suffolk
Our presenter Claire Bloor getting everyone in the celebratory moodOur fantastic audience in Needham Market
The Paralympic Procession begins
Images by James Berry, Gillian Hunter and Paul Nixon
Our new London concerts brochure which lists all City of London Sinfonia concerts from September 2012 to February 2013 is now ready.
Highlights for the next sixth months include a return to Village Underground in Shoreditch for a second CLoSer series, a programme of Stravinsky and John Adams with our Principal Conductor Michael Collins taking centre stage at Cadogan Hall, and a reunion with Polyphony for a performance of Mozart’s Requiem at St John’s Smith Square, conducted by our Artistic Director Stephen Layton.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming concerts!