Spotlight on...John Adams

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.

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Image: Margaret Mitchell

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

 

 

Spotlight on...Igor Stravinsky

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!)

Nationality   
Russian by birth, then became a Swiss resident, took French citizenship in 1934, before becoming a naturalised United States citizen in 1945.   

Background   
Third son of Feodor Stravinsky, one of the principal basses at the Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg. Studied law at university before concentrating on music fulltime.Studied informally with Russian composer and member of The Five, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsadov, for three years.  

Stravinsky_picasso

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 Music

Michael Colllins conductor/clarinet

Tickets from £15
Box Office: 020 7730 4500/
cadoganhall.com

Retrospect - September in Pictures

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!"

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Principal Conductor Michael Collins & the orchestra rehearse at Wiltshire Music Centre

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Our String Quartet at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital

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Our new cushions make their Village Underground debut!

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The hugely talented Katona Twins perform at CLoSer

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The new series of CLoSer started on 19 September

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We love this audience snap of our strings performing at CLoSer!

Images by Becca Newman, James Berry & Andrea Zapata

New Online Brochure

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!

CLoSer FAQs

Did you miss our first CLoSer series at Village Underground? Don't worry, because we're back for a second series, starting next month. If you're new to CLoSer and want to find out more, then here is everything you need to know...

April_25_2012_closer_064

What is CLoSer?
CLoSer is our popular informal concert series, which takes place at Village Underground in Shoreditch. This series there are three concerts on 19 September, 13 February and 10 April and all are designed for both the complete beginner and the classical music enthusiast.

What happens at a CLoSer gig?
The clue’s in the name – these concerts give you a chance to get closer to the music and the musicians. CLoSer concerts are short, informal and intimate. Village Underground is far removed from the traditional concert halls and churches you usually find classical music in. There are no rows of seating and no stage. Instead we scatter the floor with cushions so that you can relax, get comfy and closer to the music.

Cushions

What kind of music is performed at CLoSer concerts?
We perform a wide variety of music from Bach to Stravinsky, from jazz to tango and have a diverse range of Guest Artists at each concert. There are ‘talking' programme notes throughout the performance, so you don't need to know anything about the composers, music or performers beforehand.

Is it going to be really formal?
This concert series is designed to appeal to those who like their live music experiences to be intimate and informal and enjoy a glass of wine while listening! There is no traditional concert seating so you can sit on beanbags or stand and there's no dress code so you can wear whatever you like.

Trumpets

Can I take a drink into the concert?
Yes, of course. The bar opens at 6.45pm and remains open throughout the performance.

How long does the concert last?
Each concert lasts 75 minutes, with no interval.

How much are the tickets?
Tickets for each CLoSer concert are just £15 which includes a free drink from the bar! If you are aged 16-25 years old, whether you are a student or not, you are eligible to sign up for our FIVER scheme which entitles you to tickets for just FIVE POUNDS. We also do Early Bird tickets for just £1. Early Birds are now sold out for September’s concert – you have to get in there fast!

Ruth

In partnership with Spitalfields Music and Village Underground.

Ahead of our new CLoSer series starting next month, this week City of London Sinfonia will be taking over the Spitalfields blog. Check back daily for more CLoSer news.

Images: James Berry and Clare Parker

Retrospect - July in Pictures

Another month has flown by at City of London Sinfonia. During July we had many more performances at Opera Holland Park, as well as two family day concerts in Newmarket and Whitechapel, a performance with Michael Collins at Petworth Festival and a chamber lunchtime concert at St Thomas' Hospital.


The highlight of our month was undoubtedly welcoming the Olympic Torch to Holland Park with our friends from Opera Holland Park. We look forward to August when we’ll be taking part in the Paralympic Flame Celebrations in Suffolk.

Here's a few pictures from the past month...

Roof_terrace_july_2012_2

The sunny view from our roof terrace at Piano House, Brixton

 

Pre-falstaff

July saw performances at Opera Holland Park 2012 - here is the audience and orchestra waiting for Falstaff to begin

Onegin_set
The Onegin set during the interval at Opera Holland Park 

Handbell_rehearsal
The office team rehearse for their handbell rendition of Land of Hope and Glory to celebrate the start of the Olympics

  

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The Olympic Torch passed by our office in Brixton on Thursday 26 July...

  

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...whilst our players were warming up for the arrival of the torch in Holland Park

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The moment the torch arrived and passed through the Opera Holland Park choir

Chamber_concert_st_thomas_hospital
Our principal oboe, Dan Bates, introducing the quintet at St Thomas' Hospital at our lunchtime chamber concert on 30 July

 

Images: Anna Jessiman, Alex Marshall and Gillian Hunter

Olympic Torch in Holland Park

On Thursday 26 July, the Olympic torch passed through the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and stopped briefly in Holland Park. We were delighted to perform, along with the Opera Holland Park Chorus and Investec Choir, for this very special occasion. Here's some photos from this special day.

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Conductor Stuart Stratford with the City of London Sinfonia violins

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Orchestra leader Matthew Scrivener with Stuart Stratford

Choir_and_robes

The Opera Holland Park Chorus and Investec Choir

Minute_maestro_lady

A 'minute maestro' participant

Minute_maestros_and_torch

Stuart Stratford and more 'minute maestro' conductors

Anna_and_julia

Julia Riley and Anna Leese singing The Flower Duet from Lakmé

Violins_playing

City of London Sinfonia violins

Peter_auty_singing

Peter Auty performing Nessun Dorma

Tabitha_torchbearer

12-year-old Tabitha-Skye Mcduffus from Chelsea Academy carried the torch through Holland Park

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Tabitha carrying the torch through the choir

Images: Anna Jessiman

Zany for Zanetto

As the Gianni Schicchi/Zanetto double bill at Opera Holland Park comes to an end this week, we focus on Mascagni's lesser known one act opera Zanetto.

Florence

1.    Mascagni had so many devoted fans during his lifetime that 'mascagnano' was recognised as a common noun in the Italian dictionary.

2.    The premiere of Zanetto in 1896 featured as part of the annual celebrations for Rossini’s birthday.

3.    A private performance of Zanetto was held in London shortly after the Italian premiere, with Italian sisters Sofia and Giulia Ravogli.

4.    Five years ago in June 2007, Zanetto was performed in New York for the first time since its US premiere in October 1902.

5.    Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, the librettist for Zanetto (along with Guido Menasci), was a lifelong friend of Mascagni’s, born in the same year and city.

 

The remaining performances of the Gianni Schicchi/Zanetto double bill are on July 12 & 14 at 7.30pm, as well as The Christine Collins Young Artists' performance on July 14 at 2pm.

Retrospect - June in pictures

June was a busy month for us with the start of our ninth season at Opera Holland Park, a UK premiere of Gluck's Il trionfo di Clelia at the Royal Opera House and several education projects inbetween. We started the month in good spirits celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in style with our friends at Piano House and finished by humming along to Donizetti, Mozart and Puccini.

Here's a few pictures from the past month...

Gillian_and_alex_jubille_party
Gillian and Alex raise their cups for the Diamond Jubilee

 

Lucia_2012
Watching Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor which opened this year's Opera Holland Park 2012 season

 

Gillian__mini_accordian
Gillian, our Education Manager, received a new instrument to add to her collection

 

Gosh_quartet
A few of our players performing at Great Ormond Street Hospital

 

Linbury_lighting
Preparing the set for Clelia at the Linbury Studio Theatre, downstairs at the Royal Opera House

 

Cls_rehearsing_in_pit
Rehearsing for Il Trionfo di Clelia

Gen up on your Gianni

For the next edition in our trivia opera guide for novices and opera buffs alike, we take a look at  Puccini's one-act opera Gianni Schicchi.

  • The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico (The Triptych)—three one-act operas. When Il trittico premiered in New York, Rome and London, Gianni Schicchi was an immediate hit and by 1920 Puccini had given his reluctant consent to separate performances. Gianni Schicchi has subsequently become the most-performed part of Il trittico and has been widely recorded
  • The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's The Divine Comedy

New_image

  • The world premiere took place at the Metropolitan Opera (above image) in New York unusually without Puccini being there
  • Woody Allen directed Gianni Schicchi for Los Angeles Opera in 2008
  • Gianni Schicchi was to be the last opera Puccini ever completed


Gianni Schicchi is in rep at Opera Holland Park until 14 July.

Check out our Opera Holland Park Pinterest Board for more interesting facts on this year's season.