LSO Jerwood Composer+ helps early-career composers in planning and delivering two inventive tasks, with two composers chosen every year for a 15-month placement. Mentored by LSO workers, they’re inspired to develop entrepreneurial expertise round programming for particular audiences, planning, advertising and marketing, budgeting, fundraising and analysis.
The 2023/24 composers have been Anselm McDonnell [see my review of his recent disc, Kraina] and Rufus Isabel Elliot, and a number of the fruits of their labours are going to be obvious as two LSO Jerwood Composer+ showcases at LSO St Luke’s are curated by Anselm McDonnell and Rufus Isabel Elliot.
On Saturday 12 October 2024, The Expanded Violin, curated by Anselm McDonnell, options music by McDonnell, Judith Ring, Leo Chadburn, Kahlevi Aho, Catherine Lamb and Kaija Saariaho, carried out by 4 violinists, Mira Benjamin, Larissa O’Grady, Chihiro Ono and Amalia Younger. The night is described as a deep dive into the potential of the violin, increasing and enhancing the instrument via microtonality, electronics, and the sound of a number of violins. The music consists of Kalevi Aho’s soulful tribute to the younger Finnish violinist Sakari Laukola, Saariaho’s Nocturne, which is an intimate tribute to Lutosławski, and the night ends with McDonnell’s new work Genesis Cradle, exploring various tunings via Simply Intonation – intervals which are tuned to suit with the naturally occurring relationships within the harmonic sequence. [Further details]
On Saturday 16 November 2024, Waves Crash on Previous Avenue, curated by Rufus Isabel Elliott, options music by David Fennessy, Christian Mason, Barbara Monk Feldman, Martin Arnold, Britta Byström, Ryoko Akama, Stuart MacRae and a premiere by Rufus Isabel Elliott. The performers are David Alberman, violin, Louise McMonagle, cello, and Mark Knoop, piano. Elliott has collaborated with artists Miek Zwamborn and Rutger Emmelkamp, based mostly in Knockvologan, on the Isle of Mull, and the night guarantees to carry the Isle of Mull’s wild Atlantic rainforest of Tireragan to LSO St Luke’s. [Further details]
