Spitalfields Music Festival 2017 (2 – 10 December)
Now in its 41st year, the East London festival is entering an exciting new chapter, with a reinvigorated vision for 2017 that reflects its location at the heart of one of London’s most vibrant areas. This year’s festival has been guest curated by André de Ridder, one of the most daring conductors working across genre boundaries in music today.
André is Artistic Director of Musica nova Helsinki, founder of the ground-breaking ensemble s t a r g a z e and has given premieres of works by Bryce Dessner, Kaija Saariaho, Donnacha Dennehy, Mica Levi, Wolfgang Rihm and Nico Muhly, amongst many others. He conducts numerous world-class orchestras & is a regular at such festivals as Edinburgh International Festival, Sydney Festival and Holland Festival. His discography includes Max Richter’s The Four Seasons Recomposed, works by Bryce Dessner and Jonny Greenwood, and Africa Express Presents: In C Mali, a recording he produced of Terry Riley’s In C with Malian and western artists including Brian Eno and Damon Albarn.
With André at the helm, this year’s festival is packed with extraordinary international artists and visionary collaborations, celebrating classical music in its widest sense.
House of Monteverdi (2 December, 5pm) –Shoreditch Church
Celebrating Monteverdi’s 450th anniversary, a stellar line-up of artists contrast authentic performances of the Renaissance master’s Eighth Book of Madrigals with ground-breaking modern works, premieres and re-interpretations.
Taking place over several hours this extraordinary marathon includes world premieres by French-British composer Josephine Stephenson, London premieres from featured composer Icelandic Anna Thorvaldsdottir and a UK premiere from American composer Qasim Naqvi.
Artists will include David Bates: La Nuova Musica, Liam Byrne, The Hermes Experiment, Ben Johnson, Katherine Manley, Mayah Kadish, Gavin Kibble, s t a r g a z e, Tom Williams: The Erebus Ensemble and Presenter: Sara Mohr-Pietsch.
Classic Album Sundays presents Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
(4 December, 7pm) – Shoreditch Church
In 2012, Max Richter released a record which brought contemporary classical and electronic hybrid genres into the mainstream: Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons.
Revisiting how this album was created and discussing its legacy, Classic Album Sundays’ founder and BBC broadcaster Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy speaks with composer Max Richter and conductor of the album André de Ridder. Following the discussion, there will be an uninterrupted vinyl playback of the album on the Classic Album Sundays’ audiophile hi-fi.
Founded by music producer, label owner, radio host and journalist, Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, Classic Album Sundays (CAS) has become the world’s most popular record club. CAS allows listeners to fully immerse themselves in an album by exploring the context and the story behind the music before experiencing a full replay on vinyl. Starting in London in 2010, CAS sessions have now been held all over the world.
Hyperchromatic Counterpoint (5 December, 8.30pm) – Shoreditch Church
Three incredible solo musicians – Veli Kujala, James McVinnie and Aart Strootman – explore counterpoint across four centuries.
Originating in the 14th Century, counterpoint is a technique whereby independent musical lines are played simultaneously, twisting around and complementing each other.
James McVinnie will perform selected movements from JS Bach’s Art of Fugue and Aart Strootman presents Steve Reich’s seminalElectric Counterpoint. Referencing both Bach and Reich’s work, Veli Kujala’s Hyperchromatic Counterpoint extends the melodic realm with his custom-built accordion into an expansive and psychedelic sound-world.
Renegade New Classical: Daniel Brandt, Nik Colk Void (6 December, 8.30pm) – Shoreditch Church
Boundaries are blurred and new sound worlds imagined as the realms of classical collide with minimal techno, experimental and electronic music in this special event presented by André de Ridder’s exceptional orchestral collective s t a r g a z e.
Nik Colk Void (one third of Factory Floor) premieres an electroacoustic composition, while Erased Tapes signee Daniel Brandt (of Brandt Brauer Frick) presents an orchestral realisation of his solo album Eternal Something. The programme is completed with a new work by Qasim Naqvi (of Dawn of Midi) specially written for s t a r g a z e.
Classic Album Sundays presents Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
(4 December, 7pm) – Shoreditch Church
In 2012, Max Richter released a record which brought contemporary classical and electronic hybrid genres into the mainstream:Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons.
Revisiting how this album was created and discussing its legacy, Classic Album Sundays’ founder and BBC broadcaster Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy speaks with composer Max Richter and conductor of the album André de Ridder. Following the discussion, there will be an uninterrupted vinyl playback of the album on the Classic Album Sundays’ audiophile hi-fi.
Founded by music producer, label owner, radio host and journalist, Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, Classic Album Sundays (CAS) has become the world’s most popular record club. CAS allows listeners to fully immerse themselves in an album by exploring the context and the story behind the music before experiencing a full replay on vinyl. Starting in London in 2010, CAS sessions have now been held all over the world.
There will be two wars (songs of love and war) (2-10 December, Exhibition hours on website) – Shoreditch Church
Fusing the realms of music, theatre, art and words, Turner Prize nominee Mark Titchnerhas created Spitalfields Music’s first visual art exhibition. This multi-media exhibition will explore links between American post-punk hardcore band Fugazi and classical masters Schumann and Monteverdi.
Highly politicised and fiercely independent, Fugazi’s music directly addresses religious, scientific and cultural issues. The exhibition will evolve over the festival through contributions from community projects.
These Two Wars: In Focus (7 December, 7pm) – Shoreditch Church
Breathing life into the installation There will be two wars (songs of love and war), Turner prize nominee Mark Titchner, festival curator André de Ridder and presenter Sara Mohr-Pietsch lead an evening combining discussion, performance and exhibition tour.
Inspired by the legacy and socio-political ethos of the band Fugazi, the conversations that unfold will touch on themes of artistic independence, activism and the ownership of art. The evening will be interspersed with specially commissioned Instrument Solosbased on material from Fugazi songs composed by Greg Saunier (of Deerhoof).
In the Light of Air (8 December, 8pm & 1.15am) – Shoreditch Church Friday
Transforming Shoreditch Church into a home for mindful listening, the London Contemporary Orchestra will perform selections of work by Pauline Oliveros which explore producing sound naturally for meditative practice.
Following this LCO will perform the London premiere of Anna Thorvaldsottir’s In The Light Of Air. Rumbling and atmospheric, it calls to mind the sparse landscapes of Thorvaldsottir’s native Iceland, featuring a light installation which dims and glows according to the players’ breath.
Schumann Street (9-10 December, 5pm & 7.30pm) – Huguenot Houses of Spitalfields
16 songs. 16 rooms. 1,000 journeys.
Schumann Street is an ambitious staging and reinterpretation of Schumann’s iconic song cycle: Dichterliebe. Taking place inside the stunning Huguenot Houses of Spitalfields, each of the 16 songs in Schumann’s cycle will be performed by a different artist drawn from a wide range of stylistic backgrounds including Bengali folk, rap, classical, soul and jazz.
Visitors will create their own path around Spitalfields through this immersive song-cycle installation and experience intimate performances close-up inside these atmospheric historic homes. This is house music in its original form.
The exceptional line-up of artists includes Sam Amidon, Bryan Benner, Sam Beste, Liam Byrne, Uri Caine, Mara Carlyle, Rahel Debebe-Desselegne, Anne Denholm, Abimaro, Lisa Hannigan, Topi Lehtipuu, Katherine Manley, Phil Minton, James McVinnie, Robert Murray, Ben Nelson, Alex Reeve, Shapla Salique, Saied Silbak, Aart Strootman, Heloise Werner, Apollo 47 and more.
For more details visit https://www.spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk/season/festival-2017/.