Riot Ensemble Live; H&N, Sat, !st October, 2016; 10:30pm

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Riot Ensemble
Sarah Dacey (soprano)
Kate Walter (flute),
Ausias Garrigos (clarinet),
Sarah Saviet (violin),
Stephen Upshaw (viola),
Claudia Maria Racovicean and Adam Swayne (piano)


Broadcast from the foyer of the Royal Festival Hall as part of the Third Programme celebrations, the ensemble perform Philtre for violin solo by Liza Lim (b 1967); Void for soprano, viola & piano by Nina Young (b 1984), and Jack Sheen's new work written especially for the occasion (b 1993) conducted by Aaron Holloway-Nahum.

Then Andrew Kurowski presents recordings of three further BBC commissions in conversation with Tom Service - a section from James Dillon's Traumwerke; Rebecca Saunders' Choler; Simon Holt's eco-pavane, and the fourth movement, "Mary", of Jonathan Harvey's Madonna of Winter & Spring.

Then, at midnight, the website suggests that there are further performances from the Riot Ensemble "recorded earlier in the evening": so what looks like a shorter programme may well turn out to be longer than usual - although how this affects the subsequent Jazz programme ....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07xh8yt

Should be good - and Tome Service is usually at his considerable best when presenting/discussing New Music, too!


(I noticed the "Tome" immediately after hitting the "post" button - I think I'll leave it! )

[ahinton]

(I noticed the "Tome" immediately after hitting the "post" button - I think I'll leave it! )

But isn't t'ome Service what Yorkshire people used to call what we now refer to as Radio 4?

[Quarky]

Riot Ensemble

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07xh8yt

Should be good - and Tome Service is usually at his considerable best when presenting/discussing New Music, too!


(I noticed the "Tome" immediately after hitting the "post" button - I think I'll leave it! )

There seems to be an empirical rule that the better the programme (and this programme was very good), the fewer comments it attracts on these boards.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

There seems to be an empirical rule that the better the programme (and this programme was very good), the fewer comments it attracts on these boards.

- mea culpa - I've been far away from all things cyber last week, so haven't listened/commented. Yet!

[Richard Barrett]

three further BBC commissions

Yes, remember those? BBC commissions I mean (apart from Proms commissions). All three pieces you mention are at least ten years old if I'm not mistaken.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Yes, remember those? BBC commissions I mean (apart from Proms commissions). All three pieces you mention are at least ten years old if I'm not mistaken.

Yes - I think the idea behind the choice was Andrew Kurowski's personal selection of commissions for which he was (at least partially) responsible before he left the BBC three years or so ago. (All part of the "Weren't we good seventy years ago" Festival currently running.)

BBC income means that - I think I'm correct in saying - such commissions are much fewer in number and often shared with other Arts groups (in the UK and Europe). And, with a hostile press watching your every move, this is also only to be expected: I can imagine the Sky Advertising papers' front page headlines "They Threw Away Bake Off, but they can afford to give your Licence money for this!"

[ahinton]

Yes - I think the idea behind the choice was Andrew Kurowski's personal selection of commissions for which he was (at least partially) responsible before he left the BBC three years or so ago. (All part of the "Weren't we good seventy years ago" Festival currently running.)

BBC income means that - I think I'm correct in saying - such commissions are much fewer in number and often shared with other Arts groups (in the UK and Europe). And, with a hostile press watching your every move, this is also only to be expected: I can imagine the Sky Advertising papers' front page headlines "They Threw Away Bake Off, but they can afford to give your Licence money for this!"

Were they ever to do any such thing, I'd be first in line to counter it by retorting "OK, so when did any one organisation last allocate £25m for commissiong new musical works, then?!"...

GRRR!!!