Proms Chamber Music 4: Dame Evelyn Glennie (10.08.15)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

13:00
Cadogan Hall

Dame Evelyn Glennie and Philip Smith perform music for percussion and piano including two world premieres

Keiko Abe: Prism Rhapsody
Evelyn Glennie & Philip Sheppard: Orologeria aureola
Bertram Wee: Dithyrambs (world premiere)
John Psathas: View from Olympus (world premiere of this version)

Dame Evelyn Glennie (percussion)
Philip Smith (piano)

Petroc Trelawny presents this year's Proms Chamber Music concerts live from Cadogan Hall. Returning to the Proms for the first time since 2007, award-winning Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie celebrates her 50th birthday with a musical party. She performs alongside pianist Philip Smith, showcasing not only her expressive virtuosity and versatility in works by John Psathas and Keiko Abe, but also her skill as a composer, in Orologeria aureola, a joint composition for Halo (metallic 'handpan') and tape. The performance also features a world premiere for Aluphone - an instrument invented only in 2011 and introduced at the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony by Glennie herself.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Evelyn Glennie's enthusiasm for her work reminds me of a percussionist friend from my student days. He would talk about nothing but the "percussion parts" when discussing a "new to us" piece of music. Wearing at first, but infectious too. He worked for some time in the pit at the ROH, subsequently becoming a noted percussion teacher.

(Sorry, getting off-topic already and it's only post no. 2)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Petroc Trelawny has reminded us that today is the 120th Anniversary of THe Henry Wood Promenade Concerts.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Incidentally, this concert is well worth a listen.

[edashtav]

Incidentally, this concert is well worth a listen.

I wish I could endorse your recommendation, Alpie, but I tried and found the works to be meretricious although I wouldn't criticise the performers.

[bluestateprommer]

I tried and found the works to be meretricious although I wouldn't criticise the performers.

Don't have a high opinion of the new works that EG and PS performed, as they came off as so much noodling as a showcase for the musicians (again, in a general "audience friendly" harmonic idiom), without much context, although I second the praise for Dame Evelyn's and Philip Smith's musicianship. They just deserve better material.