WHAT’S ON APRIL – JUNE 2013

ClassicalAurora OrchestraWagner 200

Spoken WordTravel Festival with Michael Palin

JazzDjango BatesKenny Wheeler

FolkLarkin Poe

WorldSonglines Encounters

ContemporaryJohn Metcalfe’s Monomedia: Will Gregory, Thomas Dolby

MANU DELAGOTHE HANG PLAYER COOKS UP A STORM

APRIL – JUNE 2013

John Metcalfe’s Monomedia: Will Gregory, Thomas Dolby

MANU DELAGOTHE HANG PLAYER COOKS UP A STORM

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WELCOME TO THE EARLY SUMMER 2013 SEASON AT KINGS PLACE!

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If you’ve never heard our cover artist Manu Delago play the Hang before, make a date this April to hear him and a dazzling range of collaborators, from Björk’s favourite Icelandic choir to two boundary-breaking Austrian percussionists and his own band Handmade. These unique events will appeal to listeners across the entire music spectrum.

Our fastest-selling composer series ever, Bach Unwrapped, reaches the ebullient Brandenburg Concertos, performed by the OAE (19 Apr & 17 May), a boasts visits from The Sixteen, who bring Motets and Masses (15, 16 & 18 May), the Swingle Singers, the Respectable Groove, while Kings Place’s new resident Aurora Orchestra contributes a children’s concert (20 Apr) and a fascinating evening on Echoes of Bach. Aurora also collaborates in the Wagner 200 series (26–30 Jun), co-curated by Barry Millington, author of The Sorcerer of

Bayreuth, which combines a recreation of the Siegfried Idyll’s premiere and performances by Janice Watson and Llyr Williams with an in-depth look at radical opera stagings and � lm-screenings of iconic productions. Leading violinists Tasmin Little (11–13 Apr) and Priya Mitchell (25–27 Apr) bring a menu of irresistible programmes, including folk and gypsy music, while Songlines Encounters Festival (5–8 Jun) returns with an explosive line-up featuring John Williams with Duo Sabîl, Trio Mali Latino, Transkaukazja and Lokkhi Terra.

For jazz fans there will be a rare outing for Kenny Wheeler’s Mirrors Suite, featuring London Vocal Project and Norma Winstone (25 May), while Django Bates brings his new album Con� rmation (12 Jun). In Monomedia John Metcalfe, Will Gregory and Thomas Dolby will be turning o¢ the lights to intensify the aural experience (9–11 May). Out Hear,

our contemporary strand, moves to Sunday a£ ernoons with a strong line-up including the UK debut of renowned American contemporary ensemble ICE who colluded with Dai Fujikura for their Almost New York programme (21 Apr).

To get you in the holiday mood, we launch our � rst Travel Festival (22–23 Jun), which opens with a Michael Palin event, and includes Sara Wheeler, Jay Gri¥ ths and Simon Gar� eld. Last, but not least, discover what links the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the inaugural Festival of Chess (15 Jun).

Peter Millican, CEO

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William Packer, who writes on Shani Rhys James, is an artist, showing at the Piers Feetham Gallery and the New English Art Club. He was art critic on the Financial Times (1974 – 2004) and continues as a freelance. He is an Honorary Fellow of the RCA.

Alexandra Coghlan, who writes on Aurora Orchestra, is the Classical Music Critic for the New Statesman and also writes for The Independent, The Times, Prospect, Opera and Opera Now. She was formerly Performing Arts Editor for Time Out, Sydney.

Claire Wrathall, who interviews polar travel-writer Sara Wheeler, was part of the team that launched Condé Nast Traveller in the UK and now writes mostly for the Financial Times – and would so much rather read about extreme cold than endure it!

Nick White is a photographer who, despite having cloth ears and two le£ feet, retains a passion for music and dance. His portraits and collages are widely published and are included in the National Portrait Gallery collection.

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FOLK HIGHLIGHTS

11 Larkin About Americana band from Georgia, Larkin Poe

12 Seale in the Swell Orlando Seale (above) is inspired by opulent orchestras13 Young At Heart

The Young'uns bring absolute chaos to Fridayʼs Folk Union

JAZZ HIGHLIGHTS

16 Mirror, mirror on the wall Kenny Wheeler with Norma Winstone and the London Vocal Project

17 Dreams of Paradiso Tina May performs with Guillermo Rozenthuler 18 Django Unchained Django Bates (above) brings his new album Con� rmation

CONTEMPORARY HIGHLIGHTS

8 Out Hear Moves to Sunday9 Almost New York Dai Fujikura and ICE work cheek-to-cheek10 The Time and the Place Marie Boine, Soweto Kinch, Budapest Bar and more28 THE HANG MAN COMETH

Manu Delago (above), Hang virtuoso and drummer, curates a unique new series

39 DANCING IN THE DARK John Metcalfe will turn the lights o� to make us listen di� erently in his new series, Monomedia

CLASSICAL HIGHLIGHTS

14 Caravan: Gypsy FolkPriya Mitchell (above) and friends

15 Confessions of an unrepentant Bach heretic by Kenneth Hamilton

33 DAWN TREADERS Kings Place welcomes a new resident, the Aurora Orchestra. Alexandra Coghlan met them

46 THE SORCERER OF BAYREUTH Barry Millington on his Wagner 200th-anniversary celebrations

82 Q&A Christoph Richter

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All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of Kings Place is strictly forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at the time of going to press, but we accept no responsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Kings Place.

Thanks toPeter Millican, Jen Mitchell, Tanya Cracknell, Amy Sibley-Allen, Geraldine D’Amico, Zoë Jeyes, Chris Nye, Holly Thomas, Hervé Bournas, Aurelie Gillson, Richard Hartwell, Nell Halford, Sabrina Beck

Art Direction Moira GilDesign Assistant Samuel KangPicture Research Sunita Sharma-Gibson Proofreading Susannah Howe Print Wyndeham Roche

Editor-in-ChiefHelen Wallace

Editorial TeamEmrah TokalaçJanie NicholasMichael Green Lindsay Garfoot (web)Alice Clark (web)

PublisherKings Place Music Foundation

Contact+44 (0) 20 7520 1440

mag@kingsplace.co.uk

www.kingsplace.co.uk

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24 A Feast from FoleyJenny Linford meets the Rotundaʼs new Irish chef, Nick Foley (above)

LISTINGS51 Listings

76 Art Listings

77 Artistic Hires

78 Calendar

ART HIGHLIGHTS

22 The Rivalry of Flowers William Packer pays tribute to the subtle mastery of Shani Rhys James

44 FROM MICRO TO MACRO Sculptor in residence Briony Marshall (above) turned to science for inspiration, as Philip Ball discovers

COMEDY HIGHLIGHTS

19 The Top Ten Rites of Spring of Cariad Lloydʼs (above)

INTERACT HIGHLIGHTS26 Secrets of Piano-Yoga

GéNIA on the bene� ts of yoga to a pianistʼs psychology and playing

27 Check Mate!Kings Place holds its � rst Chess Festival this summer

SPOKEN WORD HIGHLIGHTS

2o Lost, stolen or shredded Rick Gekoski in search of lost artworks

21 Brecht: A poet of exile New translations of the playwrightʼs unknown verse

36 BEARD OPTIONAL Sara Wheeler talks about women polar explorers at her session in the new Kings Place Travel Festival, featuring Michael Palin (above) and many others

WHAT’S ON APRIL – JUNE 2013

CONTENTS REGU

LARS

61 May67 June76 Art Listings77 Artistic Hires78 Calendar82 Q&A with cellist Christoph Richter

03 Welcome 06 Ticket Information07 Planning Your Week08 Highlights 28 Features51 Listings 52 April

Book tickets now:020 7520 149006 TICKETS April — June 2013

BOOKING Tickets for all performances from £9.50 online

Tickets are cheaper if booked online. (The online ticket prices are shown in the listings.)Please add £2 per ticket to the online price if booking by telephone or in person.Kings Place do not charge any additional booking or postage fees.

GROUP BOOKINGS Buy six or more tickets per event, and save 20%. Group discounts are available through the Box O� ce only and are not bookable online. May not be applicable for some events and subject to availability.

ONLINE Secure online booking 24hr a day.www.kingsplace.co.uk

BY PHONE Kings Place Box O� ce+44 (0)20 7520 1490

IN PERSON Box O� ce Opening HoursMon, Wed, Thu, Fri & Sat 12–8pm;

Tue 10–6pm; Sun 12–7pm(closed Bank Holidays). Opening Hours are subject to change – please call the Box O� ce for more details. 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG

£9.50 Saver Seats can only be purchased online and are limited in availability.

VENUES

HALL ONEAssigned Seating – Choose your own seat when booking.

£9.50 Saver Seats can only be purchased online and are limited in availability.You are guaranteed a seat. Its location will be allocated by the Box O� ce. Tickets may be collected at any time during the hour before the performance.

HALL TWO All seating is unreserved and general admission – choose your own seat on arrival. Some events may be standing only.

ST PANCRAS ROOMAll seating is unreserved and general admission – choose your own seat on arrival. Some events may be standing only.

ACCESS Kings Place aims to be accessible to everyone, and all performance spaces o� er suitable seating for wheelchair users. Please inform the Box O� ce Sta� of any access requirements when booking. There is an induction loop at the Box O� ce Welcome Desk to assist those with hearing aids. An infrared system is installed in Halls

TICKET BOOKING & VENUE INFORMATION

One and Two, with hearing advancement headsets available for audience members who do not use a hearing aid. Neck loops are also available to use with hearing aids switched to the ‘T’ position. All areas of Kings Place are accessible to those with Guide & Hearing Dogs.

ARRIVING LATE We will endeavour to seat latecom-ers at a suitable break in the perfor-mance, although this may not always be possible and in some instances latecomers may not be admitted at all. Tickets are non-refundable.

TAKING PICTURES The use of cameras, video or sound recording equipment is strictly prohibited during performances, concerts and exhibitions. Kings Place may take pictures during your visit that are later used for promotional purposes.

RETURNS POLICYTickets cannot be refunded or exchanged, except where an event is cancelled or abandoned when less than half of the performance has taken place.

Kings Place, 90 York Way London N1 9AG | www.kingsplace.co.uk | Box O� ce +44(0)20 7520 1490

Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk 07PLANNING YOUR WEEKApril — June 2013

JOURNEYA collaborative mix of artists, curators,organisations and producers presentingan exciting series of events

WEEKLY FOCUS WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY – SATURDAY EACH WEEK

Kings Place, 90 York Way London N1 9AG | www.kingsplace.co.uk | Box O� ce +44(0)20 7520 1490

PLANNING YOUR WEEKMONDAYS

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PUBLIC TRANSPORTThe Transport for London Journey Planner provides live travel updates and options on how to reach Kings Place quickly and accurately. You can also call London Travel Information on 020 7222 1234.

TUBE The nearest tube station is King’s Cross St Pancras, on the Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City, Piccadilly, Northern and Victoria lines. The station has step-free access from platform to street level. From the tube station the quickest way to Kings Place is via the new King’s Boulevard. You can also walk up York Way.

BUS The bus route to York Way is the 390. Other services running to nearby King’s Cross St Pancras are routes 10, 17, 30, 45, 46, 59, 63, 73, 91, 205, 214, 259 and 476.

CAR Kings Place is easily accessible by car and is clearly signposted in the immediate area.

The building is outside the Congestion Charge Zone. The nearest car park is NCP London St Pancras (www.ncp.co.uk) on Pancras Road, open 24 hour, 7 days including Bank Holidays. If you are using sat nav our postcode is N1 9AG.

BIKE There is a Barclays Bike Hire Docking Station right next door to Kings Place on Crinan Street. For its latest status and recommended cycling routes to Kings Place, please visit the Transport for London website: www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling or call London Travel Information:+44 (0)20 7222 1234.

FOOT If you live in King’s Cross or the surrounding area then why not walk to Kings Place? We are located right on the Grand Union Canal towpath.

TAXI Visitors can pick up taxis either on York Way and the streets immediately surrounding Kings Place or at the taxi ranks at King’s Cross and St Pancras Stations.

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KINGS PLACE IS SITUATED JUST A FEW MINUTES, WALK FROM KING’S CROSS AND ST PANCRAS STATIONS, ONE OF THE MOST CONNECTED LOCATIONS IN LONDON AND NOW THE BIGGEST TRANSPORT HUB IN EUROPE. SEE MAP BELOW FOR DETAILED TRAVEL ADVICE.

an exciting series of eventsan exciting series of events

CONTEMPORARY

HIGHLIGHTS

Book tickets now:020 7520 149008 April — June 2013HIGHLIGHTS

Kings Place’s ContemporaryMusic Series Out Hear willmove to Sunday a� ernoons inApril. Helen Wallace previewsthe season with ProgrammesManager Tanya Cracknell

OUT HEAR MOVES TO SUNDAY

Out Hear, which launched in 2009, will move to Sunday a� ernoons at 4pm from 7 April. The contemporary music strand with the tagline ‘Break your Sound Barrier’ has more than lived up to that challenge over the past three years, presenting music from the furthest reaches of the experimental spectrum, to bands like The Bays, premieres from Elision, D-FUSE and London Sinfonietta, and club nights from Gabriel Proko� ev. Partnerships with The Wire and Straight No Chaser magazines, Café Oto, Sounds and Music and Diaphonique have broadened the canvas still wider.

Why are you moving the time of Out Hear?The Sunday allows for a longer set-up time for more experimental and cross-genre programming. The fact is, our conference programme which supports the music here at Kings Place is particularly popular on Monday daytimes, so set-up times could get squeezed. The earlier time on Sundays will allow more freedom for people to attend from outside London at a time where other venues don’t programme much contemporary and experimental music.

What will be the bene� ts of this new time?A great way to experience the unexpected on a Sunday a� ernoon – break your sound barrier a� er Sunday lunch in the Rotunda restaurant.

What are the exciting events coming up this season?So much! The new Out Hear series will be ever evolving and diverse; this summer includes contemporary classical mixed with live electronics (EXPERIMENTALSTUDIO, 7 Apr), the Bristol-based Lund Quartet (28 Apr) with their distinctive sonic cocktail of turn-tables, jazz trio and theremin. Iain Ballamy headlines with Emulsion on 12 May, plus there’s a brilliant curation of duets for dancer and musician by Luke Dixon (14 Apr). Iconic American pianist Bruce Brubaker makes a rare visit on 19 May, Platform33 curate an event encompassing folk, contemporary dance, visual art, contemporary classical & DJing on 2 June, and Team Doyobi will kick o our flirtation with Sonic Arts on 16 June with Lazy Modern Micro Festival, a theme that will return in future seasons.

What have you been learning about your audience over the last year or two?Never to underestimate them! We have had good support since Out Hear’s launch and o� en the most experimental concerts get the best reviews and feedback. We are not afraid of programming concepts you wouldn’t expect to � nd in a formal concert hall setting and wish to push boundaries in this series and others at Kings Place. Our vision is to appeal to the musically curious from all backgrounds, and our aim is to establish Out Hear as a beacon of high-quality contemporary music performance in London.

Tanya Cracknell

09Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

HIGHLIGHTSCONTEMPORARYApril — June 2013

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KIDS ARE LISTENING TO RADIOHEAD AND BOULEZ BACK TO BACK, SO WE CAN TAKE THAT APPROACH TO A CONCERT TOO

ICE, America’s hottest contemporary music ensemble, makes its UK debut at Kings Place this spring, featuring the music of Dai Fujikura alongside American greats. Helen Wallace talked to him about a unique group of musicians

ALMOST NEW YORK…

‘ICE are like family,’ enthuses composer Dai Fujikura ‘I take a screen shot of a new page of my score, post it to them; they play it and email it back to me within minutes – it’s amazing, it’s like I’m working with them in my room.’ Which is saying something when the Atlantic Ocean separates the two. ICE – International Contemporary Ensemble – is America’s hottest contemporary music ensemble, a 33-strong group of exceptional soloists led by flautist Claire Chase. The group has premiered and commissioned a staggering 500 pieces since forming in 2001, the majority from emerging composers. They are known for holding gigs just about anywhere, from downtown bars to bowling alleys. ‘They have a huge following in New York and Chicago,’ explains Fujikura. ‘Wherever they play, people swarm.’

And they don’t wait for composers to come to them either, as Fujikura fondly recalls: ‘I was still a student in London when they found me. They ran a competition in 2003 and they chose my piece. Claire rang me and said, ‘All the musicians are saying, “Who the hell is this guy, we want to hear more!” All my American premieres have been done by

ICE; I cannot think of another group where every single musician is so engaged, so responsive. They invited me over when they were just established, and I was sleeping on a neighbour’s cousin’s floor and carrying music stands and stu¥ – it was like a guerrilla operation then, but so nice, so friendly.’

Musicians from ICE make their UK debut at OutHear in April, sporting a programme called Almost New York. The title partly refers to the ‘honorary’ New Yorker status they have conferred on Fujikura, but also to a piece for

flute and oscillator by pioneering sound artist Alvin Lucier. Fujikura is fascinated by the latter’s radical work: ‘Lucier challenges you to listen in a new way. I really wanted this programme to feature American composers we rarely hear: Alvin’s one, John Zorn is another and the young Felipe Lara a third. There’ll be a jazz drummer joining the wind players for John Zorn’s The Tempest, a UK premiere.

‘I’m turned on by music which is not like mine; I want each piece to bring a new perspective. My clarinet piece Rubicon was written for ICE clarinettist Joshua Rubin, while Glacier for bass flute was extracted from an ensemble piece I wrote for them called ICE.’The concert will run seamlessly, without an interval: ‘ I want it to be like an iTunes playlist, without stage moves. Kids these days are listening to Radiohead and Boulez back to back, so we can take that approach to a concert too.’

OutHear: ICE – Almost New York21 AprilSee Listings p57 for details

Dai Fujikura

What is the connection between Bronze Age artefacts, Italian jazz, medieval manuscripts, a gypsy band and photography which captures Europe’s complex colonial past? They all form part of an intriguing multi-disciplined event at Kings Place, The Time and the Place: culture and identity in today’s Europe.

During the HERA Joint Research Programme’s conference there will be public performances, � lm screenings, panel discussions and exhibitions, as John Cumming of Serious, the co-curators, explains: ‘The Time and the Place explores European cultural identity and, speci� cally, how the past relates to the present, and how creativity can lead to new forms of innovation. We have created an enjoyable music programme that resonates with those ideas.’

He cites a research project which explored the distinct national identities of jazz in Europe: ‘We’ve invited the Italian duo Trovesi and Coscia to perform: their music derives from northern Italian folk traditions, and draws on a unique mix of European composers from Kurt Weill to O� enbach, infused with hints of tango, mazurka and klezmer.’ Another project examined Scarcity and creativity in the built environment: ‘Soweto Kinch’s music is an interesting response to the idea of scarcity.

Book tickets now:020 7520 1490

HIGHLIGHTSCONTEMPORARY10

An exploration in musicof European culture and identity featuringSoweto Kinch and MariBoine accompanies anacademic conferencegiven by the Humanities in the European ResearchArea (HERA) at Kings Place

THE TIME AND THE PLACE

SOWETO KINCH’S MUSIC IS AN INTERESTING RESPONSE TO THE IDEA OF SCARCITY

April — June 2013

He brings his own take on urban culture, and uses rapping and hip-hop, both complex musical traditions derived from scarce resources.’

Dane Poul Høxbro, who will appear in Folk Union with Miriam Andersén and Scottish folk musician Fraser Fi� eld, is fascinated by Viking culture and specialises in recreating ancient instruments. This performance connects with the work being done by archeologists on ancient musical traditions in Europe. One research project focused on landscape and meeting places, a subject close to the heart of Sami singer Mari Boine. Though deeply rooted in her north Norwegian landscape and culture, she has always looked outwards, forming partnerships with innovators like Jan Garbarek and Bugge Wesselto£ , and African singers and musicians.

Echoing the spirit of that research, too, is the music of world-class gypsy band Budapest Bár. ‘The Roma have always had a transnational place in Europe’, comments Cumming. ‘It’s reflected in their polygot music, which is permeated by the di� erent cultures they’ve travelled through.’

The Time and the Place 30 May – 1 JuneSee Listings pp66–67 for details

Fraser Fi� eld

7 APRILEXPERIMENTALSTUDIO feat. Kairos QuartettMusic in the Space Time Continuum I

14 APRILMusichoreographyDuets for dancers and instrumentalists

21 APRILInternational Contemporary Ensemble: ‘Almost New Yorkʼ

28 APRILLund Quartet

12 MAYEnsemble Amorpha+ guests: Emulsion

19 MAYBruce Brubaker: Plugged/UnpluggedPost-minimalist piano music

2 JUNEPlatform33 Moves

9 JUNE//Backstep//

16 JUNELazy Modem – 1 feat. Team Doyobi

26 JUNEOUT HEAR ON WEDNESDAY

Klangforum WienMusic in the Space Time Continuum II

SUNDAYS, 4PM – HALL TWO

Lund Quartet

You’ve come a long way in a short time…Rebecca: Our previous group was the Lovell Sisters with our sister Jessica and when she le� we had a pow-wow and decided to go in a new direction. We already had gigs in the calendar as the Lovell Sisters so we had to kick into a high gear very quickly when we became Larkin Poe in 2010. Within a month we were recording our � rst CD.

It’s quite a leap from the Lovell Sisters’ bluegrass sound…Megan: It was an interesting change. We’d never played with drums or electri� ed instruments before and some of our fans didn’t like that; but if you don’t follow your heart, you’re kinda dead, so it’s better to take a risk than stagnate.

What inspires your songwriting?R: People watching! We travel so much and see so many diverse people. We were schooled at home by our parents who encouraged us to read, read, read… and that really paid dividends with our songwriting.

And you toured with Elvis Costello…M: That was surreal! We met him at Merlefest in North Carolina. They have a bluegrass superjam on the main stage and Elvis popped up singing there. So we popped up behind him improvising vocal parts and he said, ‘Wow, who are you guys?’ Then he invited us to open for him

11Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

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IF YOU DON’T FOLLOW YOUR HEART, YOU’RE KINDA DEAD, SO IT’S BETTER TO TAKE A RISK THAN STAGNATE

From Georgia, USA, sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell are causing a sensation with their energetic Americana band Larkin Poe,named a� er their great-great-great-grandfather, a cousin of Edgar Allan.Colin Irwin met them

LARKIN ABOUT

and when he toured Europe we sort of became his backing band!

You do covers too, like Massive Attack’s Teardrop!R: I’d never heard Massive Attack but my brother-in-law had it on a mixtape on a road trip. If you listen past the techno qualities of the song the melody is like a mountain ballad from the hills of north Georgia or Tennessee. It’s very modal, not major or minor; so it was a neat juxtaposition to work that up as an acoustic track.

You certainly seem to be having a love a� air with Britain…R: Oh, the response British folks have to roots Americana music – the kinda stu¡ we like to play – is wonderful. You don’t o� en � nd the same support in the States for acoustic music. Mainstream pop and rock dominates there, so it’s really refreshing to come here…

Folk Union: Larkin Poe5 AprilSee Listings p52 for details

April — June 2013

Book tickets now:020 7520 149012

Most bandleaders know the number of musicians performing behind them, but for Orlando Seale, ‘it fluctuates’, with between eight and ten members of the Swell on stage at each concert. The singer-songwriter settled upon these large forces several years ago when he first collaborated with members of London’s young professionals orchestra, the Southbank Sinfonia. The result was a permanent set-up combining vocals, bass and drums with strings and winds. The presence of orchestral instruments isn’t mere palette padding however. ‘We want them to be a full part and pushing the music forward in interesting ways,’ says Seale.

The resulting sound, which Seale and co. are currently working towards recording for their debut album, is hard to pin down but references ‘folk, contemporary classical music and indie and alternative bands’. Instead of

a strict stylistic anchor, Seale’s focus is on the nature and make-up of songs themselves. He grew up listening to French singer-songwriters – ‘people like Piaf, Brel, Brassens and Gainsbourg’ – and is interested in ‘that tradition

of chanson’. His own songs are influenced by poetry, theatre and art, but also by London, which is ‘endlessly inspiring’.

Seale’s compositions are frequently fast and furious, occasionally introspective, and always underpinned by a rich tapestry of instrumental texture. Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music DJ and a fan of Orlando Seale and the Swell, has complimented the band’s ‘freshness, vigour and power’. That big sound, which is easy to imagine booming from a Glastonbury stage, can, says Seale, fit smaller spaces just as effectively: ‘I always wanted that range in our music – to be able to handle both epic and intimate gigs.’

Folk Union: Orlando Seale and the Swell10 MaySee Listings p63 for details

Orlando Seale takes his inspiration from Frenchchanson and opulent orchestras, as the Folk Unionaudience will discover, writes Tim Woodall

Seale in the Swell

Seale’S SongS are alwayS underpinned by a rich tapeStry of inStrumental texture

HIGHLIGHTS April — June 2013

Nobody sleeps when The Young’uns are in town. They may have established their fast-growing reputation in the folk world with sublime a cappella harmonies, but the Teesside trio – Sean Cooney, Michael Hughes and David Eagle – are an unlikely force of nature on stage, beguiling audiences with irrepressible humour, bold vocals, gripping storylines and innate musicality. Describing their gigs as ‘absolute chaos’, they go on stage without set-lists, relying on infallible instinct and their unique rapport with audiences to deliver a killer show. ‘The most important thing to us is the audience,’ they say. ‘We tailor everything to that night’s audience.’

Their music is rooted ­ ercely in Teesside – speci­ cally, Stockton – where they ­ rst started singing together at the local folk club, although they spread their wings on their glorious new album, When Our Grandfathers Said No, which includes a stomping French song, Pique la baleine, a gorgeous unaccompanied arrangement of James Taylor’s You Can Close Your Eyes, some

ni� y instrumental work, a couple of rollicking shanties and plentiful strong original material from Sean Cooney. When Our Grandfathers Said No is a line from one of his most compelling songs, The Battle Of Stockton, recalling an incident in 1933 when Oswald Mosely’s Blackshirts targeted deprived areas as potential fascist hotbeds and marched over the Tees – to be physically repelled by 2,000 outraged Stockton townsfolk. They may have been poor but they weren’t stupid.

Folk Union: The Young’uns12 AprilSee Listings p55 for details

13Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

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YOUNG AT HEARTThe Young’uns rely on infallible instinct and their unique rapport with audiences to deliver a killer show, says Colin Irwin

THEY DESCRIBE THEIR GIGS AS ‘ABSOLUTE CHAOS’

5 APRILLarkin Poe

12 APRILThe Young’uns

19 APRILJamie Smith’s Mabon

26 APRILEmma Sweeney

3 MAYJez Lowe & The Bad Pennies

10 MAYOrlando Seale & The Swell

17 MAYOld Man Luedecke

24 MAYThe Kennedys

31 MAYPoul Høxbro & Miriam Andersén+ Fraser Fi� eld

14 JUNEAndy Cutting

21 JUNEMonster Ceilidh Band Midsummer Mash-up

FRIDAYS, 8PM – HALL TWO

HIGHLIGHTSFOLKApril — June 2013

Youngs’uns

The Kennedys

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violinist Priya Mitchell leads a fascinating series of music inspired by gypsy and folk traditions,while Tasmin Little also gets a little help from her friends

JoIn THe CArAvAn oF GypSy FoLk

There’s a rich mix of chamber music in the offing at kings Place this April when two of our leading violinists, Tasmin Little and Priya Mitchell, gather together their gifted friends.

Priya Mitchell, who directs the oxford chamber Music Festival, rallies an array of soloists to join her in a journey that takes in her own Indian and Irish roots. Caravan – Gypsy Folk, traces the musical influence of the roma from India to the British Isles via the near east, Spain, eastern europe and the Balkans.

It’s also a journey through time, reaching back to Baroque composers, such as vivaldi and Telemann, who wrote a Gypsy Sonata, to

korth and clarinettist Joan enric Lluna do the honours for Tasmin Little and pianist Martin roscoe and John Lenehan in three beautifully balanced and imaginative concerts following the violin through the centuries. Little comments, ‘I’ve learnt a lot about programming from my audiences, particularly in schools and communities where classical musicis not often heard. John Lenehan and I are always on the look-out to refresh the menu and try new things, and that’s reflected in our programmes.’ In each concert she has mixed great violin sonatas from the repertoire by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and ravel with pieces for guest instrumentalists and a selection of trios, including Brahms’s delightful Horn Trio, ravel’s bluesy example and Bartók’s Contrasts for violin, clarinet and piano.

Tasmin Little & Friends:From Bach to Bartók 11–13 AprilSee Listings pp54–55

Priya Mitchell & Friends: Caravan – Gypsy Folk25–27 AprilSee Listings pp58–59

Brahms and dvorák, who famously absorbed the dances of gypsy street bands into their concert music, and to kreisler and Monti, for whom the very soul of the violin seemed intertwined with the image of the itinerant gypsy fiddler.

Bringing the theme into more modern times, and nearer home, there will be enescu’s folk-infused Sonata no. 3, Bartók’s much-loved romanian dances, arrangements of the gypsy jazz guitarist django reinhardt’s Nuages and Tears, and the folk artist Sam Lee’s charming ballads. For Boccherini’s spicy Fandango Quintet and kodály’s highly virtuosic duo for violin and cello (26 April), Mitchell will be joined by Maxim rysanov, Adrian Brendel and Brodsky Quartet leader daniel rowland.cellist Thomas carroll, French hornist nicholas

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HIGHLIGHTSCLASSICALApril — June 2013

This is the unrepentant confession of a Bach heretic. I don’t doubt that the great Johann Sebastian, like Shakespeare, was ‘not for an age, but for all time’– only the tone-deaf could disagree with that – but I do doubt whether his music has to stay wedded to the Baroque, whether it always has to sound like something you might hear on the soundtrack of a � lm about Lutheranism in 18th-century Leipzig. If age really hasn’t withered Bach, then part of his in� nite variety is the ability not just to survive, but even to flourish under a plethora of performance-styles, from weirdly synthesised boogie-woogie Bach to Hammer-Horror organist, phantom-of-the-opera Bach; from historically informed Bach to proudly uninformed Bach-Busoni.

For make no mistake, as soon as we play Bach on a modern piano we are creating a transcription of his music, however ‘historically informed’ we strive to be. No keyboard instrument of Bach’s day reacted anything like a Steinway, even the fledgling fortepianos of his friend Silbermann, which Bach encountered towards the end of his life. Consequently, we can no more ask the question ‘how would Bach have expected his music to be performed on the modern piano?’ than we can ask how Shakespeare would have preferred his plays to be � lmed. Our piano doesn’t have the crisp, clattering attack of the harpsichord (like two skeletons copulating on a tin roof, according to Sir Thomas Beecham), the coyly whispered intimacy of the clavichord, or the ear-splitting majesty of the organ, but it does have a sensuously rounded, slowly unfolding tone, and an immense palette of iridescent colours completely alien to most aspects of Baroque style.

Would Bach have bothered about this? Not likely. In his day, there were no harpsichordists, clavichordists or organists, just keyboardists, who would turn their hand to whatever instrument happened to be available. The music, and its performance style, would be adapted as necessary. Only the � rst piece of my Bach recital – the lilting French Suite – is not o� cially a transcription. But no matter how many French-style harpsichord ornaments I tweak and twiddle, no matter how much I bear in mind ‘what the composer might have wanted’, the music will hover on a Steinway between our time and Bach’s, in a state of stylistic uncertainty akin to that of Schrödinger’s enigmatic cat.

Pianist Kenneth Hamilton, who plays‘250 years of Bach’ in June, is proud toplay the historically uninformed Bachof Busoni, Rachmaninov and Liszt

CONFESSIONS OF AN UNREPENTANT BACH HERETIC

The ‘real’ transcriptions that follow are a pianistic liberation. Here we can simply cast reticence aside and enjoy to the full everything that the piano can do; exploit the full range of the instrument – we have two extra octaves – and relish Busoni’s imaginative attempts to give an ‘organ’ sound to Bach’s chorale preludes. Rachmaninov’s quirky arrangement of Bach’s E major Violin Partita makes at least a few de� nods to the instrumentation of the original, but Busoni was so obsessed with the image of ‘Bach the organist’ that he even transcribed the violin Chaconne as if it were an organ piece. Not entirely without reason was Busoni’s wife once mistakenly introduced at a party as ‘Mrs Bach-Busoni’. And � nally Bach-Liszt, or rather Liszt-Bach, for there is far more of the former here than the latter. Two wonderful compositions – ‘Weinen, Klagen’ exceptionally so: a lament for Liszt’s prematurely departed children Daniel and Blandine, ending with a consolatory chorale, ‘Whatever God does is for the best’. Bach believed this; Liszt had no option but to believe it. When faced with the fate of his family, Liszt, too, looked back to Bach.

Bach Unwrapped: Kenneth Hamilton – 250 years of Bach13 JuneSee Listings p71 for details

MAKE NO MISTAKE, AS SOON AS WE PLAY BACH ON A MODERN PIANO WE ARE CREATING A TRANSCRIPTION OF HIS MUSIC

Ferruccio Busoni

APRILChristoph Denoth guitar (17 Apr)Christoph Richter cello (18 Apr)OAE (19 Apr)Study Day (20 Apr)Aurora Orchestra (20 Apr)

MAYKeller Quartet (1 May) Charles Owen piano (2 May)Onyx Brass (3 May)Florilegium with Katharine Fuge (4 May)The Sixteen (15, 16 & 18 May)OAE (17 & 18 May)Study Day (18 May)The Swingle Singers (23 May)

JUNEFlorilegium (12 June) Kenneth Hamilton piano & talk (13 June)Academy of St Martin in the Fields & Carolyn Sampson (15 June)Keyboard Conversations® with Je� rey Siegel (16 June)

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HIGHLIGHTS

JAZZ

Just one phone call, in the autumn of 2007, started the London Vocal Project, who will celebrate the CD launch of their premiere recording of Mirrors Suite, by the veteran trumpeter-composer Kenny Wheeler, with Norma Winstone.

A few months a� er Mishka Adams had ceased studying at the Guildhall School of Music, she phoned her by then former teacher Pete Churchill, with one simple request: ‘Can we keep going?’ Churchill had brought on a strong crop of student vocalists that year, and once they’d le� the Guildhall, they knew what they were missing: the opportunity to work together as a choir, and with him.

The LVP, built around that nucleus and now 24 strong, has achieved a lot in its � ve years. It has breathed new life into vocal works by Bobby Wellins and Tim Whitehead. It has helped new commissions into being. But, most signi� cantly, it has enabled Mirrors Suite, a unique, substantial work, to occupy the place it deserves alongside Kenny Wheeler’s

acknowledged masterpieces for instrumental forces. In Mirrors, Wheeler sets poems by Stevie Smith, Lewis Carroll and WB Yeats in his own unmistakeable style, an infectious outpouring of melody over subtly shi� ing harmonies and metres.

The LVP will perform the work from memory, as they have done since the end of 2011. Churchill now remembers the passing of that milestone with fondness: ‘It was when we stepped up,’ he says. The enthusiasm of the LVP for this work is boundless. The way they now inhabit Wheeler’s magisterial setting of the � nal stanza of Stevie Smith’s Black March will be unforgettable: ‘Whatever names you give me / I am / A breath of fresh air, / A change for you.’

Mirrors Suite: Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone and the London Vocal Project/Pete Churchill25 MaySee Listings p67 for details

The hot young London Vocal Projectlaunch a landmark recording of KennyWheeler’s Mirrors Suite at Kings Place,with the incomparable Norma Winstoneas soloist, writes Sebastian Scotney

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL…

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April — June 2013

ONCE THE STUDENTS HAD LEFT THE GUILDHALL, THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE MISSING: THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH PETE CHURCHILL AS A CHOIR

Norma Wheeler and Kenny Wheeler

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JAZZ

‘Will you be singing the songs you grew up with in in Buenos Aires?’, I asked singer Guillermo Rozenthuler about his Musica Paradiso project, coming to The Base in April. He paused. He then burst out laughing. ‘More like the music I was conceived to.’ Rozenthuler, with British singer/actress Tina May, and Irish drummer/bandleader Stephen Keogh have put together a programme of songs, many

of them associated with � lms, which, in Keogh’s words ‘carry us back to a place where dreams came true right before our eyes’. Rozenthuler will sing songs such as Carlos Gardel’s Volver, immortalised by Almodóvar.

There will be songs associated with Judy Garland, with Marilyn Monroe (a massive Ella Fitzgerald fan, says Tina May) in Some Like it Hot, and with Catherine Deneuve. A nostalgic

journey, then, into an unashamed golden age for romance. And once you start on that journey, sings an impressionable Audrey Hepburn, in Moon River from Breakfast at Ti� any’s, ‘There’s such a lot of world to see.’

Musica Paradiso with Tina May and Guillermo Rozenthuler13 AprilSee Listings p55 for details

Tina May and GuillermoRozenthuler promise anevening of cinematic allure

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Guillermo Rozenthuler

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6 APRILJulia Biel

13 APRILMusica ParadisoSongs and Stories of the Silver Screen feat. Tina May, Guillermo Rozenthuler, John Turville, Fred Thomas & Stephen Keogh

20 APRILTrish Clowes Quintetfeaturing Gwilym Simcock

27 APRILTrio Manouche

11 MAYEmilia Mårtenssonspecial guest: Alice Zawadzki

18 MAYALSO PART OF BACH UNWRAPPED

Respectable GroovePrelude and Groove

25 MAYTHE BASE IN HALL ONE

Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone & London Vocal Project

1 JUNEGianluigi Trovesi & Gianni Coscia

15 JUNEAlice Zawadzkiʼs ʻChina Laneʼ and ʻLelaʼDouble Album Launch

SATURDAYS, 8PM – HALL TWO

OTHER JAZZ EVENTS31 MAYSoweto KinchHall One 8pm

12 JUNEJAZZ ON WEDNESDAY

Django BatesHall Two 8pm

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HIGHLIGHTSJAZZ18

ThaT’s always The fun parT of The process, Trying To find your way back in a logical way

The inimitable Django Bates returns this summerwith a new album inspired by Charlie Parker, but this time he’s drawn closer to the world of bebop, he tells Neil McKim

django unchained

April — June 2013

Django Bates has been a welcome visitor to Kings Place over the last few years, with his Danish big band or in more intimate groups. In 2011 he brought Belovèd Bird, and this June he’ll return with another album influenced by bebop legend Charlie Parker, Confirmation.

Bates became interested in Parker’s life as a young child when his dad gave him the biography Bird Lives. ‘I wasn’t part of the football scene but I still had a need for a hero,’ he recalls. ‘I made a model with a plasticine body and papier maché head of Charlie Parker. I’ve still got it.’ He also immersed himself in Parker’s recordings. ‘The more I listened, the more I picked up the energy.’

In 2006, when Bates was invited to take part in a remembrance event of Parker’s work, he embarked on a project that eventually led to his first Parker-themed disc, Belovèd Bird (2010). This was an acoustic trio tribute with Bates on piano, joined by Danish bassist Petter Eldh and drummer Peter Bruun. The same group features on the follow-up disc, Confirmation, released last autumn. As well as the title track, the new album has two other Parker tunes, Donna Lee and Now’s The Time. ‘On the first album the tracks were quite pushed away from the original bebop world and yet when I came to this second album I didn’t feel the pressure,’ says Bates. ‘I thought, let’s see if I can get a bit closer to the originals.’ And Bates combines this with his trademark creative ingenuity, casting off on musical adventures that uncover a myriad musical influences: ‘That’s always the fun part of the process, trying to find your way back in a logical way,’ he admits.

Bates has included some of his own compositions and these were partly inspired by a walk down to a marshland near where he lives, Springfield, beside the River Lea in north – east London. ‘It’s a very strange landscape and I just walked around, jotting down some ideas.’ This trip inspired a piece that explores the piano keyboard from the top to the bottom – Sadness All The Way Down – and Giorgiantics, which has an intriguing 11-beat bass line. Elsewhere he draws on the energy of The Bad Plus, inspired by their ‘comical, cheeky manipulation’ of audiences. A bonus track sees a guest appearance by former Loose Tubes cohort Ashley Slater.

Returning to Kings Place is always a pleasure for Bates. He chose to celebrate his 50th birthday at the venue in 2010. ‘The whole ethos of Kings Place suits the thinking of contemporary music and improvising musicians,’ he says. ‘It’s the right place for music that provokes thinking.’

Django Batesʼ Belovèd: Confirmation12 JuneSee Listings p70 for details

19Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

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Spring? Am I right? I haven’t asked a question, but I am. Spring was named a� er the Stone Age God, Spring the Stone Age God. He was depressed as it was so cold and grey when he was born, the other Gods named him Spring, to upset him more. But what to do in 2013? We can’t go hang out with foxes and play Xbox, times have changed. To help, here are my top 10 of top 10 tips to get you through Spring with a smile on your face.

1. Become a bear. Bears growl and roar and seem to have a lot of fun doing it. Growl on the bus, roar at work, scratch your back on a nearby tree when you visit a dead family member’s grave. Your family will think you’re cute and want to dress you up in ‘human’ clothes. Don’t let them. You must remain as bear-like as possible if this is going to work.2. Read a book. Books look like fun. If you read, people will think you’re clever, they’ll be intimidated by you, and never relax around you, afraid you’ll reject them because they actually like Robert Ludlum.

Award-winning character comic Cariad Lloydbrings her show to Kings Place this April.Here she suggests a few ways to   ll the hoursbetween now and then

MY TOP TEN RITES OF SPRING

YOUR FAMILY WILL THINK YOU’RE CUTE AND WANT TO DRESS YOU UP IN ‘HUMAN‘ CLOTHES. DON’T LET THEM

3. Buy flowers. Flowers are pretty. You might worry, ‘I shouldn’t treat myself, the kids need shoes’, but don’t they also need flowers? (If they don’t have any shoes, use the petals of your dead blooms to clothe their feet.)4. Pretend you’re in a gritty drama. Imagine Danish subtitles under people’s faces. Then pretend to read them and say, ‘You meant call the police, why didn’t you say?’ If they disagree, just write them out or replace with a di� erent actor/friend.5. Bake a lovely cake or brownies, or cookies, or caramel shortbread, or pear and almond frangipane, and bring it to me.

6. Bring. It. To. Me.7. Become friends with a prince! Princes seem like fun, with their money and privilege. Email Prince@email.com asking to become friends. They have to reply, it’s in their code of conduct.8. Go for a walk. Regent’s Park is beautiful. (Sometimes I give good advice.)9. Visit the Banqueting House, the last remnant of Whitehall Palace, and see the window Charles I stepped out of, before he was executed! Again, sometimes, good advice.10. See a comedy show. Cariad Lloyd & Friends, featuring Foster’s Nominee Claudia O’Doherty, ¤ lm star Jessie Cave and surreal sketch group Oyster Eyes. Actually that’s the only thing on this list that will make you smile. Guaranteed. (Guarantee is non-refundable.) April 18, Kings Place.

Well, if I shouldn’t be a life coach, then you shouldn’t ignore your wife’s calls. Follow this advice and prepare for some FUN TIMES (BRING CAKE BRING CAKE).

O� with Their Heads!: Cariad Lloyd & Friends18 AprilSee Listings p56 for details

11 APRILMichael Legge’s Private Hell feat. Rachel Parris, The Trap and Tony Law

18 APRILCariad Lloyd & Friends

25 APRILTrawler

2 MAYThe Maydays present... Confessions

9 MAYHardeepisyourlove? Love and Romance and Heartbreak in Two Halves

16 MAYThe School of Night

23 MAYWitTank & Friends

23 JUNE (SATURDAY)COMEDY IN HALL ONEPART OF TRAVEL FESTIVALTony Hawks

27 JUNENiall Ashdown and Between the Notes in ʻNote to Taleʼ

THURSDAYS, 8PM – HALL TWO

Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.ukCOMEDY

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020 7520 1490SPOKEN WORDThe world of art is full of missing links. While Beethoven kept all his sketches, and Britten boasted a cupboardful of juvenilia, Brahms ruthlessly destroyed every early work, leaving only what he considered perfected. In a bid to protect her husband’s reputation, Clara Schumann destroyed many of his late pieces, much to the fury of cellists, who lost his Romances for cello and piano.

Author, academic and rare book dealer Rick Gekoski is fascinated by such absences, as those who heard his Radio 4 series Lost, Stolen or Shredded will know. His research has now led to a book, to be launched at Kings Place in April, in which he tells the very human stories behind a handful of signi� cant losses.

How many authors have asked for their diaries and letters to be destroyed a� er their death, begging the question ‘Why not do it yourself?’ Philip Larkin took no chances; a� er his death his diaries were not just shredded page by page but burnt. Gekoski explores the poet’s reasoning and ponders on whose responsibility it is to make these decisions. In the case of a portrait of Winston Churchill, by Graham Sutherland,

Churchill’s wife decided to destroy it a� er his death because she hated it so much: did she have the right when the portrait had been commissioned by the Houses of Parliament?

Sometimes artworks are stolen – as the Mona Lisa was: Gekoski explores the power it retained over people even in its absence – what does it say about a painting when people would still queue to view the empty space in which it used to hang? Another tantalising absence in literature is the poem written by James Joyce when he was nine years old, Et tu Healy?, in protest against the death of Charles Parnell. His father was so proud of it he distributed it to friends and family; even the Pope was

sent a copy. Only three lines of it have ever been found, yet the full version is probably still out there somewhere in Ireland, perhaps between the pages of a book…

As an antiquarian book dealer, Gekoski understands the thrill of the hunt, and is a consummate detective in his own � eld, as his collection of essays, Tolkien’s Gown and Other Stories of Great Authors and Rare Books, attests. But as a dealer, he needs to keep on buying and selling books and is therefore well acquainted with loss. As he said in a recent interview, ‘I deal now, but when I grow up I’m going to be a collector. I had a � rst edition of Ulysses, another of The Wasteland inscribed by TS Eliot, and a � rst edition of Nabokov’s Lolita inscribed to Graham Greene. It’s terrible, they’ve gone – I plan midnight raids to get them back!’

Words on Monday: Rick Gekoski Book Launch: ‘Lost, Stolen or Shreddedʼ29 AprilSee Listings p61 for details

Author and antiquarian book dealer Rick Gekoskilaunches his fascinating new book, Lost, Stolen orShredded, at Kings Place in April

A HISTORY OF LOST MASTERPIECES

PHILIP LARKIN TOOK NO CHANCES, AND DEMANDED HIS DIARIES WERE SHREDDED PAGE BY PAGE

April — June 2013

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HIGHLIGHTSSPOKEN WORD

Poet in the City will present previously unpublished poetryby Bertolt Brecht at an important event in June. TranslatorDavid Constantine is on a mission to reinstate him as oneof Germany’s greatest modern poets

BRECHT: A POET OF EXILE

When Bertolt Brecht died in East Berlin in 1956, sheaves of poetry lay in his study that remained unpublished even in Germany for decades, and certainly never reached British eyes. Though Brecht is celebrated and widely performed as a dramatist, for poet and translator David Constantine that’s only half his story: ‘I would say he is an even better poet than playwright – one of the three or four best in the whole of German literature: abundant, various, a master of innumerable forms, registers, strategies and tones.’ Constantine hopes that new translations will help to change perceptions of Brecht as a hardline Marxist, and give a subtler portrait of his inner life. ‘He was an exile between 1933 1948, so his experiences reflect those of millions of people today who are not living where they want to be. His writing can be very funny,

deeply ironic but there are also startlingly beautiful poems of love.’

At the Kings Place event, fellow translator Tom Kuhn, who is general editor for Brecht at Methuen, will join Constantine in discussing the poetry along with singers, actors and musicians. ‘There will be musical settings of his poems, free lyrics and poems from the plays, set by eminent composers such as Weill and Eisler. We’ll cover various phases of his life and work: the early anarchic, the anti-fascist, the years of exile, his return to Germany, his sometimes di� cult dealings with power in the new GDR. Altogether I hope the evening will be an entertainment, instructive and amusing in Brecht’s own style.’

Constantine � nds Brecht’s poems lend themselves peculiarly well to English translation: ‘His is a familiar, magpie Anglo-Saxon tone, understated, ironic and humorous. It’s notable that his

work was very popular in the politicised 1960s, and deeply unpopular when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Today his analysis of the global � nancial situation in the 1920s, and the politics of power, is suddenly relevant, and his caustic critical edge feels contemporary.’

Extract from The Poor Man’s Pound

…But what are they supposed to doWho have no pounds to their name?Shall they drop dead and vanish And we go on the same?

Ah, no: if they should vanishThe pounds would vanish too.Without they sweat, without they bleedWhat hope for me and you?

Bertolt Brecht17 JuneSee Listings p72 for detailsRI

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ESApril — June 2013

8 APRILGlobal Food Security Debates

15 APRILThe Trojan HorseSimon Armitage, Bettany Hughes & Simon Mundy

22 APRILAlan RusbridgerWhy Amateurs Should Attempt the Impossible

John MullanWhat Matters in Jane Austen?

29 APRILSteve Bloom’s AfricaPhotoVoice Lecture Series

Rick GekoskiBook Launch: ʻLost, Stolen or Shreddedʼ

13 MAYSteve RichardsRock’n’Roll Politics

Lionel ShriverBook Launch: ʻBig Brotherʼ

20 MAYPoet in the City presents...Rimbaud and Verlaine in LondonIntelligence Revealedwith Charles Cumming & Rhodri Je� reys-Jones

3 JUNEThe Great Men/Women Divide: Myths and RealitiesRebecca SolnitBook Launch: ʻThe Faraway Nearbyʼ

10 JUNECaught in the webHow free are we online?

Michelle de KretserBook Launch: ʻQuestions of Travelʼ

17 JUNEPoet in the City presents.... Bertolt Brecht

MONDAYS, 7PM

Shani Rhys James is an extraordinary painter. Simply in terms of her command of the medium of oil paint, whether worked on the tiniest or the largest scale, she is remarkable at once for the richness of the surface she achieves by it, and for the deceptive ease and assurance in her handling of it. She is a natural, unforced, unself-conscious expressionist. Immediately recognisable as entirely her own, her work is nevertheless devoid of all a� ectation or mannerism, while yet manifesting, it must be said, all the energy and enthusiasm of an artist half her age.

But there is rather more to her as an artist than what might be taken as such purely technical or abstract qualities. For she is, above all, a � gurative painter – a painter of the human � gure and its presence in an observable world, albeit a world seen through the prism of an exceptionally vivid and fertile subjective imagination. And, as such, she now stands, at the age of 59 and in the full maturity of her career, as one of the most remarkable painters we have.

Though she is rightly celebrated at her true worth in her native Wales, she is not

perhaps so generally known, for all that she has shown in London at regular intervals and won any number of important competitions. The reason for this, perhaps, is that she is so much a one-o� , and the critical world is inclined to � nd the idiosyncratic hard to place and so come to terms with. She may su� er to a degree from misplaced, or rather misconceived comparison with one or two other artists, who may be seen to be working within the same broad � eld of mythical and symbolic romantic narrative, yet from whom she remains quite distinct – Paula Rego and Marcelle Hanselaar

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William Packer pays tributeto the unique talent of ShaniRhys James, whose latestcollection comes to KingsPlace Gallery in May

THE RIVALRY OF FLOWERSART

HIGHLIGHTS

April — June 2013

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HIGHLIGHTSART 23

Flowers are always there, to our delight and, shani halF suggests, our envy too

are the names that come most readily to mind. Immune to such fine distinctions, the Critic, in allowing Paula Rego her success, is only too happy, in ticking that box, to say ‘one Paula Rego is enough’.

To speak of Shani as being unself-conscious in her work may seem rather an odd thing to say, for her essential subject is herself. In every way she stands at the centre of her art. There can be few artists indeed who have painted the image of themselves into their work as often as she. Yet the curious thing is that such unremitting self-scrutiny by way of the self-portrait turns out to be anything but a vanity. Rather it is that such repetition, as if it were a visual mantra, purges the image of mere self-regard, transforming it into something simply useful, neutral and altogether more profound and universal. She is there because she is there, the artist’s ever-present model, just as we all are to ourselves, or could be if only we did the work. So here she is again, and again, confronting us as ever with her unblinking, disconcerting, gaze. Now, in her latest body of work, she has surrounded herself with flowers, whether as the bunch of lilies in the vase on the table before her, or the graphic floral pattern on the wallpaper behind.

And why the flowers? They sow not neither do they reap. They are always there, to our delight and, as Shani half suggests, our envy too, for their effortless beauty and tacit reproach. They are prettier than us: and we use them to prettify our lives, our walls, ourselves. They don’t care: we do.

Kings Place Gallery Shani Rhys James – The Rivalry of Flowers  3 May – 14 June 2013See Art Listings p76 for details

art highlights 8 MARCH – 26 APRILKings Place GalleryJeremy GardinerUnfolding Landscape

20 MARCH – 20 APRILPangolin LondonJonathan KenworthySix Decades of Sculpture

3 MAY – 14 JUNEKings Place GalleryShani Rhys JamesThe Rivalry of Flowers

3 MAY – 14 JUNEKings Place GalleryMarcelle HanselaarWalking the Line

15 MAY – 15 JUNEPangolin LondonBriony MarshallSculptor-in-Residence

21 JUNE – 22 SEPTEMBERKings Place GalleryThe 2013 Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Competition/Exhibition

From Left to Right: Yellow Wallpaper, 2011,

oil on canvas, 183 x 183 cm; The Bath, 2011,

oil on canvas, 321 x 183 cm Mother Smoking, 2011,

oil on canvas, 183 x 183 cm

April — June 2013

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020 7520 1490

Nick Foley, Rotunda’s new Head Chef, – known as ‘Nicky’ to all who work with him – is a jovial figure, happy to chat and laugh and obviously thoroughly enjoying his new role at Rotunda. ‘It’s such a beautiful place to work. I love the art gallery; I take a stroll round now and then, looking at the pictures. It calms me down!’

Born and brought up in Ireland, Foley’s roots are manifest not only in his rich Irish brogue, but in his whole nose-to-tail approach to cooking. One of ten children, he grew up in the countryside and has fond memories of his childhood there. ‘We had horses when I was young, and fields full of corn. My mum was a good cook. She worked as a nurse, but always baked bread, apple tarts and scones.’ As a boy, contact with food was part of his life. ‘Podding peas, going out to get the eggs, the first time

The Rotunda’s new head chef NickFoley has impressive credentials,along with a flavour of Irish flair, as Jenny Linford discovers

A FEAST FROM FOLEY

HIGHLIGHTSFOOD & DRINK

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HIGHLIGHTSFOOD & DRINK

When you Walk into the meat lockerthere’s such a lot of scope. it’s very, very good meat!

there’s such a lot of scope. So in the Spring we’d have “Devilled Irish Fry”: crubeens, suet baked kidney, white pudding, chestnut mushrooms and fried quail’s egg.’ Steaks and burgers are perennial favourites at the restaurant and bar and Foley takes pride in the fact that Rotunda offers less familiar cuts such as flat-iron steak from the feather blade, ‘full of marbling, loads of flavour’, served with triple-cooked chips. He traces his love of offal to his Irish roots. ‘Even today people there buy their meat from a butcher’s, not the supermarket. You walk into a butchers in Ireland and you see piles of tripe and pig’s trotters, which people will take home and boil up. Here at the restaurant, we make our own Irish-style white puddings using pork belly, “the pluck”, lungs, heart and kidneys – sounds glamorous doesn’t it?! – boiled, minced, flavoured with my secret spice mix, and a little back fat for texture. It’s a lot of work but the results are more than worth it.’

Using foraged ingredients is also very close to Foley’s heart. ‘It’s nice to take something from outside and use it. It comes from the wild, it’s British and not many people know how to use it. If you get the flavours right, it can be a winner, you know. Take a foraged salad – you use something like wild watercress, so peppery and so intense – add a raspberry vinaigrette dressing, you eat it and think “wow!” Sea buckthorn berries – so tart on their own they

you eat a piece of raw rhubarb when you’re young – that’s what I miss, it’s a different way of life. Kids grow up and they’re just indoors all the time now. I take my six-year-old daughter out picking blackberries, otherwise she’ll think they’re grown in supermarkets.’

Having begun his career in Ireland, Foley spent a period in Spain working as a chef in Cartagena. ‘I went out for a two-week holiday and stayed there four years,’ he laughs. ‘It was good experience, because there were no deliveries to the restaurant. You had to go the markets to buy the ingredients.’ Following that, Foley came to London, where he worked for renowned Irish chef Richard Corrigan at Bentley’s for three years, an influential experience. ‘Not easy work, mind, but it set the standards for quality.’ The new suppliers that Foley has brought with him to Rotunda – ‘Miles the forager, Keith from Chapman’s of Sevenoaks’ – are people he worked with at Bentley’s.

The Rotunda restaurant is noted for the quality of its beef and lamb, which is supplied from their own farm in Northumberland, where the cattle and sheep are knowledgably reared by farmer Ian Scott and his family. ‘It’s very, very good meatʼ enthuses Foley. A keen offal lover, he positively relishes being set the challenge of having whole beef and lamb carcasses to transform into meals. ‘When you walk into the meat locker, you can’t not think what to do;

melt your face off, but you make the juice, add it to a little stock syrup and it’s lovely.’ Line-caught sea bass, steamed clams, three-cornered garlic leaf and sea beet, or cod cheeks, Judas ear, bacon jowl, wild sorrel and chickweed are among Foley’s forage-themed offerings.

Foley’s origins are making themselves felt in Rotunda’s menu which now features dishes such as Ulster Pancake, Clarence Court hen’s egg, sea beet, roast garlic, chestnut mushrooms, black mustard leaf or the carrageen and buttermilk pudding, which resembles a pannacotta in texture with a nice touch of sourness from the buttermilk and a little taste of the sea from the carrageen. With the Summer Food Festival on the horizon, Foley is looking forward to exploring seasonality, foraged ingredients and of course, his Irish roots: ‘You have every kind of food in London – Chinese, Japanese – we can make this restaurant just a bit Irishese!’

Spring Lamb Dinner 25 June Enjoy canapés and short talks from our farmer, butcher and chef and a fascinating butchery demonstration before tucking into a four-course dinner to celebrate our proper, hand-reared, grass-fed spring lamb. Four courses and canapés £48. Please see the Rotunda website for our ongoing ‘Meat Us At Rotunda’ events.

April — June 2013

It all began for Ukrainian virtuoso GéNIA when she was warned not to play Rachmaninov. Russian-trained, she longed to perform the Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini but was told her hands were too small. She wouldn’t accept defeat, and when she won a competition whose prize included a concert she set herself the goal of playing it. ‘I’m a small person, I was never very strong, and in the Russian system only the strongest survive. I knew there had to be a system of strengthening and stretching the fingers, and then I realised it was right under my nose: I needed to treat my hands like the rest of my body when I did yoga.’

She had encountered yoga after having severe back problems which involved her attending a clinic every week. Seeing this was unsustainable, she took control of her own cure. ‘I found a beautiful yoga teacher, Amanda James, and she started me off. Eventually I began doing more ambitious yoga and now I have studied it professionally and have

In the wake of her successfulPiano-Yoga retreats, Ukrainianpianist GéNIA is returning toKings Place for another day of holistic insight and practicefor pianists of all levels, writesHelen Wallace

qualifications. The experience has taught me so much. I encourage people to learn how their hand works, how their body needs to be aligned and I give them finger-strengthening exercises away from the piano. They need to train their brains to have a relationship with each of part of each finger, to understand exactly how the digits work.’

She’s keen to point out, though, that the physical aspect of yoga is only one step on a journey, and the mental and psychological aspects are just as important. ‘If someone comes to me now with a technical problem I look at the whole person: it may be they are agitated psychologically, so I work on relaxation and stretching, which can be more effective than over-working a passage.’

The day retreat at Kings Place this spring will combine pure yoga with exercises in concentration, breathing and visualisation to help with performance and stage nerves; sessions on posture and piano technique from the Piano-Yoga perspective; group piano masterclasses and time spent improving the sense of rhythm. ‘I’m not here to strip away the technique people come with, I’m adding a range of strategies. I base everything on the fundamentals of Russian piano technique; but while we were encouraged to practise eight hours a day we were never taught how to counteract the stresses and strains which result.’

Concert pianist Zoe Raham attended a recent retreat and was impressed by the immediate effectiveness of GéNIA’s practical advice on preparing a performance: ‘With her positive, non-defeatist approach she emphasises the joy and satisfaction of playing at any level and I would encourage any pianist, amateurs and professionals alike, to attend a course.’

Prior experience of yoga is not essential. As piano teacher Karen Marshall commented following a retreat in 2011: ‘For me this course provided both mental and physical strategies to play the piano to my full potential.’

26Book tickets now:

020 7520 1490INTERACT April — June 2013

HIGHLIGHTS

INTERACTBook tickets now:

020 7520 1490INTERACTA HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THE PIANO

I REALISED I NEEDED TO TREAT MY HANDS LIKE THE REST OF MY BODY WHEN I DID YOGA

Piano-Yoga21 April Limehouse Room10.30am – 5.30pmFees: £90 (£75 Piano-Yoga® members) info@piano-yoga.com / www.kingsplace.co.ukSee Listings p57 for details

Picture the scene: Kings Place in the grip of hundreds of silent stratagems, serious contenders and young hopefuls quietly slugging it out on black and white boards strewn across its foyers, halls and galleries.

This will be a reality on Saturday 15 June 2013 when the building is given over to the first-ever Kings Place Chess Festival.

Stephen Carpenter, CEO of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and a keen chess player, dreamt up the idea with Peter Millican of the Kings Place Music Foundation: ‘We realised we were both chess enthusiasts and decided to present a tournament which will be open to the public but should also attract some Grand Masters from the UK and abroad with the serious prize money.’

The top prize of £1,000 will be awarded following a six-round, Rapidplay Swiss-style tournament, in which each player has 30 minutes to make all their moves. The top 50 boards will be in Hall Two, with the others in St Pancras Room. Entry to the Rapidplay tournament is open to all ECF Silver Members for a fee (see below), but spectators may observe the games free of charge either by walking around the halls while play is in progress, or watching the top matches unfold on screens in the Limehouse Room where live commentary will be given by top experts.

Roll up all keen chessenthusiasts for the inauguralone-day Kings Place ChessFestival in June

27Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

INTERACTPIANO-YOGA AND CHESSApril — June 2013

Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

CHECK MATE AT KINGS PLACE

And for any players not taking part in the Rapidplay tournament, there is the chance to have a tilt at a Grand Master as former British Champion, Julian Hodgson, takes on 30 players in a Simultaneous Display in the main foyer.

As well as the Rapidplay and Simultaneous display, other chess activities are planned and there will be ample opportunity for spectators to play social games throughout the building including on giant ‘garden’ chess sets.

As Carpenter comments, though there are regular chess tournaments in the capital, ‘this will probably be the first time a chess tournament has taken place in a venue of this quality, which is really exciting.’

Kings Place Chess Festival 15 June 10am–6pmEntry to main tournament: £19.50 Entry to play GM: £29.50To enter the chess tournament or to sign up, see listings p71 for details

INTERACT HIGHLIGHTS20 APRILBACH UNWRAPPED

Study Day: The Brandenburgs John Butt & Dr Hannah French

St Pancras Rm 10.30am–4.30pm

Storytelling with Bach Players of the Aurora OrchestraSuitable for age 3+

Hall Two 11am & 12.15pm (repeat)

21 APRILPiano–Yoga® with GéNIALimehouse Rm 10.30am–5.30pm

18 MAYStudy Day: Sacred WorksStephen Rose & Bettina Varwig

OAE Family Concert Hall Two 11.30am

12 JUNEBACH UNWRAPPED

Kenneth Hamilton: 250 Years of BachConcert with commentary

Hall One 7.30pm

15 JUNEKings Place Chess Festival

16 JUNEBACH UNWRAPPED

Keyboard Conversationswith Jeffrey SiegelBach and the RomanticsConcert with commentary

Hall One 7.30pm

29–30 JUNEWAGNER 200

Wagner in Performance Symposium I: Vocal Style in WagnerSymposium II: Conducting WagnerSymposium III: The Challenge of Director’s Opera

Hall One 10am–1pm; 2pm–5pm

SUMMER 2013ChamberStudioSunday a« ernoon coaching and support sesions for up-and-coming post-college chamber groups. Eminent chamber players and teachers will provide coaching and guidance. Sessions at a¬ ordable rates. Observers are welcome. For more information and to book a session, go to chamberstudio.org

Manu Delago, the world’s firstvirtuoso Hang player, composerand drummer, curates two highlyoriginal evenings at Kings Placein April. Helen Wallace caught upwith the jet-setting collaborator

28Book tickets now:

020 7520 1490CONTEMPORARY April – June 2013

The acoustic world of Manu Delago is like no other. The first thing you hear on his new album Manuscripts is the manic sound of a pencil, scribbling, shading, dotting; the sweep of a long arc… Suddenly you realise an intricate rhythm is being played out; he loops the sounds; scatters a handful of Hang notes, their gleaming resonance blurring like water drops on paint. And there it is: Pencilphonie No. 1. A Self-Portrait. He says the resulting sketch shows him with ‘lots of weird thoughts bursting out of his head’. Who else would think of literally drawing themselves in sound?

The Austrian Delago, 28, comes at composition from a unique, percussive perspective. Banish the idea of the aggressive drummer: Delago’s music is all about the myriad tactile qualities of different surfaces, whether it be mallets on xylosynth, drum sticks on string, tongue on the roof of the mouth, or hands on the infinitely sensitive surface of the Hang.

The word ‘Hang’ means ‘hand’ in the dialect of Bern, where it was invented by PanArt in 2000. Looking rather like two woks welded together, the convex instrument has seven recesses or tuned tones, which make unearthly, bell-like chimes, but can also be played like a drum. The lower half of the shell has a round resonant opening. It shares qualities with steel pans, Indonesian gamelan and Indian tabla but its sound is undeniably unique.

The year Delago came to London to study jazz drumming, 2007, he made a video of himself playing his own solo Hang piece Mono Desire in his studio basement and posted it on YouTube; it’s had five million hits to date. He quickly realized the Hang was to be his calling card: ‘It had such a rare, magical sound, with such variety, such possibilities, both percussive and pitched. And I had more confidence with the Hang as I knew I would be the only one doing exactly this, whereas this city has thousands of great drummers.’

29Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

CONTEMPORARY MANU DELAGO

April – June 2013

Banish the idea of the aggressive

drummer: delago’s music is aBout the myriad tactile qualities

of different surfaces

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In the Hang Delago had found an instrument that satisfied his rhythmic impulses but also fulfilled his creative urge to compose. More than that: as the first virtuoso of the instrument he had a tabula rasa, a unique opportunity to create a new repertoire. And that’s exactly what he’s done, from commissioning works by Peter Wiegold and others, to his own witty Concertino Grosso for Hang and string orchestra, jazz works for his duo and band Handmade, through-composed pieces for Living Room in London, his ensemble with strings, and now a work for female choir and Hang, CHS, to receive its UK premiere at Kings Place.

In person, Delago is quiet and unassuming with an easy manner that belies his formidable global work schedule and starry connections. Drinking lemon and ginger tea at the top of Tate Modern he reflects on a whirlwind two years, touring the world with Björk’s Biophilia project, composing for the Icelandic choir Graduale Nobili, working with the LSO strings, recording an album for his group Manu Delago Handmade with producer Matt Robertson (Björk, The Prodigy), and working with Norwegian jazz artist Bugge Wesseltoft, trance DJ Shpongle and his new collaborator, Anoushka Shankar.

Manu Delago with Graduale Nobili

Knalpot

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020 7520 1490Contemporary April – June 2013

Circle of Sound

‘We represent another side of Austrian music today. We’re not about performing Mozart! We’ve all left our home and explored other areas with innovative results. The internet gives people so much now that a live show has to be something unique, something really different, and combining these two fascinating groups with the Icelandic choir and me, well – that’ll be a one-off event!’

The choir is Graduale Nobili, whom Delago met while working with Björk and for whom he wrote the beguiling CHS, a meditation on sounds in the Icelandic language. The premiere in a New York church was ‘one of the most amazing experiences of my life’, and hearing the track on his latest album, one searches in vain for words to describe it.

Layers of fresh, high voices cross and re-cross in a celestial weave, tasting vowels

Delago seems to have a magnetic attraction for other musicians, who only have to hear him play to want to work with him. His mini-festival at Kings Place in April is a celebration of his musical curiosity and openness. When the Austrian Cultural Forum asked him to curate an evening, he had the inspired idea of bringing together three Austrian drummers who had all gone exploring out of Austria and come up with something new: firstly himself; secondly, Bernhard Schimpelsberger, who seamlessly blends Indian and Western rhythms into a unique drumming style, and has teamed up with Sarod maestro Soumik Datta to make Circle of Sound; and, thirdly, Gerri Jäger, who got together with guitarist Raphael Vanoli in Amsterdam to create Knalpot, known for their dub, electronic, jazz concoctions, laced with their very own ‘stumble grooves’.

Stuart McCallum

31Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

CONTEMPORARY MANU DELAGO

April – June 2013

Manu Delago Handmade

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and consonants in the mouth, and rolling their rrs to create an effect I can only describe as choral purring.

Delago has invited Stuart McCallum of the Cinematic Orchestra and singer-songwriter James Hersey to join the Friday-night launch of his new Bigger Than Home album. The four-strong band of Austrian musicians boast between them no fewer than ten different instruments from violin to synths, Hang and drums, with Isa Kurz and Philipp Moll adding delicate vocals. ‘This is the more pop, jazz side of what I do, and it’s been brilliant to work with Matt Robertson on our latest album. He’s created some really interesting sounds, almost sound designing, and its been very creative.’

He’s currently writing a concerto for three percussionists and orchestra to be premiered by the Austrian orchestra InnStrumenti in 2014. I ask why it’s not for the Hang: ‘I don’t only want to be known as a Hang player; I need to think of other percussionists, and there’s such a lot of potential there. While I was touring with Björk I rediscovered the pleasure of drumming, so I want to keep that going. I will always use the Hang for certain things, and as a special colour, but not all the time.’ The Hang has opened doors for Delago, but he’s already outgrowing its alluring limitations, and proving himself a musical alchemist on the world stage.

Manu Delago: Collaborations5 – 6 AprilSee Listings p52–53 for details

‘Renowned for his Chopin, Jean-Marc Luisada is much more and better than that: a great pianist.’ Le Figaro

Tuesday 2 April7.30pm Hall One

JEAN MARC LUISADA PERFORMSMOZART BEETHOVEN SCHUBERTCHOPIN

Online Rates £16.50 £21.50 £27.50 £34.50 Saver Seats £9.50

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Online Savers £9.50 | www.kingsplace.co.uk/luisada

Full programme details on p77

For ceremonies & receptions please contact Rebecca on:

020 7014 2831weddings@kingsplaceevents.co.uk

“THE

PERFECT VENUE

FOR A LONDON

WEDDING”Cate & Ewan

Aurora, London’s most dynamicyoung orchestra, has taken up

official residence at Kings Place.Alexandra Coghlan meets the

high-profile musicians who areas happy playing capoeira asthey are playing Berio or Bach

DAWNTREADERS

33Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk CLASSICALApril — June 2013

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34Book tickets now:

020 7520 1490CLASSICAL AURORA ORCHESTRA

There can’t be many ensembles whose repertoire includes both Schoenberg and Wallace & Gromit, who could perform both avant-garde electronica and period-informed Bach, or would programme a Mahler symphony alongside traditional klezmer music. There are still fewer whose instrumentalists would be willing (even if they were able) to break-dance on the concert platform, or who would be happy to stage an informal séance during a concert. At once classical and boldly contemporary, appearing in guises from string quartet to symphony orchestra and collaborating with everyone from writers to film-makers, and from puppeteers to capoeira dancers, will the real Aurora Orchestra please stand up?

‘We gave our first performance in 2005,’ recalls conductor Nicholas Collon. ‘Back then our only ambition was to put on a concert, which seemed like a pretty big one at the time!’ But although officially less than a decade old, the origins of Aurora go back considerably further, to when the nine-year-old Thomas Gould (the orchestra’s leader) and principal cellist Oliver Coates studied at Junior Academy together, and later when four section principals shared a dormitory during a National Youth Orchestra course.

This is a young ensemble of contemporaries who have grown up with one another and with Aurora – many having their first professional

experiences with the orchestra. Although members have now forged major careers as soloists and chamber musicians, the ensemble still strives to maintain that sense of newness, of exploration and energy, that characterised those early concerts. ‘The crucial thing for me,’ Collon explains, ‘is that when we are performing every musician feels like this is the most important thing they could possibly be doing at that moment.’ The results speak urgently and persuasively, but in a city like London with so many excellent chamber groups, what sets Aurora apart?

‘I think there’s a palpable sense of the enjoyment that we’re having on stage,’ says Gould. ‘There’s a real feeling of adventure with Aurora musicians – we are never fazed by anything, however seemingly impossible.’ For Collon, it’s all about the orchestra’s philosophy: ‘It always feels like a group of individuals playing in a soloistic way, so even when we grow into a larger orchestra for some projects there are always these personalities at the heart of it.’

But there’s another crucial difference between Aurora and comparable ensembles like the Australian Chamber Orchestra or the Kremerata Baltica – both star-vehicles for their charismatic directors. ‘It’s unusual to find a group with a conductor or director that’s truly democratic,’ explains Gould, ‘and it’s a huge compliment to Nick [Collon] that he has built

Aurora like that. In rehearsals there’s a lot of talking. Everyone contributes ideas and so feels much more involved in the final product.’

Artistic vision is one thing, but setting up a new orchestra during a recession is a singular feat, and few would have predicted Aurora’s success at the outset, as the orchestra’s Chief Executive John Harte acknowledges. ‘We lost track of the number of times we were warned in the early years that it was crazy to launch a new orchestra in London, and that there was no way we’d be able to survive. 2009 was a key year for us; within the space of a few months we secured our first awards from the Jerwood Charitable Foundation and Arts Council England, were invited to set up office here at Kings Place, and confirmed our debut at the BBC Proms.’

But strikingly, as Harte is keen to stress, only 10% of Aurora’s funding is government subsidy, with some 60% coming from box-office and the rest from private and corporate sources. It’s an economic model for our times, a substantially self-reliant set-up that should ensure the orchestra’s survival for as long as it continues to draw audiences, whatever the vicissitudes of the market.

As of 2012 the official orchestra in residence at Kings Place, Aurora will play a big part in the 2013 season, including a significant – and characteristically varied – contribution to the year-long survey of Bach’s music. Two concerts NI

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35Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

CLASSICAL AURORA ORCHESTRA

WHO ELSE WOULD COLLABORATE WITH RAPPERS

OR STAGE AN INFORMAL SÉANCE DURING

A PERFORMANCE?

April — June 2013

will bring Aurora together with choir and soloists for performances of the St John Passion and Mass in B Minor. Both, surprisingly, will be new to an orchestra more familiar with the sharper contemporary edge of the repertoire.

It’s something that Collon feels strongly about, keen to integrate the traditionally segregated worlds of period and modern performance. ‘I think it’s really important that modern-instrument orchestras feel that they can tackle this repertoire because otherwise this wonderful music is lost to those musicians and their audience.’ His own approach will be inspired by authentic performance practices – pitched somewhere ‘between Colin Davis and John Eliot Gardiner’, according to Gould.

Another programme – Echoes of Bach – will see Aurora in more exploratory mode, tracing the composer’s influence through chamber transcriptions by Kodály, Busoni and Mozart. Schnittke’s rarely heard Piano Quintet will also feature, a notoriously ‘difficult’ work championed by John Harte for its ‘boundless invention and sensitivity’ and by Collon for

its ‘beautiful lamenting sections’. Aurora’s experimental side also emerges in October when they will premiere a new Bach-inspired commission from Anna Meredith pairing a chamber ensemble with virtuoso recorder soloist Erik Bosgraaf.

Education has been a crucial aspect of the orchestra’s work since the beginning, and two children’s concerts at Kings Place frame new arrangements of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and Goldberg Variations into a story by Kate Wakeling. ‘We strongly believe that there’s no division between the work we do for adults and children,’ says Aurora flautist Jane Mitchell, ‘and we’re very experimental with the music we present.’ So are there any limits to these experiments – Schoenberg? Webern? ‘Last year we took a Julian Anderson piece to a Year 8 project. They listened with open ears and absolutely loved it.’

This fearless enthusiasm is what Aurora is all about, whether it’s introducing adults to Schnittke or children to the music of Bach. Their audiences combine classical die-hards with a growing number of first-time concert-goers, something Gould feels is crucial to the orchestra’s outlook. ‘You feel tremendous responsibility, because the strength of your performance determines if they ever come back. It all depends on your commitment, on how much of a sense of the wonder of the music you can convey to an audience who don’t know when Mahler was born. That, and being respectful of the audience, whether it’s a teenager at their first concert or a music critic.’

Aurora Orchestra:Echoes of Bach: 20 AprilSee Listings p57 for details

AURORA ORCHESTRA AT KINGS PLACE

16 MARCHBACH UNWRAPPEDSt John Passionwith Choir of Clare College

20 APRILBACH UNWRAPPEDEchoes of BachBach arr. by Mozart, Busoni and Kodály + Bach-inspired music by Busoni and Schnittke

20 APRIL & 19 OCTOBERBACH UNWRAPPEDStorytelling with Bach Suitable for age 3+

28 JUNEWAGNER 200The GiftWagner Siegfried IdyllBeethoven Septet

19 OCTOBERBACH UNWRAPPEDSong without WordsAurora Orchestra with Erik Bosgraaf (recorder)

21 DECEMBERBACH UNWRAPPEDMass in B minorwith Choir of Clare College

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In her best-selling books, writer Sara Wheeler has brought the Arctic and Antarctic closer to thousands of avid readers. The female polar explorer is her subject at the inaugural TravelFestival at Kings Place in June, as Claire Wrathall discovers

36Book tickets now:

020 7520 1490SPOKEN WORD

Reading the writing of Sara Wheeler, as anyone interested in the wider world should, you cannot help but be struck by the depth of her curiosity and the breadth of her knowledge. Her books about the Arctic and Antarctic tell us that reindeer are so well insulated by the hollow hairs of their dense coats that when they die, their organs ferment rather than decompose; that the flight feathers of barnacle goslings grow 7mm a day after hatching; that male penguins, a bit like men, court females with gifts of stones. ‘They’re an extraordinarily attenuated environment,’ she says of the polar regions, when we meet at her home, a former butcher’s shop on the edge of Hampstead Heath.

April — June 2013

Though Wheeler is widely travelled, she’s most associated with cold climates. Her first venture abroad, aged 10, was a trip to Russia in 1971. Her mother ‘believed she had been a Russian in a previous existence’. She writes about it in her 2011 book Access All Areas. A decade later, she spent a summer in Poland. Then she travelled the 3,000-mile length of Chile, the subject of her first book, Chile: Travels in a Thin Country (1994), reaching its southernmost tip, the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, ‘a frigid place’, she called it, ‘where the whole world stopped. What could be more beguiling?’

Antarctica itself, of course. So she became the first foreigner to join the American National

Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists’ and Writers’ Program, spending seven months on the continent and travelling to the Pole itself. The resulting book, Terra Incognita, made her name.

In time the Arctic beckoned, a continent, she observed in the resulting book, The Magnetic North, that ‘has been the locus for Armageddon two generations in a row now. It was the front line of the Cold War, with both sides pouring money into long-range nuclear bomb installations and lone figures crouching on floes straining to hear enemy subs. Nuclear holocaust, then apocalyptic climate change.’

Her travels took her through the northernmost territories of the six polar nations,

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37Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

SPOKEN WORDTRAVEL FESTIVAL

from easternmost Russia to the westernmost US, countries separated by just 5km of ‘pack ice and the Date Line’. But perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of these adventures was that she had in tow – literally, on a sledge – her four-month-old son, wrapped like an infant Sami in reindeer pelts. Babies, she says, are much easier to travel with than children. ‘All you need is to keep them near you. Though

April — June 2013

I baulked,’ she adds, ‘at weaning him on reindeer fat’, as her Sami hosts suggested. She dismisses assumptions that life in extreme cold might be challenging. ‘If you’ve got all the right kit, which is not stuff you can buy on the high street, there’s no reason why it should be that hard.’ She does acknowledge, though, ‘that just living in camp takes about half the day. When you want a cup of tea, you have to take the sledge over the iceberg and chip some ice off and bring it back, and melt it.’ At night, she would sleep with her camera, tape recorder, batteries, water bottle, baby wipes and next day’s underwear inside her sleeping bag to prevent them freezing. Then there was the continual darkness, which can ‘hammer the psyche’, though it wasn’t, she found, as discombobulating as summer’s eternal light.

And the isolation. ‘Polar regions attract outsiders,’ she says, and as a woman in a predominantly male environment (at Wheeler’s Antarctic base, there were 91 men and 29 women) and a writer rather than a scientist, she felt somehow doubly apart, which ‘is a potent notion for a writer’, and also the subject of the talk, Beard Optional, she and Rosie Thomas, whose novel Sun at Midnight was inspired by her own time in the Antarctic, are giving at Kings Place.

SHE BAULKED AT WEANING HER SON ON REINDEER

FAT AS HER SAMI HOSTS SUGGESTED

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SPOKEN WORDTRAVEL FESTIVAL38 April — June 2013

Adventurous women are the subject of Wheeler’s latest book too, O My America! Second Acts in a New World (Jonathan Cape, 7 March), which celebrates the lives of six pioneering 19th-century Britons, all of them female, none of them young, who ventured into terra incognita – in this case, the US – in efforts to reinvent themselves, and in whose footsteps, Wheeler has travelled from Georgia’s Sea Islands to northern California’s icy Cascades, by way of the Mississippi and the Rockies.

Her primary inspiration was Fanny Trollope, mother of Anthony, who in 1827, aged 48, went to New Orleans in search of economic salvation, taking three of her children with her, and spent three years in Cincinnati. ‘She had a desperate time and came home destitute.’ Once back, however, she wrote Domestic Manners of the Americans, which became a bestseller, and went on to write 40 novels. ‘So America did deliver for her in the end. It was the Promised Land, if not in the way she’d thought.’

Others whose journeys she follows include the actress Fanny Kemble, who married a plantation owner and, horrified at the slavery on his Georgia estate, divorced him and became a crucial figure in the abolitionist movement; Catherine Hubback, a niece of Jane Austen; and the economist and pamphleteer Harriet Martineau. Though it’s not just, adds Wheeler, about women forging their way. It’s also ‘about America becoming itself. And it’s about me.’

A far cry from her survey of Antarctica then, or perhaps it isn’t. ‘What I really hate,’ she says, ‘is when people call me a polar explorer because I’m so not. I couldn’t be. I don’t have the right skills.’ In any case, it’s people, predominantly, who make places fascinating, however inhospitable. As she writes of herself in the mock obituary that concludes Access All Areas, ‘She always said the only thing she really wanted to explore was what it was to be human.’

Kings Place Travel Festival 22–23 JuneSara Wheeler and Rosie Thomas: Beard Optional (23 June)See Listings p72–74 for details

For the first time this summer, Kings Place invites you to a Travel Festival. Ideally located next to King’s Cross and St Pancras, gateways to Europe and the rest of the UK, it is the supreme location for deckchair travel by the canal. There are many ways to explore the world, whether through its food, following in the footsteps of famous explorers, slowly or daringly, looking for excitement at home or far away and then bringing up what we’ve seen to question our own lives.

The festival opens on Saturday 22 June with that great Englishman abroad, Michael Palin, followed by a concert by pianist Lucy Parham, playing Debussy, interspersed with readings by Henry Goodman following the composer’s journeys from France to Scotland, Japan and the USA. On Sunday 23 June Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar gives a mouth-watering talk on curries of the world and there will also be an opportunity to taste some surprising exotic wines; Simon Garfield and Chris Schüler discuss the enduring appeal of printed maps in the age of Google; Martin Rowson

TRAVELLERS' TALESCurator GeraldineD’Amico introduces the first-ever KingsPlace Travel Festival

joins the long tradition of satirical tales with his brilliant rewriting of Gulliver’s Travels; Steve Richards looks at the pits and falls of politicians on holidays; Andrew Martin takes us on a tour of the tube both in time and space and Hugh Thomson celebrates the English landscape; the brilliant Tony Hawks joins the line-up as the quintessential travelling comedian; adventurers Rosie Thomas and Sara Wheeler (see previous page) show us women need not be afraid of Arctic conditions and Jeremy Seal tells us about meandering down Turkey’s famous river; Michael Ridpath, Barbara Nadel and David Hewson join a round table on crime in foreign lands; last but not least, Jay Griffiths shares her conclusions on children around the world gleaned from her many trips to faraway lands and Damien Brown his experience as a doctor working in the poorest and most dangerous places on earth. Also keep an eye for the ‘World Biblio-therapy’ with the Culture Trip.

Who knows what you will be inspired to attempt after this day but be prepared to look around you with slightly different eyes.

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39Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk CONTEMPORARY

How can you create the most intense communallistening experience ever? Switch the lights off, saysJohn Metcalfe, and get rid of music’s ‘visual ego’.He talks about his new series to Kate Mossman

There’s a famous restaurant in London where you have to eat in the dark. You’re led in a conga line through a pair of heavy curtains, and seated in a room so pitch-black you can’t see a hand in front of your face. You’re served by a blind waitress (there’s no menu, naturally) and without the power of sight, it’s really hard to taste your food. Is that garlic butter or foie gras? Sausage or faggots? It’s an object lesson in synaesthesia, the bizarre crossover of the senses that fascinated Ancient Greeks and Renaissance men. But darkness is also a social glue – as John Metcalfe, classical composer and former member of post-punk band The Durutti Column, explains.

‘I was on a commuter train at night once, and in one of the carriages, the electrics had gone. All the lights were off – and it was fantastic. Everyone was quiet, no one was playing on their phones – everyone was lost in their own thoughts. It was as though we were bound together – this was our carriage, our secret. No one tried to turn them back on.’

April — June 2013

DANCING INTHE DARK

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CONTEMPORARY JOHN METCALFE40

In May, Metcalfe brings Monomedia to Kings Place, a series in which musicians with a leaning towards the complex and experimental – Thomas Dolby, Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory, The New Radiophonic Workshop (now under the baton of Matthew Herbert) – will play part or the whole of their sets in darkness. It’s not the first time someone has tried it. In January last year, Antony Hegarty began his show with the Brooklyn Philharmonic singing unaccompanied in an eerie blackout; in 2011, Amadou and Mariam, formerly known as ‘the blind couple From Mali’, played crepuscular gigs to help audiences understand their own musical world.

But it’s the first time darkness has been used to take the focus off the act on stage and provide a revolutionary listening experiment. Monomedia explores what happens to your ears – to music itself – when you’ve got nothing else to distract you: to ‘kick-start parts of your brain you’ve completely forgotten about’, in Metcalfe’s words.

‘Someone suggested using blindfolds at first but that made me think of long-haul flights. It wasn’t the point anyway – it’s not about desensitising you to what’s around you, and even in darkness, you can see certain shapes emerging. But I’m fed up with musicians – particularly in the classical world – increasingly feeling they have to perform.’ Dutch ‘waltz king’ André Rieu comes to mind, who presents his Johann Strauss stadium shows spinning on one leg, with a raised eyebrow, backed by an orchestra decked out in 18th-century ball-gowns. ‘In pop you’ve got all the costume changes and choreography to get past,’ continues Metcalfe. ‘The guitarist may be doing a brilliant counter-melody, the drummer may be doing something amazing with the kick-drum, but all of that

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CONTEMPORARYJOHN METCALFE 41

somehow gets lost. You know when the lights go down at the start of the gig and everyone cheers? In many ways that’s the best part of the show. I thought, why not extend it?’

For a project aimed at dissolving some of music’s ‘visual ego’, it’s appropriate that Metcalfe was drawn to fellow composers and behind-the-scenes men with an interest in the ‘warpy, electronicky side of things’. Will Gregory’s debut opera Piccard in Space (about hot air-ballooning and the laws of physics) premiered in London in 2011 – at Kings Place he’ll perform with his nine-piece Moog orchestra. Thomas Dolby, responsible for an impressive string of uncategorisable solo albums over the last three decades, spent years in Silicon Valley working on digital download software. He is now the musical director of the TED Conferences, and he composed most of the polyphonic ring-tones you hear on the bus – including the notorious

Nokia one. Which is funny, because Monomedia is going to be a phone-free show. After all, if there’s nothing to film…

‘What I’ve noticed is how much volume increases when you turn the lights off,’ says Metcalfe. ‘I listen to Today In Parliament when I’m going to sleep at around midnight, and when I turn the lights off it’s WAY too loud. These are not going to be ambient chill-out gigs – they will be full-on and aggressive.’

But don’t worry – there’ll be exit lights. And health and safety. There may even be a public voting system (Metcalfe has not quite decided yet) by which the audience get to turn the lights back on, if it all gets a bit too freaky.

John Metcalfe’s Monomedia9–11 MaySee Listings p62–63 for details

April — June 2013

MONOMEDIA9 MAYThomas Dolby

10 MAYWill Gregory Moog Ensemblefeaturing Adrian Utley, Graham Fitkin and Ruth Wall

11 MAYDouble Bill:

John Metcalfe Ensemblefeaturing Simon Richmond (Imagined Village), Ali Friend (Red Snapper) and Louisa Fuller (Duke Quartet)

+ New Radiophonic Workshop

42Book tickets now:

020 7520 1490ART

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43Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

ART BRIONY MARSHALLApril — June 2013

Briony Marshall has spentthe last year as the PangolinSculptor in Residence atKings Place, creating imagesof humanity inspired bymolecules. Philip Ball peepedinto her studio to meet thescientist-turned-artist at work

ART BRIONY MARSHALL44

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During 2013, the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA, the iconic double helix of the genetic molecule will become a

familiar sight. But few visualisations will be as freighted with meaning as that currently being painstakingly assembled by sculptor Briony Marshall, in which each atom in the structure is represented by a human figure cast in bronze. For an artist concerned with how the microscopic world of molecules parallels the macroscopic world of human society, this embodiment of ourselves in our genes is a resonant image.

Exploring scientific themes can be a risky venture for an artist – it’s perilously easy to end up distorting, undermining or misappropriating the science. But Marshall straddles both worlds, a biochemistry graduate who found the pull of art irresistible. Having gained her degree at Oxford in 1997, Marshall trained at the Art Academy in south London, and it was when she began to work in sculpture that she knew she had found her métier. Through the Royal British Society of Sculptors, she spent three months in Italy in 2010 on the Brian Mercer Bronze Casting Residency. From the start of 2011 until last April she was Sculptor in Residence at King’s Place.

That her scientific background should inform her work was never a part of the plan. ‘I felt initially almost like I was turning my back on it and wanting to be in the world of art’, she says. ‘But then it just naturally emerged. Having a scientific training, you view the world through that lens, you can’t escape it. Now I find it really enjoyable to work this way.’

Chemistry and molecular science are strong themes in her work. Several pieces involve graceful figures touching to unite into geometric grids, echoing the chemical bonds that join atoms into molecules and crystals. In A Dream of Society as Flawless as Diamond (2008) the figures are linked into the framework of diamond, composed of carbon atoms that each join to four neighbours, here via hands and feet. The integrity of the grid depends on each figure playing its part: a representation of the interconnectedness of life.

‘People who understand the science find that there are layers of meaning to it’, says Marshall. ‘What goes on at the molecular level might be a metaphor for what goes on in society. I turn to science to understand what’s going on in the world.’ In Italy she worked on a series of sculptures inspired by enzymes, the large biological molecules that assist almost all

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45Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

ART BRIONY MARSHALLApril — June 2013

This September, for the first time, Pangolin London will be opening the Pangolin Sculpture Prize to open applications.

For further details about this unique sculpture residency please go to www.pangolinlondon.com or email gallery@pangolinlondon.com to be added to the mailing list.

the chemical processes in living cells. Pyruvate kinase (2010), named after an enzyme involved in metabolism, erupts like a bizarre plant, with human figures conjoined around one of the smooth hollows in the surface. These represent the molecules lodged in the enzyme as it transforms them – but their fragile hold on the surface also reflects humankind’s delicate relationship with the Earth’s surface. Just as an enzyme responds and adapts to the molecules it binds, says Marshall, so does humanity provoke responses from the planet, as climate change illustrates. ‘One person said to me that these figures are so joyous and happy, but they’re also unaware of what they’ve done or the precariousness of their situation,’ she says.

Marshall explains that, while she wants to be true to the science she is using, ‘in the end it’s not a piece of scientific illustration’ – the molecules here are interpretations, not precise depictions. And she seeks to humanise concepts that many non-scientists could find alienating. ‘When there are figures in the work, people find it easier because they can relate to it at other levels. For me, it’s about how it relates back to being a person in society.’

The Kings Place residency was liberating – a relief from the pressures of renting studios and having to answer to commercial demands. But she admits it was also ‘quite bizarre’ working deep down in the windowless basement of the building. ‘I could almost have been on a spaceship. I could be there all day and not talk to anyone.’

As well as the DNA sculpture, the period produced a set of sculptures depicting an embryo in several very early stages of development. The forms have an abstract beauty redolent both of Barbara Hepworth and of the stylised images of ancient art of the Aegean Cycladic culture. And yet they are beginnings of the human form, the first manifestations of our bilateral symmetry. They imply that nature must solve the same problem as the artist: how to produce form from nothing.

Briony Marshall: Pangolin London15 May – 15 JuneSee Art Listings p76 for details

I TURN TO SCIENCE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT’S GOING

ON IN THE WORLD

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The convenTional image of Wagner is such a risible

caricaTure you Wonder hoW iT could have held

sWay for so long

author Barry Millington reveals a verydifferent side to wagner’s music andpersonality in his intriguing series ofevents celebrating the composer’s200th anniversary

46Book tickets now:

020 7520 1490CLASSICAL

Is there a composer who excites stronger feelings than wagner? i doubt it. there are dozens of wagner societies all over the world devoted to the propagation of his works; equally there’s a constant stream of white noise from people wanting to tell you what a monster wagner was and how baleful his influence. all these viewpoints, both for and against, need to be questioned, and it seemed to me that the bicentenary of wagner’s birth in 2013 was as good an opportunity as any.

One of the things i was most keen to do in Richard Wagner: the Sorcerer of Bayreuth, just published by thames & Hudson, was to re-examine some of the hoary prejudices about the composer. a typical, or rather stereotypical, charge-sheet against him would run something like: ‘an inveterate scrounger and irredeemable philanderer who, not content with fleecing his friends, also helped himself to their wives; a megalomaniac control-freak who was thoroughly loathsome and untrustworthy in his personal dealings.’ there’s more than a grain of truth in it, of course, but as i try to show in the book, this conventional image is actually such a risible caricature that you wonder how it could ever have held sway for so long.

in the same way, what mark eynon and i have tried to do in Wagner 200 – a london-based celebration of wagner in partnership with all the leading venues and organisations, lasting from the birthday itself on 22 may right through to december – is to throw a searchlight into some dark corners. i think we may find that the reality is rather more complex and far more interesting.

even committed wagnerites are often unfamiliar with more than his 13 operas and a handful of other works. in fact the official catalogue of wagner’s works lists no fewer than 113 items. Janice watson (26 June) will be dipping into the songs wagner wrote when he was trying to earn a

crust in Paris in his early years; they include a wonderfully operatic evocation of mary Queen of scots’ tearful farewell from France. llyr williams (27 June) will be presenting some of the beautiful albumleaves wagner dedicated to various friends, lovers and benefactors. and both artists will be offering these pieces alongside works by wagner’s closest composer friend and father-in-law, Franz liszt. with the help of the aurora Orchestra we will also be recreating the scene at wagner’s lucerne home, tribschen, when he presented his wife Cosima with a piece of music specially composed to celebrate the birth of their son siegfried (an event of momentous significance in the wagner household). that piece, the Siegfried Idyll, was first performed on the staircase at tribschen, alongside the Beethoven septet, and our concert will feature those two works in the context of a dramatic reconstruction i will be compiling from contemporary documents.

Our understanding of the major operas, and the ideology lurking behind them, has also undergone a transformation in recent decades. and that reappraisal is reflected in some of the radical productions we’ve seen over the last half century or so. Tristan and Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg will be screened, as will a variety of other wagner operas in productions ranging from the radical, deconstructionist and concept-driven to the relatively conventional.

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CLASSICAL WAGNER 200

I’m sure there will also be plenty of animated discussion at the series of symposia dedicated to aspects of Wagner in Performance: one each on singing, conducting and stage production. What can we learn from the great Wagner singers of the past? Why is it so difficult to cast Wagner operas today? Are the more monumental approaches to conducting Wagner (Knappertsbusch, Goodall, Levine) now history? Do contemporary productions of the kind known as Director’s Opera represent a travesty or a triumphant fulfilment of the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk or Total Work of Art? Will traditional stagings ever return? Or is Director’s Opera here to stay? These are some of the big questions that generate a good deal of emotional argument and it will be good to hear the views of a roster of distinguished international authorities in all these fields.

If conventional, stereotypical views about Wagner and his works haven’t been given a severe jolt by the end of this bicentenary, I will be very disappointed.

Wagner 20026–30 June 2013See Listings p74–75 for details

April — June 2013

Llyr WilliamsMasters and Sachs – Act III, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,

directed by Katharina Wagner, Bayreuth Festival 2010

Janice Watson

WAGNER 20026 JUNEJanice Watson (soprano) Joseph Middleton (piano)Songs by Wagner and Liszt

27 JUNELlyr Williams (piano)plays Wagner and Liszt

28 JUNEAurora Orchestra: The Gift Wagner Siegfried IdyllBeethoven Septet

29–30 JUNEWAGNER 200

Wagner in Performance Symposium I: Vocal Style in WagnerSymposium II: Conducting WagnerSymposium III: The Challenge of Director’s Opera

29–30 JUNEWagner Opera on the Big ScreenTristan und Isolde (29 June)Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (30 June)

There are many different kinds of musical meetings at this year’s Songlines Encounters festival – premiere performances, unusual instruments, and musicians from all over collaborating in innovative ways. These aren’t any old encounters for the sake of it, but the most interesting from our in-depth coverage of the world music scene.

With Trio Mali Latino we have, in the hands of Alex Wilson, a proven Latin jazz meets Malian music line-up that has produced a stunning album. With HOPA!: Paprika, She’Koyokh and Yurodny, we have three bands specialising in Balkan music who will collaborate in a grand finale. Transkaukazja, featuring Vołosi and 33a, is an intriguing meeting between Poland and Georgia. And with the Duo Sabîl with John Williams, we have exciting Arabic oud and percussion players with one of the great classical guitarists.

The popular Lokkhi Terra are themselves a thriving mix of Cuba meets Bangladesh and the Baladi Blues Ensemble bring the soulful side of bellydance from old Cairo, with a quarter-tone accordion, no less. Alongside these there’s Sarah Savoy from one of the great families of Cajun music and the stunning Senegalese duo of Malick Pathé Sow and Bao Sissoko, whose Aduna was an album of the year in 2012.

To most people all of these will be new names. But that’s the other point of Songlines Encounters – audiences encountering new music and getting blown away by it. You only need to trust us, because we know what’s out there. You won’t regret it.

‘The first thing I noticed is how they played in such a widely expressive way,’ says John Williams of oud (lute) player Ahmad Al Khatib and percussionist Youssef Hbeisch. The two Palestinian musicians make a stunning duo and Williams says joining them ‘is a wonderful opportunity to get involved with this music at close hand without compromising what I do best – making a nice sound.’ Guitarist John Williams first heard of Duo Sabîl thanks to a rave review in Songlines and they first collaborated at a concert last October. They will be taking that collaboration forwards in their Songlines Encounters concert. ‘For us it’s a great privilege to play with such an artist and musically it adds a lot’, says Al Khatib. ‘John’s contribution transforms the pieces into something new and somehow makes them sound more universal.’

The oud has a lean and mellow sound and the guitar a brighter, edgier timbre and they complement each other well. The Arabic instrument was the forerunner of the Spanish one, and they meet spiritually in flamenco

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WORLD MUSICSONGLINES ENCOUNTERS48

Editor-in-chief Simon Broughton, who co-curatesthe Songlines Encounters festival, has gatheredan exotic array of unlikely collaborators togetherfor an unforgettable feast of music

April — June 2013

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bellydance and blues. ‘It’s wonderful the way that Egyptian music simply absorbed these instruments and transformed them to suit the oriental style,’ says Guy Schalom, the dynamic British percussionist who has himself become beguiled by the music and created the band. ‘It’s music that has a fascinating tradition and is full of surprises.’ That’s what Songlines Encounters is all about.

Songlines Encounters Festival 2013co-curated by Songlines Magazineand IkonArts Management5–8 JuneSee listings p68–69 for details

Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk

WORLD MUSICSONGLINES ENCOUNTERS 49April — June 2013

music, which came out of the cauldron of the Moorish, Gypsy and Spanish cultures in Andalucía. ‘Apart from the fact that we love each other’s music,’ explains Williams, ‘there’s a musical reason behind this and that’s the universality of plucked strings. In my experience, anything that draws on these connections has a point and always works.’

The Baladi Blues Ensemble also present a meeting of European and Middle Eastern music, but one born decades ago when Western instruments became popular in Cairo nightclubs. The group includes the wonderful veteran Egyptian musicians Sheik Taha and Ahmed El Saidi playing quarter-tone accordion and saxophone and is attracting attention from fans of jazz,

Duo Sabîl: Ahmad Al Khatib & Youssef Hbeisch

SONGLINES ENCOUNTERS FESTIVAL 2013

5 JUNEVołosi & 33aShe’Koyokh, Paprika & Yurodny

6 JUNEBaladi Blues Ensemble + Sarah Savoy & The Francadians

7 JUNEMalick Pathé Sow & Bao Sissoko + Duo Sabîl & John Williams

8 JUNELokkhi Terra + Trio Mali Latino with special guest Omar Puente

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WIN!A SEASON PASSFOR AUTUMN 2013

Register by 1 June 2013. Customers who have already registered will automatically be eligible to enter the prize draw. The season pass is applicable to Autumn 2013 only. Restrictions may apply and are subject to event availability.

BETWEEN WORLDSŞiRiN PANCAROĞLU harp recital

WEDNESDAY 3 APRIL7.30PM HALL ONE

Full programme details on p77GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY

art of travel

www.kingsplace.co.uk/betweenworlds

Featuring works by Alb�niz, Granados, Mudarra, Salzedo, Tournier, Caplet, Britten, Barış Perker and Hasan Uçarsu

‘Major talent of international caliber’ Washington Post

This is a FREE event. Book early to avoid disappointment. To book, please contact Box Offi ce on 020 7520 1490Full programme details on p77

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In the following pages, you will find details of our fantastic Summer 2013 Season. From classical, jazz, folk and world music concerts to spoken word and comedy nights, with so many events to choose from and tickets going very quickly, book early to secure your seats!

Michael Palin (left) will be opening the inaugural Kings Place Travel Festival (22–23 June). See feature pp 36–38 and listings pp 72–74 for details

Photo: Michael Palin © Basil Pao

BOOKNOWSAVERS SEATS £9.50 ONLINE www.kingsplace.co.uk BOx OffIcE: 020 7520 1490

LISTINGS

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THIS WEEK'S FOCUSMANU DELAGO: COLLABORATIONS

See cover feature p28–31

Manu Delago Handmade

Virtuoso Hang player and percussionist Manu Delago takes a break from Björk’s Biophilia tour to curate a unique mini-series, which boasts the UK premiere of his work for hang and the Icelandic choir Graduale Nobili, two adventurous Austrian drummers and their bands, Knalpot and Circle of Sound, and Delago’s own new album, Bigger Than Home.

THE HANG MAN COMETH... AND MIXES IT UP WITH BJÖRK'S ICELANDIC CHOIR AND TWO RADICAL DRUMMERS FROM AUSTRIA

APRILTHURSDAY 4 APRIL

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Impropera has‘Nothing to declare’COMEDY

It’s the most wonderful night of the year! That’s right, your tax return is due in tomorrow. Since you’ve OBVIOUSLY � nished it in plenty of time, why not come along and celebrate with Impropera’s virtuoso voices, wild wits and maestro musicianship! And for those of you who haven’t � nished yet... come along and watch some people scrabble around desperately making things up and turning them into a song and dance. You may just pick up a few tips! Impropera’s ‘Nothing to Declare (...Except Our Genius)ʼ. 25% of it belongs to you. ‘The perfect operatic pick-me-up.’ The Independent

Hall Two 8pm

Online Rates £12.50 | Savers £9.50

FRIDAY 5 APRIL

COLLABORATIONS

Manu Delago Handmade Bigger Than HomeAlbum Launch with Special Guests

Manu Delago Hang, drumsIsa Kurz vocals, piano, violinPhilipp Moll bass, synthesisersChris Norz drums, percussion with special guests Stuart McCallum (Cinematic Orchestra) and James Hersey

CONTEMPORARY

Manu Delago has just returned from a world tour with Björk. This ‘masterful and sensitive musician’ (The Telegraph) has also performed and recorded as soloist with the LSO and collaborated with artists such as Anoushka Shankar, DJ Shpongle and Bugge Wesselto� . The material on the new Bigger Than Home album explores a vast array of sounds – from sweet and delicate vocal lines with colourful hang accompaniment, through to chunky, electronic beats. This band have a real understanding of orchestration. They change the texture of their music to create a di� erent soundworld with each piece.

Hall One 8pm

Online Rates £12.50 £14.50 £19.50Saver Seats £9.50

Book tickets now:020 7520 1490LISTINGS April 2013

FOLK UNION

Larkin PoeRebecca Lovell lead vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitarMegan Lovell harmony vocals, Dobro, lap steel guitar Rick Lollar electric guitar, backing vocalsRobby Handley electric bass, backing vocals

FOLK

An evening of scintillating American roots music from one of the hottest US bands of the moment. The current tour follows their trailblazing visit to Europe in 2012 where they gave standout performances with such stars as Elvis Costello, Richard Thompson, Fairport Convention and The Indigo Girls at festivals across the continent. Expect folk, Americana, country, bluegrass, soul, gospel and pop along with stunning vocals and virtuoso musicianship. ‘Already gi� ed as instrumentalists they’ve a head start on the rest of us with the unique power and beauty of sibling harmony in their vocal blend.’ Elvis Costello

Hall Two 8pm

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ChamberStudio MasterclassFree tickets (subject to availability)Details at chamberstudio.org/calendar

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April 2013

SATURDAY 6 ApRIL

COLLABORATIONS

Graduale NobiliCONTEMpORARY

This 24-strong Icelandic women’s choir sing traditional and contemporary Icelandic music in the foyer – a perfect acoustic for their voices. They have been working with Björk since 2010 and are currently part of her Biophilia world tour.

Concert Level Foyer 6.45pm

FREE

COLLABORATIONS

James HerseyCONTEMpORARY

24-year-old guitarist James Hersey is an independent solo project/band. He writes, produces and performs soulful songs with unique pop sensibility and vocals. Starting out in Vienna in 2010, James rapidly gained support from both major alternative outlets and mainstream media. Two songs from his self-titled EP and three subsequent singles have made it onto radio playlists in Central Europe, and his music videos have become a staple of a growing online presence.

Concert Level Foyer 7.15pm

FREE

COLLABORATIONS

Manu Delago, Graduale Nobili, Circle of Sound & Knalpot Graduale Nobili with Manu Delago HangCircle of Sound Soumik Datta sarod Bernhard Schimpelsberger drumsKnalpot Raphael Vanoli: guitar, electronics Gerri Jäger drums, electronics

CONTEMpORARY

Three rhythm-addicted soundfreaks from Austria meet female voices from Iceland… ‘When I heard Graduale Nobili in Björk’s Biophilia project, I was blown away by their sound and immediately felt inspired to compose a piece for their voices and the Hang. The New York premiere of the piece, CHS, was one of my favourite ever concerts and I’m extremely excited about the piece’s first London performance.’ Manu DelagoThis concert also showcases two immensely creative duos. In Circle of Sound Bernhard Schimpelsberger

(who plays the Western drumkit like a tabla virtuoso) teams up with Soumik Datta – a Sarod maestro who has shared the stage with Akram Khan and Beyonce. The evening ends as a Saturday evening should. Amsterdam-based band Knalpot’s drummer Gerri Jäger and guitarist Rapahel Vanoli present an incredible soundwave of dub, rock, electronic noise and jazz.

Hall One 8pm

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THE BASE

Julia BielJulia Biel singer/songwriter, piano, guitarNeil Charles bassDave de Rose drumsDave pearson guitar

JAZZ

Hailed by the The Independent as ‘the best British vocalist to emerge in an age’, Julia Biel is a rare artist indeed. Whether performing self-penned material, or re-inventing old classics, Biel’s signature sound, edgy and smooth in equal measure, defies easy classification, hovering between jazz, pop, rock, soul and folk – with influences ranging from Massive Attack, Nina Simone, Portishead, Björk, PJ Harvey and Rickie Lee Jones. Former Perrier Jazz Vocalist of the Year winner and Jazz Awards Rising Star nominee, Biel’s self-produced debut album Not Alone spearheaded a wave of British vocal folk/jazz and emerged amid

a flurry of critical praise. Prepare to be moved, beguiled, soothed, transported and ultimately mesmerised. ‘A voice of supreme subtlety and honeyed depth’ The Guardian

Hall Two 8pm

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SUNDAY 7 ApRIL

OUT HEAR

EXpERIMENTALSTUDIO feat. Kairos QuartettMusic in the Space Time Continuum Iwith FREE Foyer performance and post-concert Talk

Georg Friedrich Haas String Quartet No. 4 with live electronics (2003)Roberto David Rusconi String Quartet No. 4 with live electronics, De Imago (Materia) Sonora (2012)*Marco Stroppa Spirali for string quartet (1987-88) [World premiere]

Wolfgang Bender violinStefan Häussler violin Simone Heiligendorff violaClaudius von Wrochem celloRoberto David Rusconi composerMarco Stroppa composer Live-electronics realisation by Experimentalstudio des SWRThomas Hummel sound projection

CONTEMpORARY

Experience the epiphany and revelation of sound in the space time continuum. The virtuoso performers of Kairos and

the charismatic sound projection of Experimentalstudio Freiburg present Spirali by Marco Stroppa and the last string quartets by Haas and London-based composer Rusconi. A post-concert talk ‘raising the veil’ from science, nature and technique concludes the event.

FREE Educational Concert – Foyer 2pm Performance – Hall Two 4pm to be followed by a post-concert talk

Online Rates £12.50 | Savers £9.50The post-concert talk is free, but requires separate tickets. Please call Box Office to reserve your seat.

LONDON CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

Fitzwilliam Quartet & GuestsDelius ‘Late Swallows’ (Movement III from String Quartet in E minor)Haydn String Quartet in F, Op. 77 No.2 (Hob III:82) Richard Strauss Sextet from Capriccio Tchaikovsky String Sextet in D minor, Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70

Fitzwilliam Quartet with Caroline Wolff violaGemma Rosefield cello

CLASSICAL

The famous Fitzwilliam Quartet make an appearance in a concert of late masterworks, featuring Delius’s beautiful ‘Late Swallows’, the slow movement from his string quartet composed in 1917, and Haydn’s last completed quartet. They are joined by two celebrated soloists in a pair of sumptuous late Romantic string sextets: the string music from Strauss’s late opera Capriccio, premiered in Munich in 1942, and Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, so called because some of it was sketched there on holiday in 1890.

Hall One 6.30pm

Online Rates £14.50 £18.50 Saver Seats £9.50

Circle of Sound

Julia Biel

Knalpot

Manu Delago with Graduale Nobili

EXPERIMENTALSTUDIO

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MONDAY 8 APRIL

WORDS ON MONDAY

Feeding Seven BillionUniversity of Cambridge Global Food Security Debates III: Food Distributionʼ

SPOKEN WORD

The latest debate in the series will examine the ways in which state action, public distribution systems, food networks and private supply chains can secure the right to food security... Does the primary responsibility for guaranteeing basic entitlements as well as food and livelihood security rest with the state? What is the role of public distribution systems in providing food security in the 21st century, in the face of pressures for more liberalised economic policies? Can private sector food supply chains be harnessed to provide a­ ordable and nutritious food to those who are most vulnerable? How can the right to be free from hunger and malnutrition be implemented and realised?

St Pancras Room 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

WEDNESDAY 10 APRIL

WEDNESDAY SPECIAL

Stephan Micus: TransculturalStephan Micus duduk, shakuhachi, ney, Bavarian zither, kalimba, nohkan, voice & tapes

CONTEMPORARY WORLD

German-born Stephan Micus made his � rst journey to the Orient at the age of 16. Fascinated by the variety of musical cultures around the world, heʼs travelled to virtually every Asian and European country as well as to Africa and the Americas. Studying with local master musicians heʼs learned to play numerous traditional instruments, many of them unknown in the Western world. In his performances, Micus o� en combines instruments that have never been played together before so as to develop fresh musical possibilities which he feels are inherent in them. This year he has turned 60 and released his 20th album, Panagia, on ECM Records. Come and be mesmerised with the unique sound quality of his renditions in the � ne acoustics of Hall One.

Hall One 8pm

Online Rates £13.50 £15.50 £19.50 £24.50 | Saver Seats £9.50

THURSDAY 11 APRIL

FROM BACH TO BARTÓK

Bach to Brahms with Tasmin Little & FriendsJS Bach Sonata No. 6 in G for violin and keyboard, BWV 1019Mozart Violin Sonata in E minor, K304 Beethoven Sonata in F for horn and piano, Op. 17Schubert Impromptu for solo piano, Op. 90 No. 3Brahms Trio in E flat for horn, violin & piano, Op. 40

Tasmin Little violinJohn Lenehan pianoNicholas Korth horn

CLASSICAL

Acclaimed violinist Tasmin Little is joined by pianist John Lenehan and French horn player Nicholas Korth in the � rst of a series of three concerts exploring the evolution of the violin repertoire. Beginning in the Baroque period with Bach’s dazzling G major Sonata, this programme moves into the Classical era with Mozart’s plangent gem in E minor, followed by the ebullient, rarely performed Horn Sonata by Beethoven. A� er Schubert’s limpid, shadowy Impromptu No. 3 the instrumentalists come together for Brahms’s indelible masterpiece, the Horn Trio in E flat.

Hall One 7.30pm

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April 2013

THIS WEEK'S FOCUS TASMIN LITTLE & FRIENDSFROM BACH TO BARTÓK11 – 13 APRIL

See www.kingsplace.co.uk/tasminlittle

Acclaimed violinist Tasmin Little refreshes and enriches the violin recital format with pianists John Lenehan and Martin Roscoe. French hornist Nicholas Korth joins them for Brahmsʼs resonant Horn Trio, gi� ed cellist Thomas Carroll for Ravelʼs Piano Trio. Finally, clarinettist Joan Enric Lluna collaborates in a performance of Bartókʼs Contrasts.

TASMIN LITTLE WEAVES THE STORY OF THE VIOLIN, TAKING ALONG TWO PIANISTS AND A HORN, CLARINET AND CELLO FOR COMPANY

Tasmin Little

Stephan Micus

John Lenehan

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OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Michael Legge’s Private Hell Michael Legge with Rachel Parris, The Trap and Tony Law

COMEDY

Yay! Grumpy Uncle Michael comes to Kings Place for a one-off performance of his disturbing Sunday afternoon live show.  Come and see Michael scream his d*** off while trying out brand-new material and sweating while his special guests Rachel Parris, The Trap and Edinburgh Award nominee and TV favourite Tony Law clean up his filthy mess.‘The hidden gem of the comedy circuit’ The Guardian

Hall Two 8pm

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FRIDAY 12 APRIL

FROM BACH TO BARTÓK

Schubert to Ravel with Tasmin Little & FriendsSchubert Sonata in A minor for cello   and piano, D821 ArpeggioneGrieg Sonata No. 3 in C minor for violin   and piano, Op. 45Debussy Sonata for cello and piano (1915)Delius Légende in E flat   for violin and pianoRavel Trio for piano, violin & cello (1914)

Tasmin Little violinThomas Carroll celloMartin Roscoe piano

CLASSICAL

In the second of Tasmin Little’s inspired chamber music programmes we begin  at the point where Classicism turned Romantic, with Schubert’s unique Arpeggione Sonata, written for a now extinct instrument but beautifully realised on the cello. Thomas Carroll is the guest soloist, who also opens the second half with Debussy’s fantastical piece in the form, full of mordant humour and Spanish 

inflections. Little brings Nordic flavour to the programme with the C minor sonata, one of Grieg’s personal favourites, built on Norwegian folk melodies and rhythms. After she performs Légende by Delius, a composer for whom she is a passionate advocate, the three join together for Ravel’s devilishly appealing Trio.

Hall One 7.30pm

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FOLK UNION

The Young’unsFOLK

Hailing from Teesside and bursting onto the folk scene three years ago, The Young’uns have fast become one of the most popular, entertaining and sought- after acts around. With bags of charm and talent, and an abiding enthusiasm for traditional song, Sean Cooney, David Eagle and Michael Hughes bring freshness and dynamism to their arrangements of close-harmony songs, with and without accompaniment. Their repertoire includes everything from traditional sea and working songs to more contemporary material, all delivered with originality and flair. Effortlessly entertaining, with an irreverent sense of humour.‘The Young’uns... dodgy name, but very very good music’ BBC Radio 3

Hall Two 8pm

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SATURDAY 13 APRIL

FROM BACH TO BARTÓK

Strauss to Bartók with Tasmin Little & FriendsBrahms Sonata No. 2 in A for violin   and piano, Op. 100Richard Strauss Sonata in E flat   for violin and piano, Op. 18Ravel Sonata No. 2 in G   for violin and pianoDebussy Première rapsodie   for clarinet and piano, L116Bartók Contrasts for clarinet, violin   & piano, Sz. 111

Tasmin Little violinMartin Roscoe pianoJoan Enric Lluna clarinet

CLASSICAL

In her final programme, Tasmin Little moves into the 20th century, and she and Martin Roscoe are joined by celebrated clarinettist Joan Enric Lluna. Beginning with Brahms’s radiantly lyrical Second Sonata, Little moves through Strauss’s Romantic work to Ravel’s sensuous, blues-inflected Sonata. Lluna takes up the Parisian theme with Debussy’s sinuous Première rapsodie before both launch into Bartók’s vivacious Contrasts, written with Benny Goodman in mind.

Hall One 7.30pm

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THE BASE

Musica ParadisoSongs and Stories of the Silver Screen

starring Tina May & Guillermo Rozenthuler vocals

featuring John Turville piano, percussionFred Thomas bass, percussion, pianoStephen Keogh drums, percussion 

JAZZ WORLD

Step into the magical world of the movies with this celebration of captivating music from the silver screen. With songs, themes and scenes that moved us all, we recall great stars like Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the huge hit ‘Moon Riverʼ, and other classic songs, like ‘I Will Wait for You’ from the film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg. The movie music takes you to Cuban High Society in the 50s, and on to Mexico;  then to the Europe of Fellini, Legrand  and Almodóvar. A night to recapture the essence of past places and eras.

Hall Two 8pm

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SUNDAY 14 APRIL

OUT HEAR

MusichoreographyDuets for dancers and instrumentalists

CONTEMPORARY

An evening of duets for musicians and dancers brought together by Luke Dixon.  Each duet is to feature one dancer and one instrumentalist, so come along to watch dance of every kind – from improvisation to tap and the tightest choreography – danced to every kind of instrument – from electric guitar to violin, accordion and toy piano. Fast moving and delightful, this will be a unique evening of dance and music with 14 duets distilled into two wonderful hours.

Hall Two 4pm

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LONDON CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

Chilingirian Quartet with Carole PreslandThe Romantic Piano Quintets – 5

Haydn String Quartet in D, Op. 71 No.2Beethoven String Quartet No. 12   in E flat, Op. 127Elgar Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84

Chilingirian Quartet with Carole Presland piano

CLASSICAL

Our Romantic Piano Quintet series comes to an end with Elgar’s inspired addition to the medium – his passionate and haunting  quintet composed in Sussex in the summer  of 1918. We also feature a late quartet by Haydn, composed in 1793, afer this retirement from his court composer duties for the Esterházy family, and a late Beethoven quartet, Op. 127, finished two years before the composerʼs death.

Hall One 6.30pm

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 April 2013

The YoungʼunsMichael Legge

Martin Roscoe

ChamberStudio MasterclassFree tickets (subject to availability)Details at chamberstudio.org/calendar

Musichoreography

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MONDAY 15 APRIL

WORDS ON MONDAY

The Trojan Horsewith Simon Armitage, Simon Mundy & Bettany Hughes

SPOKEN WORD

Poet in the City invites you to experience the stories of The Iliad and The Odyssey through the eyes of some of our greatest contemporary poets. Spend an evening in the company of some of your favourite characters from Greek myth, including Ulysses, Achilles, Helen, Hector and Cassandra, fated never to be believed. With fresh and modern takes on Homer’s tales of seduction, war and revenge, Words on Monday gets under the skin of some of the greatest stories ever told. Featuring very special guests, this event explores the legacy of the voyage to end all voyages.

Hall One 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

WEDNESDAY 17 APRIL

BACH UNWRAPPED

Christoph Denoth: Bach’s Lute Music on GuitarJS Bach Lute Suite in G minor, BWV 995Lute Suite in E minor, BWV 996Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 (originally for solo violin)

Christoph Denoth guitar

CLASSICAL

The acclaimed Swiss guitarist Christoph Denoth gives our only lute music concert in Bach Unwrapped. Bach arranged many of his pieces for violin and cello he for lute, and in this programme Denoth will perform the famous tour de force for violin, Partita No. 2, and the ornate Lute Suite in G minor (a transcription of the Cello Suite No. 5, BWV 1011), on guitar. However, the Lute Suite in E minor was a work dedicated to the instrument – or possibly the lute-harpsichord – and is an all-time favourite.

Hall One 7.30pm

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THURSDAY 18 APRIL

BACH UNWRAPPED

Christoph Richter: The Cello Suites & Sonatas 2JS Bach Suite No. 3 in C for solo cello, BWV 1009Sonata in D for cello and piano (orig. for viola da gamba & harpsichord, BWV 1028)Suite No. 4 in E flat for solo cello, BWV 1010

Christoph Richter celloAlasdair Beatson piano

CLASSICAL

In the second of his Bach Unwrapped recitals, Christoph Richter performs the two middle suites of the set, the triumphant C major and the majestic E flat (the only ones to contain Bourrées). The six suites follow a trajectory of increasing scale and grandeur, each a step bigger than the one before. The Prelude of the E flat evokes images of the organ pipes of a cathedral, whilst the C major shows Bach at his most exuberant. Completing the programme is the gentler D major Sonata, in which Richter is joined by pianist Alasdair Beatson.

Hall One 7.30pm

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OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Cariad Lloyd & FriendsCOMEDY

Fosters Newcomer Nominee Cariad Lloyd o� ers you a night of eccentric sketches and character comedy. Cariad is joined by a ra� of successful and brilliant people, including Jessie Cave, Oyster Eyes, Fraser Millward and Claudia O’Doherty. This will be excellent, and excellent people will enjoy it.

Hall Two 8pm

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April 2013

THIS WEEK'S FOCUS BACH UNWRAPPEDWEEK 6 17 – 20 APRIL

See Q&A p82 for details

In this sixth week of Bach Unwrapped we welcome Christoph Richter back for the second instalment of solo suites and sonatas. John Butt leads an OAE study day on the Brandenburg Concertos and conducts Nos 1 & 2, while Aurora Orchestra present an enchanting childrenʼs concert and a programme of works influenced by Bach.

CHRISTOPH RICHTER PERFORMS SOLO BACH; BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS FROM THE OAE AND AURORA ORCHESTRA TRACE THE ECHOES

Christoph Richter

Simon Armitage

Bettany Hughes

Cariad Lloyd

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FrIday 19 aprIL

BaCH UNWrappEd

Orchestra of the age of Enlightenment: Cantatas and Brandenburgs – 2JS Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 1   in F, BWV 1046Cantata ‘Jauchzet Gott in allen   Landen!’, BWV 51 Brandenburg Concerto No. 2   in F, BWV 1047  Cantata ‘Darzu ist erschienen    der Sohn Gottes’, BWV 40

Soloists of the OaE Choir of the EnlightenmentJohn Butt director

CLaSSICaL

The second concert in the OAE’s contribution to Bach Unwrapped includes the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, one of the best-known of the six, and featuring a glorious and hugely demanding trumpet part. Also included this evening is one of Bach’s best-loved and most joyous cantatas, ‘Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!’ (‘Praise God in all lands!’).

Hall One 7.30pm

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FOLK UNION

Jamie Smith’s MaBONFOLK

Jamie Smith’s MABON are an essential and heady treat, seen by audiences and critics alike as one of the UK’s fastest-rising ‘must-see’ roots acts. Their music is individual, and toe-tappingly good – an irresistible blend of world music, Celtic roots and rabble-rousing funk folk, filled with energy, joy and passion. Jamie’s imaginative work will take you on a magical whistle-stop Euro-tour, jigs and reels jostling for space with other dance-related forms including Breton fest-noz, Polish mazurka, Galician muiñeira and even shades of klezmer in an exuberant, feelgood show.‘A fearsome reputation as a live bandʼ FT

Hall Two 8pm

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SaTUrday 20 aprIL

BaCH UNWrappEd

Study dayThe Brandenburgs with Hannah French & John Butt

INTEraCT CLaSSICaL

The OAE presents a study day dedicated to  the six Brandenburg Concertos. In the first session, Hannah French takes a look at  some key performances of the concertos  since their publication in 1721. In the afternoon, John Butt, who conducts the OAE’s Brandenburg series, will be joined by members of the OAE for a detailed analytical look at the repertoire.

St Pancras Room 10.30am–4.30pm

Online rates £39.50 includes tea/coffee during break

BaCH UNWrappEd

Storytelling with BachProgramme to include The Well-Tempered Clavier and other worksKate Wakeling storywriterJessie Maryon davies animateurprincipal players of aurora Orchestra

INTEraCT CLaSSICaL

Join Jessie Maryon Davies and principal players of Aurora Orchestra to explore one  of Bach’s masterpieces through specially  commissioned stories by Kate Wakeling, interwoven with lively performances. This is a sparkling introduction to Bach’s music for children. Suitable for age 3+.

Hall Two 11.30am; 12.15pm (repeat) Each concert lasts 45mins and requires separate tickets

Online rates £4.50 Child; £6.50 adult£16.50 Family of 4 (at least 1 adult)£19.50 Family of 5 (at least 1 adult) Contact Box Office for the Family offer.

BaCH UNWrappEd

aurora Orchestra: Echoes of BachBach (arr. Mozart) Excerpts from The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893Bach (arr. Kodály) Chromatic Fantasy      and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903Bach (arr. Busoni) Chorale Preludes   for organ (transcr. for piano)Busoni Movement IV from the   Violin Sonata No. 2 in E minor, Op. 36aSchnittke Piano Quintet (1976)

principal players of aurora Orchestra

CLaSSICaL

For this sparkling chamber programme, principal players of Aurora Orchestra pair  arrangements of Bachʼs works by later 

composers – including Mozartʼs string arrangements of fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier – with 20th-century works inspired by Bach. Highlights include  the final movement of Busoniʼs Second Violin Sonata, based around the chorale ‘Wie wohl is mir’; Kodály’s virtuosic arrangement for solo viola of the Chromatic Fantasy; and Schnittke’s Piano Quintet, a searing masterpiece, written in memory of his dead mother, whose central waltz is constructed around the letters B-A-C-H.

Hall One 7.30pm

Online rates £14.50 £19.50 £24.50 £29.50 | Saver Seats £9.50

THE BaSE

Trish Clowes QuintetTrish Clowes saxophonesGwilym Simcock pianoChris Montague guitarCalum Gourlay bassJames Maddren drums 

JaZZ

Saxophonist and composer Trish Clowes  is currently a BBC R3 New Generation Artist. Her music explores a fascinating hinterland between jazz and contemporary  classical music, combining fluent improv  with evocative melodic lines and shifting  textures. Playing work from her recent release And In The Night-Time She Is There she creates a compelling soundscape crafted by her distinguished rhythm section  and sophisticated handling of melody. Also featuring long-time collaborator Gwilym Simcock. This concert will be recorded for Jazz Line-Up on BBC R3.‘British jazz at its best’ Jamie Cullum, BBC R2

Hall Two 8pm

Online rates £12.50 | Savers £9.50

SUNday 21 aprIL

SUNday SpECIaL

piano-yoga® with GéNIaINTEraCT

As a qualified BWY yoga teacher, acclaimed  virtuoso pianist GéNIA is also the creator  of the ground-breaking Piano-Yoga® 

method. This retreat for professional pianists as well as amateurs (of advanced-beginner to advanced level) will help the pianists improve their technique as well as enhance their well-being. Includes an optional piano masterclass with GéNIA. ‘GéNIA is an inspiring teacher and gifted pianist’ Music Teacher Magazine

Limehouse Room 10am – 5.30pm

£90 | £75 (piano-yoga® Members)To book, please call Box Office.

OUT HEar

ICE almost New yorkʼElliott Carter Esprit Rude/Esprit Doux   for flute and clarinetdai Fujikura returning for solo pianoFelipe Lara Livro de sonhos   for clarinet and pianodai Fujikura Glacier for solo bass flutealvin Lucier Almost New York   for flute and oscillatordai Fujikura Rubicon for solo clarinetJohn Zorn The Tempest for flute & clarinet

International Contemporary EnsembleClaire Chase flute; artistic director Joshua rubin clarinet Jacob Greenberg piano 

CONTEMpOrary

‘Almost New York’, the title of Alvin Lucier’s stunning 2001 work, has a whimsical double meaning on this programme from one of America’s finest ensembles. ICE  has performed the music of London-based composer Dai Fujikura, ICE’s longtime friend and collaborator, so many times  in New York over the past decade that we like to say that he is almost a New Yorker. Here, we deli-sandwich him in between New York giants – Carter, Zorn, Lucier –  as well as an up-and-coming young New York-based peer, Felipe Lara.

Hall Two 4pm

Online rates £12.50 | Savers £9.50

LONdON CHaMBEr MUSIC SErIES

Turner Ensembleprokofiev Sonata for two violins, Op. 56roussel Trio for flute, viola & cello, Op. 40Mozart Flute Quartet in D, K285Brahms String Quintet No. 2 in G, Op. 111

CLaSSICaL

A varied programme from the LCMS ensemble-in-residence, beginning with  two works written either side of 1930: Prokofievʼs Sonata for two violins, composed while he was on holiday near St Tropez in 1932, and Roussel’s colourful Trio, commissioned in 1929 by famous music patron Elizabeth Coolidge. Mozart’s beautiful Flute Quartet is followed by Brahms’s Second String Quintet, written in Bad Ischl in 1890. Its expansive opening theme seems intended for a projected fifth symphony that he never completed.

Hall One 6.30pm

Online rates £14.50 £18.50Saver Seats £9.50

 April 2013

Jamie Smith’s MABON

ChamberStudio MasterclassFree tickets (subject to availability)details at chamberstudio.org/calendar

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Book tickets now:020 7520 1490LISTINGS58 April 2013

MONDAY 22 APRIL

WORDS ON MONDAY

Alan RusbridgerWhy Amateurs Should Attempt the Impossible

SPOKEN WORD

The Guardianʼs editor Alan Rusbridger, a man who works 17 hours a day, 7 days a week, tells us how he managed to � nd the time to master Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in the year of WikiLeaks and the News of the World scandal. Even better, heʼll prove he archieved his goal – and had time to write a book about it to boot!

Hall One 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

WORDS ON MONDAY

John Mullan: What Matters in Jane Austen?SPOKEN WORD

Is there any sex in Jane Austen? What do the characters call each other? And which important Austen characters never speak? In an illuminating lecture, John Mullan, author of What Matters in Jane Austen?, shows us how we can appreciate the novelistʼs brilliance by looking at the intriguing intricacies of her � ction.

Hall Two 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

THURSDAY 25 APRIL

CARAVAN – GYPSY FOLK

The Journey BeginsPriya Mitchell & FriendsDhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan

Enescu Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25 Dans le caractère populaire roumainRachmaninov Capriccio on Gypsy Themes for four hands, Op. 12Vivaldi La Folia (Sonata No. 12 in D minor, RV 63)

Vivaldi Violin Concerto in D, RV 208 Il grosso Mogul

Priya Mitchell violinwith Daniel Rowland violinMaxim Rysanov violaAdrian Brendel, David Cohen cello Alasdair Beatson, Natacha Kudritskaya & Marianna Shirinyan pianoand the Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan

CLASSICAL

Introducing the potent, heady mix of Romany tradition, we journey in this concert from the desert of Rajasthan to the equally exotic soundworld of Vivaldi, here touched by the exhilaration of the gypsy folk music he encountered on his own ceaseless travels. Enescu’s Third Sonata – which sounds like pure Romanian folk music, yet contains no authentic folk tunes – led his pupil Menuhin to observe that if the composerʼs markings were followed they would make anyone sound like a true gypsy violinist. We also hear Rachmaninov’s rarely performed Capriccio on Gypsy Themes: orchestrated later, the work – written under the double stimulus of the composer’s dire need for cash and his infatuation with a friend’s Gypsy wife – is heard here in its original version for four hands. PM

Hall One 7.30pm

Online Rates £13.50 £15.50 £19.50 £24.50 | Saver Seats £9.50

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

TrawlerCOMEDY

Mr Hairy H Deansway hosts a live comedy/instructional night of musings trawled from the ocean of everything that is the internet. Three curators or ‘trawlers’ from the world of comedy, music and � lm will show o£ their scrapings and meanders from the world wide web: weird websites, random connections, funny clippings and general nonsense. Trawling is what the internet is all about and trawlers are the hunter-gatherers of the digital age.

Hall Two 8pm

Online Rates £12.50 | Savers 9.50

THIS WEEK'S FOCUS PRIYA MITCHELL & FRIENDSCARAVAN – GYPSY FOLK25 – 27 APRIL

See Classical Highlights p14

Violinist Priya Mitchell leads a fascinating chamber music series which explores the potent influence of the Roma on music written across Europe and across the centuries, from Vivaldi to Enescu. She is joined by a host of exceptional young players as well as the unique Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan and Mercury-nominated singer Sam Lee.

PRIYA MITCHELL, INSPIRED BY HER OWN INDIAN AND IRISH ROOTS, FOLLOWS THE ROMANY MUSIC INFLUENCE ACROSS EUROPE

Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan

Priya Mitchell

Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk  |  Prices shown are for online booking LISTINGSPR

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FrIday 26 aprIL

CaraVaN – GypSy FOLK

Bohemian routespriya Mitchell & Friends

with FrEE foyer performance

Boccherini Fandango (Last movement   of Quintet in D, G448 arr. for two cellos)Falla 7 Canciones populares españolasKodály Duo for violin and cello, Op. 7Osvaldo Golijov Lullaby and DoinaBrahms Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115

priya Mitchell violinwith Sam Lee vocalsdaniel rowland violinMaxim rysanov violaadrian Brendel, david Cohen cello Janne Thomsen flutephilippe Berrod clarinet alasdair Beatson, Natacha Kudritskaya    & Marianna Shirinyan piano

CLaSSICaL

Dance is central to gypsy tradition and Boccherini’s Quintet – complete with obbligato castanets – was influenced by his love of Spanish music, with its deep debt to Romany music. Fallaʼs work is also coloured by the duende of flamenco and his own evocative sensibility. Kodály’s great 20th-century masterpiece for violin and cello is full of the richness and vitality of the Central European gypsy and folk traditions. Grammy-winning Argentinian composer Golijov’s Lullaby and Doina is a haunting tribute to the Jews and Gypsies of Europe expressed in a love story between a Jewish woman and a young Gypsy man. The concert ends with Brahmsʼs profound Clarinet Quintet, the second movement of which pays homage to the gypsy bands the composer loved to hear play at his favourite tavern, Zum Roten Igel, in Vienna. PM

FREE foyer performance: 6.15pm Performance: Hall One 7.30pm

Online rates £13.50 £15.50 £19.50 £24.50 | Saver Seats £9.50

FOLK UNION

Emma SweeneyFOLK

Rising talent Emma Sweeney has marked an outstanding year with the release of her debut album, Pangea, which brings together a spectacular cast of contributors and a diverse mixture of trad jigs and reels, fluidly blended with Emma’s own work. Her traditional Irish background is the cornerstone of this exciting debut, but the Manchester-based fiddler integrates a select fusion of world influences that accentuate her unique style and approach. 

‘Emma is one of our finest young fiddlers and her self-released five-track EP of  tunes is a real gem’ Mike Harding, BBC R2

Hall Two 8pm

Online rates £12.50 | Savers 9.50

SaTUrday 27 aprIL

CaraVaN – GypSy FOLK

Free Spiritspriya Mitchell & Friends

Bartók Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 in E dvorák Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor,   Op. 90 Dumky

priya Mitchell violinwith Maxim rysanov violadavid Cohen celloNatacha Kudritskaya pianoMarianna Shirinyan piano

CLaSSICaL

Caravan celebrates the Romany proverb ‘To be happy is to be free’, highlighting music that is fiery, mesmeric, uninhibited, full of longing yet earthy – imbued, in short with all the qualities that the proverb  suggests. Dvorˇák’s much loved Dumky Trio, Liszt’s virtuosic Rhapsody and Bartók’s wonderful and wild Romanian  Folk Dances – all are steeped in the spirit of unconstrained intoxicating abandon. PM

Hall One 11.30am

Online rates £12.50 £14.50 £19.50 | Saver Seats £9.50

CaraVaN – GypSy FOLK

Film: ʻLatcho dromʼ FILM WOrLd

Second documentary of French film director Tony Gatlif's award-winning trilogy on the Gypsy people. The journey of the Romany people is told through musicians and dancers of India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain. (1993/France/103mins)

St Pancras Room 3pm

£6.50

CaraVaN – GypSy FOLK

Vagabond priya Mitchell & Friends

Brahms Hungarian DancesMonti CsárdásKreisler Zigeuner-CapriccioSarasate Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20doppler Fantaisie pastorale hongroise, Op. 26dvorák Arrangements of the   Gypsy Songs, Op. 55rachmaninov (transc. dushkin)   Danses tziganes, Op. 6

priya Mitchell violinwith Sam Lee vocalsMaxim rysanov violadavid Cohen celloJanne Thomsen fluteNatacha Kudritskaya pianoMarianna Shirinyan piano

CLaSSICaL

Whilst sharing the modern interest in authenticity and musicological correctness, shouldn’t we be able to find a place for the cheerfully ersatz? We seek to do so in this concert, which showcases the work of the sometimes cavalier pasticheurs of the gypsy idiom in the bohemian fantasies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Often 

written to display the panache and dazzling virtuosity of instrumentalists such as Kreisler and Sarasate, they make for a programme of music full  of fire and spontaneity.

Hall One 5pm

Online rates £12.50 £14.50 £19.50 | Saver Seats £9.50

CaraVaN – GypSy FOLK

End of the road...? priya Mitchell & Friends

pre-concert talk with Sam Lee

Telemann Gypsy Sonatadjango reinhardt ArrangementsSam Lee BalladsLigeti Old Hungarian Ballroom Dances   for flute, clarinet and stringsBrahms Piano Quartet No. 1   in G minor, Op. 25priya Mitchell violin with Sam LeeMaxim rysanov violaadrian Brendel, david Cohen cello Janne Thomsen flutephilippe Berrod clarinetNatacha Kudritskaya pianoMarianna Shirinyan piano

CLaSSICaL

The final stretch of the Gypsy trail takes us from Telemann’s astonishing encounters with Eastern European gypsy music – which he described as ‘full of barbaric beauty’ – to the Romany ballads of the inimitable, Mercury-nominated singer Sam Lee. In Django Reinhardt, we encounter the melancholic, syncopated swing of this legendary jazz guitarist who died all too young. Ligetiʼs riotous Old Hungarian Ballroom Dances and Brahmsʼs great First Piano Quartet with its ‘alla Zingarese’ finale bring the journey to a rousing conclusion.

Talk: St Pancas Room 6.45pm Performance: Hall One 7.45pm

Online rates £13.50 £15.50 £19.50 £24.50 | Saver Seats £9.50The pre-concert talk is FREE, but ticketed separately. Please call Box Office to reserve your seat.

Emma Sweeney

CaraVaN – GypSy FOLKFESTIVaL aNd day paSSES

Full Festival pass £50 Includes all the Caravan – Gypsy Folk events listed here.Limited availability

Saturday pass £30 Includes all the Saturday  events listed here. Limited availability  

Available only via Box Office. Excludes Saver Seats.

Maxim Rysanov Adrian Brendel

Alasdair BeatsonMarianna Shirinyan

Sam Lee

LIST

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Book tickets now:020 7520 1490LISTINGS60 April – May 2013

THIS WEEK'S FOCUS BACH UNWRAPPEDWEEK 71 – 4 MAY

See www.kingsplace.co.uk/bach/unwrapped for details

In this seventh week of Bach Unwrapped Florilegium are joined by soprano Katharine Fuge for Cantatas 82 & 199. Weʼre also delighted to welcome the Keller Quartet, whose ECM recording of The Art of Fugue has been a hit worldwide. Charles Owen promises to enchant with the Partitas, while Onyx Brass o� er a unique take on JS Bach.

SOPRANO KATHARINE FUGE SINGS BACH WITH FLORILEGIUM AND THE KELLER QUARTET TAKE ON THE ART OF FUGUE

Katharine Fuge

SATURDAY 27 APRIL

THE BASE

Trio Manouche JAZZ

One of the UK’s leading gypsy swing ensembles, performing inspired re-worked classics by Django Reinhardt alongside highly-acclaimed original material by band leader Simon Harris. Trio Manouche return to Kings Place hot o� the heels of their recent EP release and fresh from preparing for their forthcoming album and tour. Promises to be a fantastic musical evening!

Hall Two 10pm

Online Rates £12.50 | Savers 9.50

SUNDAY 28 APRIL

NOT SO SILENT MOVIES

Silent Movies with Live Improv BandDevised by composer/cellist Philip Sheppard

MUSIC / FILM / COMEDY

Top musicians perform spontaneous soundtracks to the world’s greatest silent � lms. Improvisation begins as the � lm starts to roll: none of the musicians will have watched the � lms in advance. The � lms will include those of comic heroes Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. The atmosphere will be relaxed and club-like… and there’ll be room for some very sophisticated mucking about. Sunday a£ ernoons will never be the same again!

Hall One 2.30pm

Online Rates £12.50 £14.50Savers Seats £9.50Not So Silent O� er: Ticket + Bloody Mary + Roast Lunch: All for just £29.50

OUT HEAR

Lund QuartetSimon Adcock piano, thereminJake Wittlin turntableRob Childs double bassSam Muscat drums

CONTEMPORARY

This hypnotising four-piece from Bristol have an unusual line up – with a turntable at the heart of the band. Their unique approach to music combines Nordic jazz aesthetics with the raw urban energy of the vibrant Bristol scene. There’s a careful balance between precision and improv, combining the power of a jazz piano trio with solo recordings of local musicians played back through two turntables, both straight and scratched.‘Lund Quartet explodes in your ear drums like a bouillabaisse of Harold Budd, Portico Quartet, Arve Henriksen and Portishead’ JazzWrap‘If this is jazz, it’s de-cluttered, minimal and atmospheric, with an Enoesque approach to melody.’ Clive Bell, Wire

Hall Two 4pm

Online Rates £9.50

LONDON CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

Red Priest Baroque CarnivalCLASSICAL

A wild carnival ride of Baroque music for recorder, violin, cello and harpsichord, arranged and performed by the inimitable Red Priest. They present some old favourites by Vivaldi (Concerto in A minor) and Bach (Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Toccata and Fugue) alongside dramatic new transcriptions of music by Handel –including selections from Messiah, Zadok the Priest, Rinaldo and Solomon – and by Royer and Forqueray.

Hall One 6.30pm

£14.50 £18.50 | Online Savers £9.50

Trio Manouche

Lund Quartet

ChamberStudio MasterclassFree tickets (subject to availability)Details at chamberstudio.org/calendarRed Priest

Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk  |  Prices shown are for online booking LISTINGS

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MoNday 29 aprIL

WordS oN MoNday

Steve BloomphotoVoice Lecture Series

SpoKEN Word

Join best-selling author and photographer Steve Bloom as he journeys through  the essence and diversity of Africa. From his early documentary work in 1970s apartheid South Africa, which led to his exile, to his recent monographs Living Africa and Trading Places, the Merchants of Nairobi, he shares with the audience this extraordinary continent: witness silverback mountain gorillas deep in  the rainforest; endangered black rhino drinking at a moonlit waterhole; remote cultures in Ethiopiaʼs Omo Valley; Mozambican migrant workers toiling in a  gold mine three kilometres below ground; and fishermen on the Niger River. In this exciting live theatre presentation, Steve captures the diversity of the continent on which he grew up, and to which he has felt compelled to return throughout his life.

Hall Two 7pm

online rates £9.50

WordS oN MoNday

rick Gekoski Book Launch: Lost, Stolen or Shredded SpoKEN Word

What happens when a world-famous work of genius goes missing? Rare book dealer, writer and broadcaster Rick Gekoski tells us the stories behind of  the greatest losses to artistic culture, including some works which never existed. But these stories touch on deeper questions such as the rights of authors over their work and the search for perfection. If you were among the 500,000 who listened to the ‘Lost, Stolen or Shredded’ series on BBC Radio 4, this is your chance to continue the conversation with the man himself.

St Pancras Room 7pm

online rates £9.50

MayWEdNESday 1 May

BaCH UNWrappEd

Keller Quartet: The art of FugueJS Bach The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080      (transc. for string quartet)

andrás Keller, Zsófia Környei violinZoltán Gál viola | Judit Szabó cello

CLaSSICaL

Bach’s final, unfinished work, The Art of Fugue, is the apotheosis of his contrapuntal ingenuity. Its instrumentation was never specified, and Hungary’s prize-winning Keller Quartet make a compelling case for the string quartet version. The group studied and lived with this arrangement for many years, their revelatory recording drawing international praise for its quality of ‘breathed musicʼand expressive freedom. András Keller has written that the piece is ‘a living tissue in which all the notes are alive and every moment makes a new declaration’.

Hall One 7.30pm

online rates £14.50 £19.50 £24.50 £29.50 | Savers £9.50

THUrSday 2 May

BaCH UNWrappEd

Charles owen: partitas 2JS Bach Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827Partita No. 5 in G, BWV 829Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830Charles owen piano

CLaSSICaL

The second of three recitals by gifted Bachian Charles Owen, who says: ‘The six Partitas represent the ultimate experience of Bachʼs dance-inspired keyboard suites. A wonderful richness, diversity and complexity are found throughout the set. The concept and ambition of the pieces are enormous, ranging from the slim-line, almost Vermeer-like B flat Partita to the epic final work in E minor, which is dominated by a powerful grief comparable  to the St Matthew Passion.’ In this recital this magnificent final Partita is prefaced by the elegant A minor with its irresistible Scherzo and the sunny G major with its fleet Passepied.

Hall One 7.30pm

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oFF WITH THEIr HEadS!

The Maydays present... ConfessionsCoMEdy

Award-winning, critically acclaimed improv comedians The Maydays and their awe- inspiring musician create this completely improvised show using only their wits and the audienceʼs confessions. Open the doorway into the secret lives of others and enjoy an evening rich in imagination, sharp  wit and unforgettable characters from some of the country’s finest improvisers.**** Chortle 

Hall Two 8pm

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FrIday 3 May

BaCH UNWrappEd

onyx Brass:Bach through BrassCLaSSICaL

Onyx Brass have been at the top of the international brass chamber music world for 20 years. Drawing from their CDs Fugue and Time to Time, Onyx pair their own arrangements of fugues by Bach and Shostakovich with new commissions. The programme is centred round the intimate and focused Well-Tempered Clavier fugues and their descendants by Shostakovich. It also takes in the world premiere of Jacques Cohenʼs Concertino, the Elizabethan Dance Suite by Anthony Holborne; and the majestic opening of Handel’s Ode on the Birthday of Queen Anne, Eternal Source of Light Divine, and contemporary pieces such as Joe Duddell’s Still Life, which itself harks back to the musical world of Bach. See website for full programme details.

Hall One 7.30pm

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FoLK UNIoN

Jez Lowe & The Bad penniesJez LoweKate Bramley fiddle, duet vocalsandy May pipes, whistles, pianodavid de la Haye bass, vocals

FoLK

Jez Lowe and The Bad Pennies have been playing their songs and music of Northern England for a decade and a half around the folk festivals, clubs and concert stages 

of the world. ‘Acoustic simplicity coupled with electric vitality’ was how they were described in their early days, and with half a dozen albums to their credit, along with solo albums by Jez and by other members of the group, their following has continued  to increase. Jez was recently described as ‘one of our best songwriters’ by BBC R2 and he has been nominated for the BBC Radio ‘Folksinger of the Year’.‘One of the hottest acts around’ Telegraph

Hall Two 8pm

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SaTUrday 4 May

BaCH UNWrappEd

Florilegium with Katharine Fuge: Cantatas 199 & 82JS Bach Sinfonia from Cantata ‘Der Herr     denket an uns’, BWV 196Trio Sonata in G for two flutes and      continuo, BWV 1039Cantata ‘Mein Herze schwimmt in Blut’,      BWV 199Concerto in F for two recorders and      harpsichord, BWV 1057Cantata ‘Ich habe genug’, BWV 82

Katharine Fuge sopranoFlorilegiumashley Solomon flute, recorder (director)

CLaSSICaL

Florilegium are joined by soprano Katharine Fuge in two of Bach’s sacred cantatas, from their award-winning recording. Demonstrating how Bach frequently re-arranged his music, this programme contains three works that exist in different forms. The G major Trio Sonata exists as a sonata for viola da gamba and obbligato harpsichord, the cantata ‘Ich habe genug’ also exists as a cantata for bass, and the concerto for two recorders and harpsichord is a transcription of Brandenburg Concerto No. 4. In this version the harpsichord plays the original violin part.

Hall One 7.30pm

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Steve Bloom’s Africa

Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies

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SUNDAY 5 MAY

LONDON CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

Wall� sch-York DuoBeethoven Sonata in F for cello and piano, Op. 5 No. 1Rebecca Clarke Sonata for cello and piano (1919)Schumann Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70Franck (arr. Delsart) Sonata in A for cello and piano

Raphael Wall� sch celloJohn York piano

CLASSICAL

The celebrated cello and piano duo perform the � rst of Beethoven’s � ve cello sonatas, the English-American composer Rebecca Clarke’s wonderful sonata from 1919, and Schumann’s expressive Adagio and Allegro from 1849 (originally called ‘Romance and Allegro’). The concert ends with César Franck’s violin sonata, composed in 1886 for the wedding of violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, and arranged for cello shortly a� er by Delsart, with the composer’s approval.

Hall One 6.30pm

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THURSDAY 9 MAY

MONOMEDIA

Thomas DolbyCONTEMPORARY

A� er 20 yearsʼ self-imposed exile from the mainstream music industry Thomas Dolby, electropop pioneer and current music director of independent brains trust

TED, has returned in the last two years with his acclaimed release A Map of the Floating City. Heʼs written, performed and produced with a whoʼs who of musicians including Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell and David Bowie, making this an unmissable opportunity to hear one of musicʼs true mavericks.

Hall One 7.30pm

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OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Hardeepisyourlove?Love and Romance and Heartbreak in Two Halves

COMEDY

Love. What is it? Does anyone know? Does anyone understand? And if anyone does, itʼs unlikely to be a 43-year-old hairy, fat, brown man from Glasgow. Yet this hasnʼt stopped Hardeep Singh Kohli from trying to grapple with love… and romance and of course heartbreak; in two halves; with an interval.

Hall Two 8pm

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THIS WEEK'S FOCUS JOHN METCALFEMONOMEDIA9 – 11 MAY

See feature pp39–41

Musician and arranger to Peter Gabriel and Blur, John Metcalfe promises a radical listening experience with his Monomedia. He'll perform in the dark, joined by Matthew Herbert's New Radiophonic Workshop. Plus electropop legend Thomas Dolby and Goldfrapp's Will Gregory with Moog Ensemble, featuring Portishead's Adrian Utley.

SWITCH OFF THE LIGHTS, BANISH MUSIC'S 'VISUAL EGO' AND LISTEN TO METCALFE'S INTENSE, STYLE-BUSTING LINE-UP

John Metcalfe

ChamberStudio MasterclassFree tickets (subject to availability)Details at chamberstudio.org/calendar

Raphael Wall� sch

Thomas Dolby

Hardeep Sing Kohli

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FrIday 10 May

MONOMEdIa

Will Gregory Moog Ensemble feat. adrian Utley (Portishead), Graham Fitkin, ruth Wall

CONTEMPOrary

First formed for the Bath festival commission The Service of Tim Henman, Will Gregory’s Moog Ensemble, featuring Graham Fitkin, Ruth Wall and Portishead’s Adrian Utley, make a rare London appearance performing electronic classics (with a nod to Wendy/Walter Carlos) and original compositions.

Hall One 7.30pm

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FOLK UNION

Orlando Seale and The SwellFOLK

Orlando Seale and the Swell are an eight-piece orchestral band with a full string section. Their euphoric live shows swing from epic to intimate, from melancholy to Highbury. They have been winning a growing following, playing across London (The Old Vic Tunnels, The Lexington, The ICA, The Union Chapel, The Tabernacle, O2) and at festivals over the summer (Sundance Film, Greenman, No Direction Home, Wilderness, Winterwell and How The Light Gets In).

Hall Two 8pm

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SaTUrday 11 May

MONOMEdIa

double Bill: John Metcalfe Band feat. Simon richmond (Imagined Village), ali Friend (red Snapper), Louisa Fuller (duke Quartet)

The New radiophonic WorkshopCONTEMPOrary

Having worked as arranger extraordinaire for everyone from Blur to George Michael and recently completing work as musical director and co-producer for Peter Gabrielʼs last two albums, John Metcalfe returns to Kings Place to perform intense, style-busting material from his new album. The other half of the show is devoted to the New Radiophonic Workshop, exploring the themes surrounding the multimodal experience and the altered perception of sound within (un)lit spaces. Led by two of the newest contributors to the Workshop, the evening will consist of a live improvisatory performance, playing with the sensory modalities of the audience, and transforming different sonic and spatial worlds through specially developed new musical instruments.

Hall One 7.30pm

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THE BaSE

Emilia MårtenssonEmilia Martensson vocalsBarry Green pianoSam Lasserson bassadriano adewale percussionwith special guest  alice Zawadzki violin, vocals

JaZZ

For sure, the jazz vocal legends inform Emilia’s approach, yet it is the Swedish folk songs of her country that underpin 

who she is. Her pure, clear-toned intimate voice – at times deeply soulful, at others ethereal – blurs the lines between folk and jazz. Tonight she will be performing songs from her debut album and so it goes… as well as new original material all written and arranged for this new exciting group featuring Barry Green on piano, Sam Lasserson on bass, Adriano Adewale on percussion and Alice Zawadzki on violin and vocals. 

Hall Two 8pm

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SUNday 12 May

OUT HEar

Ensemble amorpha and Special Guests: EmulsionLuke Styles Chasing The Nosealasdair Nicholson The Twittering MachineKaija Saariaho Oi Kuu Stockhausen Aus den sieben TagenTrish Clowes Small Pieces of WoodChris Mayo new work

Ensemble amorphaEilidh Gillespie fluteTom Lessels clarinetsLauren Weavers oboeLouise McMonagle celloKira doherty hornwith Iain Ballamy saxophoneChris Montague guitarJames Maddren drumsCalum Gourlay double bass

CONTEMPOrary

Emulsion, a collision and fusion of contemporary classical and jazz music, presented, composed and conceived by Ensemble Amorpha, Tangent, Food and 

Fringe Magnetic. This second Emulsion places the focus firmly on existing contemporary works which have influenced the approach to improvisation and composition in the new works. Emulsion presents a new experience and different way to listen to music with classical and jazz roots, showing how improvisation and contemporary music can exist in the same space and/or interact with each other.

Hall Two 4pm

Online rates £9.50

LONdON CHaMBEr MUSIC SErIES

russian Virtuosi of EuropeKreisler (arr. Zhislin) La petite marche viennoiseVivaldi Concerto Grosso in D minor   for two violins, cello and strings, RV565Schulhoff String Sextet (orig. vrs. 1924)JS Bach Concerto in D   for three violins, BWV1064RMozart Divertimento in B flat, K137Shostakovich Prelude and Scherzo, Op. 11 

CLaSSICaL

The Russian Virtuosi, led by Yuri Zhislin, comprises some of the best Russian string players in London. Here they present  a varied programme, including works by Bach and Vivaldi, and the sextet by the acclaimed Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff

Hall One 6.30pm

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Will Gregory

Orlando Seale

Emilia Mårtensson

ChamberStudio MasterclassFree tickets (subject to availability)details at chamberstudio.org/calendar

Ensemble Amorpha

Russian Virtuosi of Europe

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MONDAY 13 MAY

WORDS ON MONDAY

Rock’n’Roll Politics with Steve RichardsSPOKEN WORD

Award-winning political columnist, author and broadcaster Steve Richards takes you behind the scenes of British politics to explore the dramas and the characters. What does Cameron really think of Clegg? Can Ed Miliband win an election? Get the answers and learn much, much more in this evening of live politics.

Hall One 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

WORDS ON MONDAY

Lionel Shriver Book Launch: Big Brotherin conversation with Claire Armitstead

SPOKEN WORD

As well as being a widely published journalist, Lionel Shriver is the author of 10 novels, including New York Times bestsellers So Much for That (a � nalist for the 2010 National Book Award and the Wellcome Trust Book Prize) and The Post-Birthday World (also Entertainment Weekly’s 2007 Book of the Year). Winner of the 2005 Orange prize, the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin was adapted into a feature � lm by Lynne Ramsay in 2011. Shriverʼs 11th novel, Big Brother, is published in May 2013. Her work has been translated into 28 languages.

Hall Two 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

WEDNESDAY 15 MAY

BACH UNWRAPPED

The Sixteen: Motets and Masses – 1JS Bach Motet ‘Komm, Jesu, komm!’, BWV 229Mass in G, BWV 236Motet ‘Fürchte dich nicht’, BWV 228Mass in A, BWV 234

The SixteenHarry Christophers conductor

CLASSICAL

The Sixteen return to Kings Place to present three concerts celebrating Bach’s motets and Lutheran Masses and exploring his self-borrowings within these works. The other two concerts are on May 16 and 18.

Hall One 7.30pm

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THURSDAY 16 MAY

BACH UNWRAPPED

The Sixteen: Motets and Masses – 2JS Bach Motet ‘Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden’, BWV 230Mass in G minor, BWV 235Motet ‘Der Geist hil¤ unser Schwachheit auf’, BWV 226Mass in F, BWV 233

The SixteenHarry Christophers conductor

CLASSICAL

The second of three concerts in which The Sixteen celebrate Bach’s motets and Lutheran Masses and explore his self-borrowings within these works.

Hall One 7.30pm

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OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

The School of NightCOMEDY

What would you like to see tonight? Comedy, tragedy or history? The team behind the smash-hit improvised musical The Showstoppers presents a unique literary improv show that sees a new Shakespearean play created from scratch with suggestions from the audience. In the 16th century, The School of Night was an underground sect of artists, thinkers, scientists and spies who, some scholars

May 2013

THIS WEEK'S FOCUS BACH UNWRAPPEDWEEK 815 – 23 MAY

See www.kingsplace.co.uk/bach/unwrapped for details

A fabulous mix of styles in this eighth week of Bach Unwrapped, featuring The Sixteen in three programmes showcasing the composerʼs most intricate and ingenious motets, The Swingles in a programme of the works that made them famous, including Air on a G string, and the Respectable Grooveʼs inimitable blend of jazz and Bach.

THREE NIGHTS OF MASSES AND MOTETS FROM THE SIXTEEN, PLUS THE SWINGLE SINGERS AND THE RESPECTABLE GROOVE

The Sixteen

Lionel Shriver

The School of Night

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believe, secretly wrote Shakespeare’s plays. Re-imagined for the 21st century by the late theatrical maverick Ken Campbell,  this team of Bardic improvisers create a one-off literary masterpiece in this hilarious Spirit of the Fringe Award-winning show.‘Uproarious, intelligent, laugh-a-minute fare’ 4* The Daily Telegraph 

Hall Two 8pm

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FRIday 17 May

BaCH UNWRaPPEd

Orchestra of the age of Enlightenment: Cantatas & Brandenburgs – 3JS Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3   in G, BWV 1048Cantata ‘Schau, lieber Gott,   wie meine Feind’, BWV 153Brandenburg Concerto No. 6   in B flat, BWV 1051Cantata ‘Gottes Zeit ist   die allerbeste Zeit’, BWV 106

Soloists of the OaE Choir of the EnlightenmentJohn Butt director

CLaSSICaL

The final instalment of the OAE’s Bach journey includes two more of the ever-fresh Brandenburg Concertos, both wonderful vehicles for the OAE soloists. The evening concludes with Cantata No. 106, a serenely beautiful piece, which contrasts with the lively and spiky concertos.

Hall One 7.30pm

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FOLK UNION

Old Man LuedeckeFOLK

Old Man Luedecke is one of Canada’s best- loved and most intriguing roots singer-songwriters. His memorable melodies, poetic sense and easy charisma appeal to anyone searching for new growth from old roots. The Nova Scotianʼs latest album, Tender Is The Night, goes beyond his beloved banjo-driven folk tunes. This is an artist with a recognisable voice honing his cunning lyrical flair – tenderly pushing the boundaries of his storytelling with a unique mix of folk, bluegrass and pop hooks.‘An original musical singularity to be savoured and sharedʼ Vancouver Folk Fest

Hall Two 8pm

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SaTURday 18 May

BaCH UNWRaPPEd

Study day: Sacred Worksdr Stephen Rose (Royal Holloway, UOL) dr Bettina Varwig (King’s College, London)

INTERaCT CLaSSICaL

I: The Church Cantata in Baroque LeipzigTwo illustrated presentations by two Bach specialists, exploring the 18th-century contexts of Bach’s sacred music. The first presentation traces how Bach and his contemporaries modelled their church cantatas on Baroque operas. The second reconstructs the experiences of church- goers who listened to Bach’s cantatas in Leipzig. Far from being accepted in his lifetime as masterworks, Bach’s sacred compositions often aroused criticism from their contemporary audiences. 

II: Bach and the ChoraleThe hymn tunes known as chorales, including Bach’s sacred cantatas, are the cornerstone of Lutheran music. With sung demonstrations by students from Royal Holloway, Stephen Rose explores the riches of the chorale tradition. Many of these melodies originated as protest songs in the religious upheavals of the 16th century. Two centuries later, they provided Bach with inspiration for his church cantatas and organ works, as well as stimulating his harmonic ingenuity.

St Pancras Room 10.30am–4.30pm

Online Rates £39.50Includes tea & coffee during break

BaCH UNWRaPPEd

OaE: Family ConcertCLaSSICaL

A lively and fun family concert from the OAE. Perfect for those aged 7–11 and their families, this is an entertaining musical start to your weekend! 

Hall Two 11.30am | Lasts ~ 60 mins

Online Rates £4.50 Child; £6.50 adultFamily Tickets (available from Box Office) £16.50 Family of 4 (at least 1 adult)£19.50 Family of 5 (at least 1 adult)

BaCH UNWRaPPEd

The Sixteen: Motets and CantatasMotet ‘Singet dem Herrn    ein neues Lied’, BWV 225Cantata ‘Herr, deine Augen sehen    nach dem Glauben’, BWV 102Motet ‘Jesu, meine Freude’, BWV 227Cantata ‘Gott der Herr ist Sonn    und Schild’, BWV 79

The SixteenHarry Christophers conductor

CLaSSICaL

The third and final concert in a series of three in which The Sixteen celebrate Bach’s motets and Lutheran Masses and explore his self-borrowings within these works.

Hall One 7.30pm

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THE BaSE BaCH UNWRaPPEd

Respectable Groove: Prelude and Groovedavid Gordon harpsichordEvelyn Nallen recorderOli Hayhurst double bassTom Hooper drums

JaZZ CLaSSICaL

Respectable Groove’s unique blend of Baroque and jazz music has won over critics from both the jazz and early music press, notably for their acclaimed version of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. The group 

have made paraphrases of some of Bach’s preludes, retaining all the structural features and changing all other aspects, to create new pieces. Interspersed with these are improvised fugues (suggestions from the audience are welcomed) and radical re-workings of worts by JS Bach and his family, including a piece based on CPE Bach’s variations on La Folia.

Hall Two 8pm

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SUNday 19 May

OUT HEaR

Bruce Brubaker: Plugged/UnpluggedPost-minimalist piano music

Philip Glass Mad RushNico Muhly Drones & Piano*Philip Glass Etudes 4 & 5 (1994 version)Missy Mazzoli Orizzonte (‘Horizon’)Bruce Brubaker Stolen Symphonies   live piano improvisation with music by     T. Perich, L. Inge and F. Tristano alvin Curran Hope Street Tunnel Blues III*  * UK premiere

Bruce Brubaker piano

CONTEMPORaRy

In a sense an artefact of the Industrial Revolution, the concert grand piano is at the centre of a huge range of today’s new music – music for the acoustic piano alone,  and music that combines the familiar sound of the piano with new electronically- produced sounds. Postmodern art often juxtaposes seemingly disparate elements. This programme explores the newest frictions and beauties that result from such disparity. In a ‘classic’ such as Philip Glass’s Mad Rush, or in the first UK hearing of Nico Muhly’s Drones & Piano, the piano is a vital musical participant. Bruce Brubaker is a leader in this new world of musicking, spanning ‘classical’ and ‘pop’ to create something with very wide appeal.

Hall Two 4pm

Online Rates £9.50

 May 2013

Old Man Luedecke

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

ChamberStudio MasterclassFree tickets (subject to availability)details at chamberstudio.org/calendar

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MONDAY 20 MAY

WORDS ON MONDAY

Rimbaud and Verlaine in London Poet in the City presents...

David Harsent, Jack Johns, Sam Swainsbury and Lucy Tregear

SPOKEN WORD

In 1872 two young French poets eloped together to London in one of the most notorious love a� airs in literary history. Living at No. 8 Royal College St in Camden, fuelled by poetry and absinthe, they lived intensely, quarrelled explosively, and wrote some of the greatest poetry in French. Arthur Rimbaud probably wrote both Illuminations and Saison en Enfer here, before quitting writing poetry forever. Becoming an explorer in Africa, he died at only 37. Paul Verlaine was eventually rehabilitated as a man of letters in France, living out his last years on Parisʼs Le� Bank. Featuring a specially commissioned short � lm written by screen writer and poet David Harsent, and live readings of poetry in French and English translation.

Hall One 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

WORDS ON MONDAY

Intelligence Revealed Charles Cumming and Rhodri Je� reys-Jones

SPOKEN WORD

Former MI6 recruit-turned-novelist Charles Cumming and Rhodri Je� reys-Jones, author of the � rst in-depth story of the Anglo-American intelligence relationship, from the deceits of WW1 to the mendacities of 9/11, talk about the myths and realities surrounding the secret services.

Hall Two 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

THURSDAY 23 MAY

BACH UNWRAPPED

The Swingle SingersCLASSICAL CONTEMPORARY

It is 50 years since Ward Swingle and a group of Paris-based session singers � rst experimented with translating Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier into a swing feel. Without changing a note of the original scores, they added jazz scat and a rhythm section to intricate melody lines never before attempted by the human voice. The result was the era-de� ning sound

of ‘Swingle Singing’. Their 1963 debut LP Jazz Sébastien Bach took them to No. 1 in the charts and won multiple Grammys. Successive generations have expanded the repertoire to include jazz, pop, rock and Latin music, via collaborations with artists as diverse Lucianoas Berio and Jamie Cullum. Todayʼs line-up are an a cappella super-group complete with a � ve-octave range and their own vocal rhythm section, but they have always kept Bach’s music close to their hearts. As part of their golden-anniversary celebrations, the group present a special programme, featuring some of their favourite preludes, fugues and airs by the German master.

Hall One 7.30pm; 9pm (repeat)Lasts 60 mins; requires separate tickets.

Online Rates £19.50 £24.50 £29.50 £39.50 | Savers £9.50

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

WitTank & Friends:COMEDY

Eminently silly sketch powerhouse WitTank present an evening of gleefully cra� ed, delicious new material which may or may not make it into their Edinburgh show. They will be joined by some of the most exciting comic talent around.‘Excellent...inspired and resolutely da� ʼ The Independent

Hall Two 8pm

Online Rates £12.50 | Savers 9.50

FRIDAY 24 MAY

FOLK UNION

The KennedysFOLK

The Kennedys are husband and wife team Pete and Maura Kennedy from New York City. They are one of America’s top musical duos and have a number of best-selling CDs to their name in a career that stretches back 20 years. Recently they have attracted great critical acclaim as Musical Directors of Americana legend Nanci Gri£ th and they have toured with Nanci many times, including several trips to the UK. They also produced her latest CD, Intersections. Pete is widely acknowledged as one of America’s leading guitarists and regularly performs with Emmylou Harris and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Expect an evening of wonderfully melodic songs, brilliantly sung and played by two outstanding and charismatic musicians.

Hall Two 8pm

Online Rates £12.50 | Savers 9.50

May 2013

THIS WEEK'S FOCUS THE TIME AND THE PLACECULTURE AND IDENTITY IN TODAY'S EUROPE

30 MAY – 1 JUNE

See Contemporary Highlights p10

Music promoters Serious, in response to a conference at Kings Place held by the Humanities in the European Research Area, present a fascinating series exploring distinctive musical identities across Europe, from Soweto Kinch in the UK, Italian jazz Sami singer Marie Boine and to the vibrant transnational gypsy heritage in Budapest Bár.

THE MUSIC OF EUROPE, FROM MEDIEVAL DENMARK TO A SOWETO KINCH RAP, THE ICONIC MARIE BOINE TO BUDAPEST BÁR

Mari Boine

Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk  |  Prices shown are for online booking LISTINGS

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SaTurday 25 May

THE BaSE IN HaLL ONE

Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone & London Vocal ProjectPre-concert talk with Pete Churchill

Kenny Wheeler flugelhorn, composerNorma Winstone vocalsLondon Vocal Project dir. Pete Churchillwith Nikki Iles pianoMark Lockheart saxophonesSteve Watts double bassMartin France drums

JaZZ

Kenny Wheeler and Norma Winstone have been at the forefront of European jazz scene for the last five decades, admired and revered by all generations of musicians and fans. In this rare performance of Mirrors, poems by Stevie Smith, Lewis Carroll and WB Yeats set to music composed by Kenny Wheeler, they are joined by the London Vocal Project, a 24-piece choir directed by the inimitable Pete Churchill. Featuring celebrated British jazz musicians (including saxophonist Mark Lockheart, pianist Nikki Iles, bassist Steve Watts and drummer Martin France), Mirrors is vast in its conception and world class in its execution. Not to be missed!

Pre-concert Talk – St Pancras Room 7pm Performance – Hall One 8pm

Online rates £13.50 £15.50 £19.50 £24.50 | Savers £9.50

WEdNESday 29 May

THE GuardIaN BOOK CLuB

Barbara Kingsolverin conversation with John Mullan

SPOKEN WOrd

Barbara Kingsolver joins John Mullan for a discussion of her 1998 bestselling novel, The Poisonwood Bible. In 1959, evangelical Baptist Nathan Price moves with his wife and four daughters from Georgia, USA, to the Belgian Congo. But with their Betty Crocker cake mixes, Band-aids and rigid American faith the family are ill-equipped for their disastrous mission into the wilderness. Narrated by the five women, the novel chronicles three decades of political turmoil in post-colonial Africa.Kingsolver is the author of 13 books of fiction, poetry and non-fiction, including The Bean Trees and The Lacuna, which won the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction.

Hall Two 7.30pm

Online rates £9.50

THurSday 30 May

THE TIME aNd THE PLaCE

Budapest Bár with special guests

WOrLd

Inspired by the evocative and eccentric Budapest café culture of the 1920s and 30s, world-class gypsy band Budapest Bár are acclaimed for their brilliant and imaginative re-invention of chanson, jazz, Brazilian music, film themes and the gypsy tradition. Led by virtuoso violinist Robert Farkas, the band includes cimbalom player Mihály Farkas, accordionist/pianist Károly Ökrös and some very special international guests.‘Recommended to anyone from the age of 0 to 100’ Marie Claire

Hall One 8pm

Online rates £16.50 £19.50 £24.50Saver Seats £9.50

FrIday 31 May

THE TIME aNd THE PLaCE

Soweto Kinch: urban LandscapeJaZZ

Saxophonist, composer, master of free style rapping, activist and collaborator with Goldie, Jonzi D and Ms Dynamite, Soweto Kinch brings his own take on urban culture to ‘The Time and the Placeʼ, following the release of a brand-new CD The Legend of Mike Smith – ‘a real tour de forceʼ said The Guardian. Perhaps the only artist in either jazz or hip hop to hold an Oxford degree in modern history, Soweto will bring a distinctive insight to themes being explored during this season, combining his skills as MC and spoken word artist with headlong saxophone improv, steeped in the jazz traditions.

Hall One 8pm

Online rates £16.50 £19.50 £24.50Saver Seats £9.50

FOLK uNION THE TIME aNd THE PLaCE

Poul Høxbro & Miriam andersén:Tones and Tales from distant Times

+ Fraser FifieldFOLK

In this double bill, Danish early music specialists Poul Høxbro and Miriam Andersén trace a journey from the far north of Europe to the Iberian peninsula, exploring a medieval landscape that travels from the Viking myths and sagas to a music that veers from sacred to profane, and  re-creating instruments such as the lyre, bone flutes and reed pipes to evoke a swaying bridge between heaven and earth. A multi- instrumentalist and composer with a distinctly original sound, Fraser Fifield explores Scottish and Celtic traditions  through pipes and whistles, in music that is hauntingly evocative of a living tradition. His distillation of influences from such diverse sources as the Highland bagpipe tradition, jazz saxophone, Bulgarian kaval and others, has led to a growing catalogue of critically acclaimed recordings.

Hall Two 8pm

Online rates £12.50 | Savers 9.50

SaTurday 1 JuNE

THE TIME aNd THE PLaCE

Mari BoineWOrLd

Mari Boine’s extraordinary voice is a hypnotic and moving expression of the Sami people of the far north of Norway, from the heart of a northern landscape with complex and deep religious and shamanistic roots. An iconic figure in her culture, she has always looked outwards, working with Norwegian innovators Jan Garbarek and Bugge Wesseltoft, and 

creating powerful music with African singers and instrumentalists. The pristine clarity of her voice contrasts with an earthy, organic quality that runs throughout her music – and she is a songwriter of real distinction. Her artistry remains the most groundbreaking on the Norwegian music scene.

Hall One 8pm

Online rates £16.50 £19.50 £24.50Saver Seats £9.50

THE BaSE THE TIME aNd THE PLaCE

Gianluigi Trovesi and Gianni CosciaJaZZ

Making a welcome return to Kings Place, the clarinet/accordion duo of Trovesi and Coscia exudes Mediterranean warmth. With music that grows from northern Italian folk traditions, and draws on European composers from Kurt Weill to Offenbach, infused with hints of tango, mazurka, klezmer – this promises to be an evening by turns yearning, humorous, touchingly nostalgic, poetic, sentimental and joyful.‘Wit, charm, and elegant vim and pep.ʼ London Jazz

Hall Two 8pm

Online rates £14.50 | Savers 9.50

SuNday 2 JuNE

OuT HEar

Platform33 MovesTamarin Norwood Musica Practica  (performed by anthony Weeden)Javier de Frutos Studies for C   (performed by Candoco dance Co.)Charlotte Bray Three Rhapsodies   and Verre de Venise   (performed by Benyounes Quartet)Medley    (performed by Hackney Colliery Band)dJ Ed-Word

CONTEMPOrary

Platform33 Moves presents exceptional artists from different genres side by side. This event features contemporary dance, performance art, a colliery band, DJs and contemporary classical music. Each act has 33 minutes to perform, and share itsz  inspiration and personal story. An approach that offers a rare insight into the people behind the artistic product. 

Hall Two 4pm

Online rates £9.50

 May – June 2013

Soweto Kinch

Gianluigi Trovesi and Gianni Coscia

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MONDAY 3 JUNE

WORDS ON MONDAY

The Great Men/Women Divide: Myths and Realities with Lewis Wolpert, Alison Wolf and other guests

SPOKEN WORD

‘Why Can’t a Woman be More Like a Man?’ asks Lewis Wolpert. What are the real di� erences between men and women and how do we deal with them in the 21st century? A biologist, an economist, feminists and other specialists come together to cast new light on an old debate. Biologist Wolpert argues that men are fundamentally modi� ed females, so why, he asks, can’t a man be more like a woman? Economist Alison Wolf challenges long-held assumptions about female achievement and sexual inequalities. The real division, she suggests, may not be between men and women, but rather within the ‘sisterhood’ of working women.

Hall One 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

WORDS ON MONDAY

Rebecca Solnit Book Launch: The Faraway NearbySPOKEN WORD

Solnit tells how she was bequeathed 100 lb of ripening apricots, which lay on her bedroom floor – an emergency to be dealt with. The fruit came from a neglected tree that her mother, gradually succumbing to memory loss, could no longer tend to. From this unexpected inheritance came stories.

As she looks back on her year of apricots and emergencies, Solnit interweaves the threads of her life with the lives of others: explorers and artists, the Marquis de Sade and Mary Shelley, the living and the dead. Meshed together, these stories create a map that charts the boundaries and territories of storytelling, exploring the spaces we share and how they form us.

Hall One 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

WEDNESDAY 5 JUNE

SONGLINES ENCOUNTERS

Transkaukazja: Vołosi & 33aThe Carpathians meet the Caucasus

CONTEMPORARY WORLD

A ground-breaking encounter between leading Polish folk band Vołosi and 33a, Georgia’s most active world music group, led by Niaz Diasamidze. Vołosi is a � ddle-led quintet, including musicians from the Carpathaian mountains. 33a features Niaz on panduri (the Georgian lute), guitars and percussion – so expect an unusual evening of virtuoso strings. The two bands � rst played together in Tbilisi in 2011 and are now taking this trans-Caucasian meeting on a European tour.

Hall Two 7.15pm | Standing show

Online Rates £14.50 | Savers £9.50£8.50 if booked with HOPA! via Box O¡ ce

SONGLINES ENCOUNTERS

HOPA!: She’Koyokh, Paprika & Yurodny Balkan-flavoured triple bill

CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Tonightʼs musicians are all specialists in Balkan styles, giving this gig a � ery, seductive flavour. Sophisticated, exuberant and original, She’Koyokh are Britainʼs best Balkan and klezmer band with a formidable reputation for party-making. Paprikaʼs name suggests a spicy mix, and thatʼs just what they o� er – ‘a wild ride, fast, furious, exhausting and exhilaratingʼ (Adelaide Festival). Led by saxophonist Nick Roth, award-winning Yurodny is ʼtriumphant, vibrant and irresistibleʼ (The Irish Times), featuring Oleg Ponomarev, master of the Russian gypsy violin. Each band will play their own set as the evening culminates in an extraordinary collaboration of over 20 virtuoso musicians.

Hall One 8.30pm

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THIS WEEK'S FOCUS SONGLINES ENCOUNTERS FESTIVALCURATED BY SONGLINES MAGAZINE & IKON ARTS MANAGEMENT

5 – 8 JUNE

See feature pp48–49

Songlines Encounters has established itself in the Kings Place diary as a vibrant festival of exotic musical concoctions and unique collaborations. This year is no exception, with favourites like Trio Mali Latino and She Koyokh, plus new names including Baladi Blues Ensemble, Sarah Savoy, Malick Pathé Sow & Bao Sissoko.

OMAR PUENTE JAMS WITH TRIO MALI LATINO, CUBA MEETS BANGLADESH IN LOKKHI TERRA, JOHN WILLIAMS PLAYS WITH DUO SABÎL

Omar Puente

Vołosi

Yurodny

Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk  |  Prices shown are for online booking LISTINGSO

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ThurSday 6 JuNe

SONGLINeS eNCOuNTerS

Baladi Blues ensemble + Sarah Savoy & the FrancadiansLet the good times roll – in Cairo and Louisiana

CONTeMPOrary WOrLd

Old-time Cairo comes to Kings Place with the Baladi Blues Ensemble. Led by dynamic percussionist Guy Schalom, veteran musicians Ahmed El Saidi (saxophone) and Sheik Taha (quarter-tone accordion) play urban Egyptian folk – from soulful love songs (sung by guest vocalist Abdul Salam Kheir) to foot-tapping instrumentals. Their gorgeous baladi (‘rural’/‘local’) music comes from the countryside but it became the traditional soundtrack of urban Cairo as people flocked to the city to work. Louisiana singer/guitarist Sarah Savoy is from one  of the great families of Cajun music. Daughter of accordionist Marc and singer Ann Savoy, she is herself a great musician. With her French band the Francadians, she takes us back to the early roots of Zydeco music and the honky-tonk-inspired Cajun songs of the 40s and 50s, interspersed with her own material. David Rolland plays guitar and accordions hand-crafted in the family workshop.

Hall One 7.30pm

Online rates £14.50 £17.50 £19.50 £24.50 | Savers £9.50

FrIday 7 JuNe

SONGLINeS eNCOuNTerS

Malick Pathé Sow & Bao Sissoko + duo Sabîl & John WilliamsThe universality of plucked strings

CONTeMPOrary WOrLd

Senegalese Sow and Sissoko are true masters of their traditional music. Their album Aduna was one of the African music highlights of last year. ‘They create an exquisite, trance-like set that is remarkable for Sowʼs warm, soulful vocals and for the interaction of the two playersʼ (The Guardian). Vocalist Malick Pathé Sow also plays the hoddu (desert lute), while Bao Sissoko is a virtuoso on the 21-string West African kora. The contrasting textures of the two instruments promise a special magic in the fine acoustic of Hall One.  Two of the best musicians playing Arabic 

music today, Palestinian oud player Ahmad Al Khatib and percussionist Youssef Hbeisch together form the spectacular Duo Sabîl. John Williams is, of course, one of Britainʼs best-loved classical guitarists. He has always been interested in the wider  repertoire through various collaborations. ‘Their playing struck me as soon as I heard it,ʼ he says. ‘It is a fantastic collaboration and Iʼm thrilled to be working with them, as part of a worldwide universality of plucked stringsʼ.

Hall One 7.30pm

Online rates £14.50 £17.50 £19.50 £24.50 | Savers £9.50

SaTurday 8 JuNe

SONGLINeS eNCOuNTerS

Lokkhi Terra + alex Wilson’s Trio Mali Latino with Omar Puente Cuba meets West africa meets Bangladesh

Pre-concert talk with Simon Broughton joined by alex Wilson & Kishon Khan

CONTeMPOrary WOrLd

Lokkhi Terra are one of Londonʼs best-kept  secrets – and probably the worldʼs best Afrobeat-Cuban-Bangladeshi group. The man behind it all is Bangladeshi-born Kishon Khan with formidable Latin piano skills learnt in Cuba. He has assembled a superb band, ‘acknowledged as an international force to be reckoned withʼ (Songlines). Another fine Latin jazz pianist, British-born Alex Wilson, is behind the Trio Mali Latino. Steeped in the Afro-Cuban/

Caribbean tradition, Alex presents a touring band drawn from the superb album Mali Latino. Expect jazz and Latin rhythms stripped back to African roots – yet fresh, vibrant and definitely modern. Wilson is joined by Malian-born Ahmed Fofana (vocals, guitar, balafon, ngoni, djembe) and Venezuelan-born Edwin Sanz (percussion). The trio also welcome a very special guest – virtuoso violinist, Omar Puente – the man ‘with a heart that beats with a Cuban rhythmʼ.  Wilson and Khan talk to Simon Broughton about the power of Cuban music to fuse with other sounds from Africa and Asia. 

Talk – St Pancras Room 6pm Performance – Hall One 7.30pm

Online rates £14.50 £17.50 £19.50 £24.50 | Savers £9.50The pre-concert talk is free, but requires separate tickets. To book, please contact Box Office.

SuNday 9 JuNe

NOT SO SILeNT MOVIeS

Silent Movies with Live Improv Banddevised by composer/cellist Philip Sheppard

MuSIC / FILM / COMedy

Top musicians perform spontaneous soundtracks to the world’s greatest silent films. Improvisation begins as the film starts to roll: none of the musicians will have watched the films in advance. The films will include those of comic heroes Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. The atmosphere will be relaxed and club-like… and there’ll be room for some very 

sophisticated mucking about. Sunday afternoons will never be the same again!

Hall One 2.30pm

Online rates £12.50 £14.50Savers Seats £9.50

Not So Silent Offer: Ticket + Bloody Mary + Roast Lunch: All for just £29.50

OuT hear

//Backstep//Chris Lewis Beat/Flow for six rap artistsRecycled Music for live electronics (Monome)//Backstep// for eight voices and beatboxerBellatrix Sweet Stuff (perf. by Backstep)+ pieces written and performed by the      Backstep groupBackstep feat. BellatrixChris Lewisrap Sextet

CONTeMPOrary

The //Backstep// project rejects any distinction between ‘popular’ and ‘classical’ music, uniting artists and fusing styles from wide-ranging backgrounds and disciplines. Tonight they are joined by World Champion beatboxer Bellatrix to perform the original Backstep piece for eight voices and beatboxer, bringing together singers from the worlds of jazz, folk, opera, soul and electronica. A newly formed sextet of rap artists perform the new composition Beat/Flow, and //Backstep// composer Chris Lewis provides a set of electro-acoustic music on Monome.

Hall Two 4pm

Online rates £9.50

Don’t miss FREE foyer concerts throughout the festival programmed in partnership with the Jewish Music Institute

TICKeT OFFerS*Festival Pass £50The Festival Pass gives you entrance to all concerts! Only available by calling the Box Office.

Plus receive a year’s subscription to Songlines Digital (usually £19.75). 

Songlines Subscriber OfferSubscribers to Songlines magazine save 25% on tickets and 10% on Festival Pass, conditions apply.  To subscribe call 020 7371 2777  or visit www.songlines.co.uk

* Conditions apply. Full details at  kingsplace.co.uk/songlines-offers

Baladi Blues Ensemble

Sarah Savoy and The Francadians

Malick Pathé Sow & Bao Sissoko

Lokkhi Terra

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MONDAY 10 JUNE

WORDS ON MONDAY

Caught in the web: how free are we online?Index on Censorship presents…

SPOKEN WORD

The internet: free open space, wild wild west, or totalitarian state? However you view the web, in today’s world it brings both opportunities for and threats to free expression. Many of us use the internet every day, and yet our rights as ‘netizens’ remain largely unde� ned. And it’s not only states like Iran or China who are limiting internet freedom – the British government’s proposals for a ‘snooper’s charter’ (aka the Communications Data Bill) threaten to monitor the entire population. So what are the key issues? And are there any solutions? Join our panel for a discussion on who really controls free expression online.

Hall One 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

WORDS ON MONDAY

Michelle de Kretser Book Launch: Questions of TravelSPOKEN WORD

Award-winning novelist Michelle de Kretser (The Rose Grower, The Hamilton Case, The Lost Dog) discusses travel, work and modern dreams. Her new novel Questions of Travel has an enthralling array of people, places and stories, from Laura who publishes travel guides and Ravi who dreams of being a tourist to Hana, an Ethiopian woman determined to reinvent herself.

Hall Two 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

WEDNESDAY 12 JUNE

BACH UNWRAPPED

Florilegium: A Musical O� eringOrgan Trio Sonatas in E minor, BWV 526 (orig. in C minor) in D minor, BWV 527 (orig. in D minor) in G, BWV 525 (orig. in E flat) (all three arr. Florilegium)Musical O� ering, BWV 1079

FlorilegiumBojan Cicic violin

Jennifer Morsches celloTerence Charlston harpsichordAshley Solomon flute; director

CLASSICAL

This programme presents a complete version of Bach’s grand Musical O� ering, which he dedicated to Frederick the Great, following their famous 1747 meeting in Potsdam. As well as the three- and six-part ricercars for solo keyboard, Florilegium perform all of the canons as well as the outstanding trio sonata. In addition, they include their own arrangements of three of Bach’s organ trio sonatas.

Hall One 7.30pm

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JAZZ ON WEDNESDAY

Django Bates’ BelovèdDjango Bates pianoPetter Eldh double bassPeter Bruun drums

JAZZ

‘Bird Livesʼ was the prophetic gra¢ to seen on a NY wall soon a¥ er Charlie Parkerʼs death and it continues to testify to the remarkable time-capsule from the future that was bebop. In tonight’s gig Belovèd present the compositions of Parker and Bates from their new album Con� rmation. Django’s originals stand in their own right but also serve to recontextualise Parker’s lines, using the same rhythmic and harmonic signature that is brought to bear in his astonishing re-workings of ‘Donna Leeʼ, ‘Con� rmationʼ, et al.‘Bates now has one of jazzʼs great piano trios on his hands. His restless questing a¥ er new experiences probably wonʼt keep it there for long.ʼ 5* The Guardian

Hall Two 8pm

Online Rates £14.50 | Savers £9.50

THIS WEEK'S FOCUS BACH UNWRAPPEDWEEK 912 – 16 JUNE

See www.kingsplace.co.uk/bach-unwrapped

Crack period-instrument group Florilegium perform their own arrangements from Bach’s magni� cent Musical O� ering, while the Academy of St Martin bring modern instruments to his spectacular secular cantatas featuring Carolyn Sampson. Kenneth Hamilton and Jeª rey Siegel explore Bach’s influence on the great pianist-composers.

A MUSICAL OFFERING FROM FLORILEGIUM, AND CAROLYN SAMPSON SINGS WITH THE ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS

Florilegium

Michelle de Kretser

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ThurSday 13 JuNe

BaCh uNWraPPed

Kenneth hamilton: 250 years of BachJS Bach French Suite in G, BWV 816‘Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ’,    BWV 639 (arr. Busoni)‘Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland’, BWV 659(arr. Busoni) Chaconne in D minor   from Partita No. 2 for violin, BWV 1004  (arr. Busoni)Partita in E, BWV 1006 (arr. rachmaninov)Liszt Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-HVariations on Bachʼs ‘Weinen, Klagen…’

Kenneth hamilton piano

CLaSSICaL

Kenneth Hamilton presents a unique survey  of three centuries of creative engagement with Bachʼs music, enlivened by a spoken commentary on the pieces performed. Beginning with the ‘unadorned’ fifth French  suite, he charts a course through two contemplative chorale preludes and the majestic D minor Chaconne (arr. by Busoni), taking in three sparkling movements (wittily refashioned by Rachmaninov) from the Violin Partita in E. The programme ends with Liszt’s two great tributes to the master of the Baroque: the febrile Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H and the moving, ultimately uplifting Variations on Bach’s ‘Weinen, Klagen…’.

Hall One 7.30pm

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FrIday 14 JuNe

FOLK uNION

andy CuttingFOLK

Andy Cutting (BBC R2 Folk Award Winner Best Musician 2008 and 2011) is a rarity:  a soulful and technically outstanding melodeon practitioner with an ear for a fine tune. Many of his tunes have been purloined along the way – some considered contemporary classics on the folk scene. Andy has been consistent musical force since he came swiftly to prominence with the innovative Blowzabella. As well as a thorough grounding in the English tradition,  his influences extend to the music of central  France and to the storming Québécois tradition as evident in his ongoing work with Chris Wood. Andy is currently working also with Martin Simpson and June Tabor.

Hall Two 8pm

Online rates £12.50 | Savers £9.50

SaTurday 15 JuNe

CheSS FeSTIVaL 2013

Kings Place Chess FestivalINTeraCT

The inaugural tournament that will bring together hundreds of silent stratagems, serious contenders and young hopefuls at Kings Place... To enter the tournament or  to sign up for the simultaneous display with Grand Master Julian Hodgson, please call the Box Office on 020 7520 1490 or visit www.kingsplace.co.uk/chess for the full programme. If you have any queries about the Chess Festival please contact Adam Raoof, on adamraoof@gmail.com.  A copy of the tournament rules will be available on the day. All entries need to be submitted BEFORE the day. Limited availability. Early booking advised.

Kings Place 10am–6pm; Plays with Grand Master 2pm–6pm; Tournament Relay in Limehouse Room during the day

Online rates £19.50 entry to the main tournament (£17.50 for under 16s) £29.50 Simultaneous display with Grand Master bookable via Box Office (not bookable together with the Main Tournament) FREE tickets available to observers via Box Office

BaCh uNWraPPed

academy of St Martin in the Fields with Carolyn Sampson: Concertos and Cantatas – 2with Pre-concert Talk

JS Bach Cantata ‘Weichet nur,   betrübte Schatten’, BWV 202Concerto for oboe and violin    in C minor, BWV 1060Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041Cantata ‘O holder Tag, erwünschte    Zeit’, BWV 210

Carolyn Sampson sopranoSoloists from the academy of

St Martin in the Fields

CLaSSICaL

In the second of their Bach Unwrapped concerts, the Academy are once more joined by soprano Carolyn Sampson, who sings two enchanting cantatas composed for wedding celebrations. They continue their exploration of Bach’s concertos written for violin; the sublime Concerto in A minor is accompanied by the Concerto for violin and oboe – a reconstruction of what is believed to have been the original version  of the Concerto No. 1 for two harpsichords.

Pre-concert Talk – St Pancras Room 6.30pm Performance – Hall One 7.30pm

Online rates £19.50 £24.50 £29.50 £39.50 | Savers £9.50The pre-concert talk is FREE, but ticketed separately. Please call Box Office to reserve your seat.

The BaSe

double album Launch: alice Zawadzki’s ‘China Lane’ and ‘Lela’alice Zawadzki voice, violindan Whieldon pianoalex roth guitarandreas Lang bassJon Scott drums

JaZZ

Singer, violinist and composer Alice Zawadzki presents the launch of two albums. China Lane, her debut as a band leader, is a collection of songs rooted deeply in jazz, soul and folk, with a nod to  classical. Featuring some of Europe’s most celebrated musicians, this project  introduces a truly unique sound. A supporting set from Alice with pianist Dan Whieldon presents the launch of their first album, Lela, which celebrates a musical partnership spanning almost a decade. Firmly within the jazz tradition with a penchant for revisiting lesser-known pieces and unexpected sources. Their sell-out performance at the Manchester Jazz Festival was described by press as ‘jaw droppingly good’ and ‘genuinely captivating’.

Hall Two 8pm

Online rates £12.50 | Savers £9.50

SuNday 16 JuNe

BaCh uNWraPPed

Keyboard Conversations® Bach and the romanticsa Concert with Commentary

JS Bach Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue   in D minor, BWV 903Mozart Gigue in G, K574 Eine kleine Gigue

Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue   in E minor, Op. 35 No. 1Chopin Two Preludes (in F major   and D minor), Op. 28 Nos 23 & 24reizenstein Prelude and Fugue in D,   Op. 32 No. 8Shostakovich Two Preludes and Fugues    (in C major and C minor), Op. 87    Nos 1 & 20rachmaninov Two Preludes (in E Flat      major and C minor), Op. 23 Nos 6 & 7Questions & AnswersJeffrey Siegel piano

CLaSSICaL

An engaging programme from celebrated pianist Jeffrey Siegel, who explores Bach’s virtuoso and dramatic keyboard works and their influence on the Romantic repertoire, with particular focus on the preludes and fugues as musical forms. Featuring works by such diverse composers as Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich and Mendelssohn, who more than anyone helped to bring Bachʼs music to fame.‘Jeffrey Siegelʼs Keyboard Conversations programme is unique, informative and very entertaining. A piano virtuoso and first-class communicator, he makes you leave the theatre hungry for more music.ʼ David Suchet

Hall One 11.30am

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OuT hear

Lazy Modem – 1feat. Team doyobi (alexander Peverett & Christopher Gladwin)

CONTeMPOrary

Curated by sound artist Esther Ainsworth (e_s_t), the first Lazy Modem event welcomes a performance by UK chip tune duo Team Doyobi in the first of a series of events which work toward breaking the boundaries between the audience and the performer. The sound of Team Doyobi was initially built using obsolete computers as serious musical instruments, taking the chip sound out of video game consoles, and has been influenced by various forms including glitch, noise, progressive rock, free jazz, electro-acoustic and ambient. Join the team in an informal ‘Open Green Room’ session before the performance. The afternoon will conclude with an interactive jam session between the artists and the audience, so please bring your own battery-powered devices to take part.

Open Green Room Session 3pm Performance: Hall One 4pm Interactive Session 5.15pm

Online rates £9.50Andy Cutting

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MONDAY 17 JUNE

WORDS ON MONDAY

Bertolt BrechtPoet in the City presents…

SPOKEN WORD

An evening exploring the life and work of Bertolt Brecht, one of the most important poetic voices of the 20th century, and featuring acclaimed poet and translator David Constantine. Known primarily as a playwright, Brecht has had a lasting impact on how we create and experience theatre. Less well known is his status as one of the greatest German-language poets of the age, whose poems reflect and distill his passionate, dark and unique vision. The event also features musical settings of Brecht poems by Kurt Weill. Held in partnership with the Goethe Institute and the German Embassy, this special event demonstrates Brecht’s relevance to contemporary world culture.

Hall One 7pm

Online Rates £9.50

FRIDAY 21 JUNE

FOLK UNION

Monster Ceilidh BandMidsummer Mash-upFOLK

Monster Ceilidh Band bring a powerfully modern and unpatronising approach to ceilidh fusion music. Their experimentation with electronic beats (‘simply stunning’ Songlines) has its roots in the traditional, but has also produced something innovative, contemporary and dynamic. They combine � ery folk with funky ri� s, glitchy drum’n’bass beats and live drums. This music embraces the old dance traditions, and translates them into blood-quickening sounds for the 21st-century nightclub audience.

Hall One 8pm

Online Rates £12.50 | Savers £9.50

SATURDAY 22 JUNE

TRAVEL FESTIVAL

‘The Truth’ and Other Adventureswith Michael Palin

SPOKEN WORD

In the last 20 years, Michael Palin has � lled dozens of little black notebooks with his thoughts on the beauty of the world and talked into stacks of mini-cassettes with his impressions of delights, digestive problems, dodgy trains and near-death experiences. They’ve inspired his wonderful television programmes, captivating tales and gripping � ction. He tells us about his latest novel, The Truth, a story about idealism, environmentalism, and… reality. He also talks about writing and journeys past and future.

Hall One 6pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £9.50

TRAVEL FESTIVAL

RêverieThe Life and Loves of Claude Debussy

Lucy Parham with Henry Goodman

CLASSICAL SPOKEN WORD

Scripted by pianist Lucy Parham, Rêverie follows Debussy’s journey from his initial success, winning the Prix de Rome in 1886, to his untimely death in 1918, and his travels from France to Scotland, Japan and the USA. His complex intellectual and emotional world and entangled love life are presented through Lucy Parham’s brilliant skills at the piano and narration by Henry Goodman.

Hall One 8pm

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June 2013

THIS WEEK'S FOCUS TRAVEL FESTIVAL

22 – 23 JUNE

See Feature on Travel Festival pp36–38

Get in the holiday mood with Kings Placeʼs � rst Travel Writing Festival. Atul Kochhar explores the curries of the world, Lucy Parham and Henry Goodman follow Debussy’s travels through music, Simon Gar� eld pores over maps, Sara Wheeler feels the icy blast of two Poles and Andrew Martin takes us underground into the bowels of London.

MICHAEL PALIN KICKS OFF OUR FIRST TRAVEL WRITING FESTIVAL, FEATURING JAY GRIFFITHS, SARA WHEELER & SIMON GARFIELD

Michael Palin

Lucy Parham

Monster Ceilidh Band

HenryGoodman

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SuNday 23 JuNe

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL

Curriesatul Kochhar

SPOKeN WORd FOOd & dRINK

Award-winning, Michelin-starred chef  Atul Kochhar explores curries of the world, looking to his native India and further afield to Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and even the UK. A mouth-watering talk.

Hall Two 12.30pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £9.50

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL

Mapping the WorldSimon Garfield, Chris Schüler

SPOKeN WORd

Why are we so fascinated by maps? What do they tell us about ourselves? Simon Garfield, author of On The Map, Why the World Looks the Way it Does, joins Chris Schüler (Mapping the World, Mapping the City and Mapping the Sea) to discuss their passion.

St Pancras Rm 12.30pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £6.50 | Sunday Pass £25

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL

Tony HawksCOMedy

Tony Hawks is the quintessential travelling comedian. He is the author of (amongst others) the bestseller Round Ireland with a Fridge – the story of his absurd quest to hitch round the circumference of Ireland within a month... with a fridge. You’ll know him from TV  and radio appearances on the likes of Have I Got News For You, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Red Dwarf, The News Quiz, Just a Minute, and I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, and his own Radio 4 series, Tony Hawks’ Lost Weekends. 

Hall One 2pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £9.50 | Sunday Pass £25

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL

down the Meander Jeremy Seal

SPOKeN WORd

Jeremy Seal has spent the last 25 years exploring Turkey. He was the first person to make the full descent of the fabled Meander in a folding canoe from its 

source in the East, through the mountains of Anatolia, all the way to Miletus, the birthplace of western rational thought. He relives his trip through myths, history and the lives and stories of Turks today. 

Hall Two 2pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £9.50 | Sunday Pass £25

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL

Travel around London andrew Martin

SPOKeN WORd

In this zany and entertaining talk,  Andrew Martin transports us through  time and space into the bowels of the  London Underground. 

St Pancras Room 2pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £6.50 | Sunday Pass £25

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL

Beard OptionalRosie Thomas & Sara Wheeler

SPOKeN WORd

Both these women have experienced the extreme conditions of the coldest places on earth. Sara Wheeler has spent seven months in Antarctica and made eight journeys to the Arctic. Rosie Thomas has travelled in the footsteps of Shackleton. They tell us why they loved it, in spite of pee-boxes and freezing conditions.

Hall One 3.30pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £9.50 | Sunday Pass £25

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL

Gulliver’s Travels Martin Rowson

SPOKeN WORd

After a car accident, Dr Gulliver, Oxfamʼs ‘mutilations strategy’ manager finds himself in Lilliput, now ruled by a beaming,  Blair-like dictator and populated by shoppers and censors. And this is just the beginning! Guardian cartoonist Martin Rowson tells us the story of his ‘adapted and updatedʼ version of Jonathan Swiftʼs Gulliverʼs Travels, and explains where it sits in the tradition of satire.

Hall Two 3.30pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £9.50 | Sunday Pass £25

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL

The Beauty of englandHugh Thomson

SPOKeN WORd

Hugh Thomson takes us on a journey along the old English ways: the drover- paths and tracks, the paths and ditches half covered by brambles and tunnelled by alder, beech and oak – the trails that can still be traced by those who know where to look. Hugh shows how ancient Celtic, Saxon and Viking cultures lie much closer to the surface than we may think, and how they created some of our fault lines of land, wealth and privilege. By taking a journey from coast to coast, through both sacred and profane landscapes of ancient England, Hugh sheds new light on the way we live now, with a good helping of humour along the way!

St Pancras Rm 3.30pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £6.50 | Sunday Pass £25

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL

Politicians on HolidaySteve Richards

SPOKeN WORd

If you want to understand political leaders, look at what happens to them when they go on holiday. Some loathe vacations. Others love them. Some seem fated never to get a break, as tumultuous dramas erupt around them when they head for a beach in August. The award-winning Steve Richards – columnist, broadcaster and presenter of Rock’n’Roll Politics – takes you on a guided tour of political holidays.

Hall One 5pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £9.50 | Sunday Pass £25

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL

The Riddle of the Childscape Jay Griffiths

SPOKeN WORd

While travelling the world to write her award-winning book Wild, Jay Griffiths became increasingly aware of huge differences in childhood experiences in different cultures. Moving from the tribes of West Papua and the Arctic to the ostracised young people of contemporary Britain, she explores why it is so much more difficult to grow up in industrialised societies than in non-industrialised cultures.

Hall Two 5pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £9.50 | Sunday Pass £25

TRaVeL FeSTIVaL CONTINued OVeRLeaF

 June 2013

simon Garfield

andrew Martin

steve Richards

Jay Griffiths

atul Kochhar

Tony Hawks

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WEDNESDAY 26 JUNE

WAGNER 200

Janice Watson and Joseph Middleton: Wesendonck LiederSongs by Wagner and Liszt

Janice Watson sopranoJoseph Middleton piano

CLASSICAL

A recital by one of the UK’s leading dramatic sopranos to include Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder and some of his less frequently performed songs, as well as examples by his friend and father-in-law Liszt. The songs Wagner wrote in Paris for celebrated singers include the Adieux de Marie Stuart with its striking grand operatic gestures, while the better-known Wesendonck Lieder, written to poems by his muse and lover, Mathilde Wesendonck, are more intimate in nature. Liszt’s songs include some of the most beautiful in the Lieder repertoire.

Hall One 7.30pm

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OUT HEAR ON WEDNESDAY

Klangforum WienMusic in the Space Time Continuum II

Beat Furrer spurBernhard Gander khulRoberto David Rusconi De materia nigra et obscura

Klangforum Wien piano, violin, violin, viola, cello

CONTEMPORARY

The second concert of ‘Music in the space time continuum’ explores works connected with the ‘music and acoustic space’. First comes one of the most influential chamber music works of the last 30 years: spur by Beat Furrer, founder and conductor of Klangforum Wien. In khul, a work for string quartet, another Austrian composer, Bernhardt Gardner, takes instrumental playing into fascinating and charming directions. Roberto David Rusconi is a London-based visionary composer; his new piano quintet De Materia nigra et obscura has been directly inspired and influenced by the discovery of the Higgs boson. An inspiring selection for an evening that welcomes back to London the flamboyant virtuosi of Klangforum Wien – an ensemble that is legendary and still unsurpassed in its technical mastery and poetic drive.

Hall Two 8pm

Online Rates £12.50 | Savers £9.50

June 2013

THIS WEEK'S FOCUS WAGNER 200

26 – 30 JUNE

See feature pp46–47

A fascinating week that begins with the passionate Wesendonck Lieder, sung by Janice Watson, a piano recital by the gi� ed Llyr Williams and the re-creation of the premiere of the Siegfried Idyll by Aurora Orchestra. Experts gather to discuss the development of Wagner performance and theatrical staging, along with screenings of landmark productions.

AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF WAGNER AND A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE THE PERFORMANCE HISTORY OF HIS OPERAS

Aurora Orchestra

SUNDAY 23 JUNE

TRAVEL FESTIVAL

Travel to the Dark SideBarbara Nadel, David Hewson & Michael Ridpath

SPOKEN WORD

Why are we so attracted by foreign crime, whether from Mediterranean climates or Nordic countries? What do we discover about those countries when we see them through the eyes of a local detective? Hewson is best known for his Nic Costa books set in contemporary Rome. He is also the author of The Killing, a book hailed by The Telegraph as even better than the TV series. Nadel loves Istanbul and her shabby, middle-aged cop, Çetin Ikmen, is equally popular among English and Turkish readers. Ridpath’s series Fire and Ice is set in Iceland and has been translated in 20 countries, including Iceland. Chaired by Barry Forshaw. In association with the Crime Writers Association.

Hall One 6.30pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £9.50 | Sunday Pass £25

TRAVEL FESTIVAL

Doctor without BordersDamien Brown

SPOKEN WORD

Damien Brown tells us about his experience with Medecins sans Frontieres in Angola and Sudan, sharing the joys and the fears, the satisfactions and the frustrations. His moving account raises serious questions about international aid. Essential for anyone who wants to do more than just see the sights.

St Pancras Rm 6.30pm | Lasts 60mins

Online Rates £6.50 | Sunday Pass £25

DamienBrown

Barbara Nadel

Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk | Prices shown are for online booking LISTINGS

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THURSDAY 27 JUNE

WAGNER 200

Llyr Williams plays Wagner and Liszt Wagner Fantasia in F sharp minorSonate für das Album von Frau M.W.Albumblatt in E (for Ernst Benedikt Kietz, ‘Song Without Words’)Albumblatt in E flat (for Frau Betty Schott)Ankun� bei den schwarzen Schwänen Wagner (arr. Liszt) Fantasy on Themes from RienziSpinning Chorus and Senta’s Ballad (Der fliegende Holländer)Entry of the Guests and ‘O du mein holder Abendstern’ (Tannhäuser)Elsa’s Dream (Lohengrin)Isolde’s Liebestod (Tristan und Isolde)

Llyr Williams piano

CLASSICAL

A recital by the outstanding Welsh pianist featuring Wagner rarities plus dazzling transcriptions of Wagner by Liszt including Isolde’s Liebestod. Many of Wagner’s piano pieces, of which the Sonata for ‘M.W.’ (Mathilde Wesendonck) is the most substantial, were written as dedicatory ‘albumleaves’ for friends and admirers.

Hall One 7.30pm

Online Rates £13.50 £15.50 £19.50 £24.50 | Savers 9.50

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Niall Ashdown and Between the Notes in ʻNote to TaleʼCOMEDY

An extraordinary collaboration between some of the most talented improvisers working in the UK. Taking inspiration from audience suggestions and using cello, marimba, soprano sax, piano and voice, they create stupendous stories and mind-boggling music before your very eyes and ears. Expect funny, tender, extremely inventive spontaneity from the � ve musicians of Between the Notes, led by Matthew Barley, and actor/comedian Niall Ashdown, the resident host of Impropera here at Kings Place.

Hall Two 8pm

Online Rates £12.50 | Savers £9.50

FRIDAY 28 JUNE

WAGNER 200

Aurora Orchestra: The Gi� Wagner Siegfried IdyllBeethoven Septet in E flat, Op. 20

Aurora OrchestraNicholas Collon conductor Dame Harriet Walter narratorHenry Goodman narrator

CLASSICAL

As part of the ‘Wagner 200’ celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner’s birth, Aurora presents a narrated re-creation of his Siegfried Idyll, performed as a birthday gi� for his wife Cosima. With a new script created especially for this concert by Barry Millington. The Wagner will be paired with Beethoven’s Septet.

Hall Two 8pm

Online Rates £14.50 £17.50 £21.50 £26.50 | Savers 9.50

SATURDAY 29 JUNE

WAGNER 200

Wagner in Performance 1Singing: Vocal Style in Wagner from the Golden Age to the PresentMike Ashman, David Breckbill, Neil Howlett speakersJohn McMurray chair

SPOKEN WORD CLASSICAL

The � rst of three illustrated talks featuring an international roster of Wagner experts examining aspects of the performance of his music under the headings Singing, Conducting and Stage Production. Each symposium will consist of presentations followed by a round table discussion. What can be learned about Wagner singing from the great artists of the past? Why is it so di¡ cult to cast Wagner operas today? What can be done to rectify the matter?

Hall One 10am–1pm

Online Rates £14.50Wagner in Performance Pass £44.50

WAGNER 200

Wagner in Performance 2Conducting WagnerRoger Allen, David Breckbill, Raymond Holden speakersPeter Franklin chair

SPOKEN WORD CLASSICAL

The second of three illustrated talks featuring an international roster of Wagner experts examining aspects of the performance of his music. Throughout history, lithe, fluid and gestural styles of conducting Wagner (Bülow, Böhm, Pappano) have contrasted with more monumental approaches (Knapperts-busch, Goodall, Levine). Which is more faithful to Wagner’s intentions? How is Wagner conducting likely to evolve in the decades to come?

Hall One 2pm–5pm

Online Rates £14.50Wagner in Performance Pass £44.50

WAGNER 200

Tristan und IsoldeWagner Opera on the Big Screen

CLASSICAL FILM

Nikolaus Lehnho£ ’s acclaimed production for Glyndebourne, conducted by Jir í Be lohlávek and starring Robert Gambill (Tristan), Nina Stemme (Isolde), Katarina Karnéus (Brangäne), Bo Skovhus

(Kurwenal) and René Pape (King Mark).Lehnho£ ’s production was described by one critic as ‘gravely beautiful, haunting’ and by the Daily Telegraph as follows: ‘I don’t think that I have ever witnessed a more perfect realisation of a Wagner opera than this superb Tristan und Isolde.’

Hall Two 6pm

Online Rates £9.50Generously supported by Opus Arte, these screenings should appeal to those who want to sample the Wagnerian experience as well as more experienced operagoers.

SUNDAY 30 JUNE

WAGNER 200

Wagner in Performance 3Directing The Challenge of Director’s OperaEdward Bortnichak, Ingrid Kapsamer, Hugo Shirley, Tash Siddiqui, Katherine Syer, Simon Williams speakersPatrick Carnegy, Nicholas Payne chairs

SPOKEN WORD CLASSICAL

The last of three symposia featuring an international roster of Wagner experts examining aspects of the performance of his music. Opera production in the modern age has come to be dominated by ‘director’s opera’ or Regietheater. Does contemporary stagecra� represent a travesty or a triumphant ful� lment of the Gesamtkunstwerk? Will traditional stagings ever return? Or is director’s opera here to stay?

Hall One – Part I: 10am–1pm; Part II: 2pm–5pm

Online Rates £24.50Wagner in Performance Pass £44.50

WAGNER 200

Die Meistersinger von NürnbergWagner Opera on the Big Screen

CLASSICAL FILM

Katharina Wagner’s controversial production for the Bayreuth Festival, conducted by Sebastian Weigle and starring Franz Hawlata (Hans Sachs), Klaus Florian Vogt (Walther), Michaela Kaune (Eva) and Michael Volle (Beckmesser). This breathtaking production grapples courageously with the dubious legacy of Meistersinger, forcing us to rethink our ideas about the work.

Hall Two 6pm

Online Rates £9.50Generously supported by Opus Arte, these screenings should appeal to those who want to sample the Wagnerian experience as well as more experienced operagoers.

June 2013

Janice Watson

Llyr Williams

Scene from Tristan und Isolde

WAGNER IN PERFORMANCE PASS £44.50The ‘Wagner in Performanceʼ pass includes entry to all three illustrated talks under the headings Singing, Conducting and Stage Production.

To book, please call the Box O¡ ce on 020 7520 1490

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Book tickets now:020 7520 1490

decoration. Rhys James says ‘there is something dark and wild and crazy about flowers, yet in wallpaper designs they are controlled in a pattern and pretti� ed. In our culture women are also pretti� ed – she is part of the floral background, part of the furniture in a way. She has become just another decorative interior thing.ʼ The artistʼs work refers to the obsessive acquisition of objects – a displacement activity to create the illusion of permanence – masking a sense of loss and a feeling of rootlessness. Shani Rhys James has won many prestigious awards for painting, including the Jerwood Painting Prize 2003 and the Gold medal at the National Eisteddfod 1992, and was awarded an MBE for services to Welsh art in 2006. Her work is featured in many public collections.

3 MAY – 14 JUN

KINGS PLACE GALLERY

Marcelle Hanselaar Walking the Line

ART

Marcelle Hanselaar’s familiar theme, the conflicting awareness of and subsequent struggle with the balance of how we see ourselves and how we appear to others, has now found a bigger arena. Her gripping paintings of a solitary � gure, with or without props, are still there but now, for the � rst time, she takes this theme into the public realm, something she has freely explored in her large etchings but never before in her paintings. The result is a Brueghelesque tableau vivant. Hanselaar says, ‘I am fascinated by the phenomena of crowds, how the shi� from private to collective behaviour creates a shi� of inner boundaries as well. Our familiar sense of inner and outer or personal and social responsibilities and its subsequent behaviour shrinks and expands simultaneously and creates, temporarily, a di� erent set of references from which we then functionʼ. Hanselaar has won many awards for both her prints and her paintings. Her work is in public collections including the British Museum, the V&A Museum and the National Art Library.

ART LISTINGS76 April – June 2013

8 MAR – 26 APR

KINGS PLACE GALLERY

Jeremy Gardiner Unfolding Landscape

ART

Jeremy Gardiner’s paintings are e� ectively an artistic excavation of the geology of landscape: how it is shaped by human activity and the forces of nature. Aware of distinct geologies, he attempts to interpret the hidden subterranean realms that contain the marks and secrets of their own distant formation. His artistic exploration has taken him from the Jurassic coast of Dorset to the rugged coast of Cornwall, passing through the dramatic American landscape, the roughness of volcanic islands in Brazil, the arid beauty of the island of Milos in Greece and more recently the Lake District and its numerous waterfalls. His paintings become a symbolic map, simultaneously interpreting and capturing the impact of human and natural events, the activities in time and space that have shaped, textured and coloured the landscape to give it a unique depth and beauty. His spatially probing and texturally explicit pictures transform the lessons learnt from pioneering modern British landscape painters such as John Tunnard, Ben Nicholson and Peter Lanyon, and American artist Richard Diebenkorn.

OPENING HOURSPangolin LondonMon–Sat: 10am–6pmClosed Sundays and Bank Holidays and between exhibitions

FREE admission | 020 7520 1480www.pangolinlondon.com

Kings Place GalleryTue–Sat: 10am–6pm (until 26 April)Opening days change to : Fri–Sun: 10am–6pm and by appointment (3 May onwards) Closed Mondays and Bank Holidays and between exhibitions.

FREE admission | 020 7520 1485www.kingsplacegallery.co.uk

20 MAR – 20 APR

PANGOLIN LONDON

Jonathan KenworthySix Decades of Sculpture

ART

Undoubtedly the master of movement in sculpture, Jonathan Kenworthy, his immense natural talent already evident, gained him a place at the Royal College of Art at the astonishing age of 11. Kenworthy’s early success allowed him the freedom to develop his art at his own pace, resulting in sculpture that is expertly cra� ed and distinctly unique. Creating movement with bold, abstract applications of clay, Kenworthy gives his � gurative works a distinctive vigour and life. This exhibition celebrates his long career and the charismatic sculptures that have made his name.

3 MAY – 14 JUN

KINGS PLACE GALLERY

Shani Rhys James The Rivalry of Flowers

ART

This exhibition deals with obsessive interiors and anarchic flowers used as a metaphor for the sublimation of female creativity in status furnishings and

15 MAY – 15 JUN

PANGOLIN LONDON

Briony MarshallSculptor-in-Residence

ART

Pangolin London presents the � rst London solo show by its 2011 sculptor-in-residence Briony Marshall. Studied biochemistry at Oxford University before becoming a professional sculptor and her fascination with trying to understand the building blocks of life continues to inform her work. Inspired by a range of complex theories and concepts, the sculpture and works on paper created during her year-long residency explore the place of the human in the context of scienti� c doctrine.

21 JUN – 22 SEP

KINGS PLACE GALLERY

The 2013 Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Competition and ExhibitionFirst Prize £10,000Deadline for entry forms: 30 April

ART

This competition is intended to reflect and celebrate the traditions which inform the Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Collection by encouraging the development of these ideas into British art of the 21st century. Entrants must submit a self-portrait, but this concept is open to an interpretation that goes beyond passport-photo conventionality. Shown alone or wihin a group, contextualised, abstracted, trailing narrative or de� ned by the surface of the image, like all self-portraits, these new additions to the genre will explore the idea of visual identity, revealing and designing it at the same time. An exhibition of works selected from the competition entries will be held at the Gallery from 21 June until 22 September, when details of the winning entry will be announced. Further info available at www.kingsplacegallery.co.uk

Jonathan KenworthyAfghan Girl

Marcelle Hanselaar Child Soldier, 2012

Jeremy GardinerEvening,

Mullion Cove, 2010

Briony MarshallA Dream of Society as Flawless as a Diamond II, 2009

Shani Rhys JamesPink Spots, 2013

LISTINGS

TUESDAY 2 APRIL

ARTISTIC HIRE

Jean-Marc Luisada plays Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart and SchubertBeethoven Six Bagatelles, Op. 126Schubert Sonata No. 15 in C, D840 ReliquieMozart Sonata No. 11 in A, K331 Alla turcaChopin Nocturne in B, Op. 62 No.1Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31Jean-Marc Luisada piano

CLASSICAL

Considered a ‘poet of the piano’ in his native France, award-winning pianist Jean-Marc Luisada has given solo recitals in the world’s most prestigious concert halls across Europe, Japan and the USA and with major orchestras including the LSO, NHK, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Tokyo Philharmonic, to name but a few. He was a prize-winner at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1985 and his Chopin recordings, � rst with DG and then with RCA Red Seal/BMG, have been especially celebrated by the press and the public alike.

Hall One 7.30pm

Online Rates £16.50 £21.50 £27.50 £34.50 | Savers £9.50 (limited availability)

WEDNESDAY 3 APRIL

ARTISTIC HIRE

ʻBetween Worldsʼ Sirin Pancaroglu Harp RecitalMudarra Fantasia que contrahaze la harpa en la maniera de Ludovico Dervis Mustafa Rehavi Saz Semaisi Britten Suite for harp, Op. 83

Granados EpílogoAlbéniz AsturiasBarıs Perker Seven Images of Istanbul (2009) UK premiereHasan Uçarsu blue moon gray, yellow night wall (1999) UK premiereImprovisation ‘The Oak Tree’Caplet Divertissement à l’espagnole Salzedo Lamentation Tournier Sonatine for harp, Op. 30

Sirin Pancaroglu harp

CLASSICAL

Prepare to be mesmerised by the magical sonority of the harp in the � ne acoustics of Hall One through this irresistible solo programme. Praised by the Washington Post as a ‘major talent of international caliber’. For Sirin Pancaroglu, praised discovering a variety of musical identities for the harp is a central endeavour. Trained as a classical musician, Turkey’s leading harpist is equally active in the realms of Turkish traditional music, improvisation, electronic music, tango and semi-staged performances as she is in mainstream harp repertoire to which she contributes with new works commissioned for her. Pancaroglu has been touring with various collaborative projects since 2010. Ever since her return to Istanbul, sheʼs been in search of her roots, connecting them with sophisticated taste to her worldly ideas, a glimpse of which she promises to share in this aptly-titled solo programme.

Generously co-sponsored by Isbank, Turkish Airlines, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Turkish Embassy, London

Hall One 7.30pm

FREE eventEarly booking advised to avoid disappointment. To reserve your seats, please contact Box O� ce on 020 7520 1449. Tickets are limited to 4 per person. If you are late for the performance, your ticket may be re-allocated by the Box O� ce.

WEDNESDAY 17 APRIL

ARTISTIC HIRE

Mei Yi Foo: Musical ToysCLASSICAL

‘Musical Toysʼ is a piano recital created to portray the rich imagination and humorous world of child’s play. The connections and contrasts between works by Bartók, Kurtág, Lachenmann, Unsuk Chin and Dai Fujikura reveal a colourful, complex intricate sound world. Here, Mei Yi Foo explores the mischievous world of games and toys as well as the sophisticated musical wit of the composers.‘A delightfully conceived, presented and played collection of miniatures. Gubaidulina’s Musical Toys charm, Ligeti is riveting, while Unsuk Chin’s Etudes KI

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R Strauss Gesänge des Orients, Op. 77Lieder aus dem West-östlicher DivanSuleika LiederWolf ‘Was in der Schenke waren heute’ ‘Trunken müssen wir allen sein!’; ‘Phänomen’Ravel ShéhérazadeSaint-Saëns Mélodies persanes, Op. 26Fauré Les Roses d’Ispahan, Op. 39 No. 4

Benjamin Appl baritoneJennifer France soprano François Le Roux baritoneSanaz Sotoudeh piano

SPOKEN WORD CLASSICAL

In this programme, distinguished music writer and broadcaster Richard Wigmore explores in song, poetry and painting Europe’s century-long love a® air with the mystery and exoticism of the Orient, led by Goethe and his ‘West-Östlicher Divan’, a collection of love poems, epigrams and drinking songs modelled on Ha� z. Complementing this celebration of orientalism in French and German song are readings from Ha� z and projections of Eastern-inspired paintings by artists including Klimt, Matisse and Chagall.

Presented by the Aspect Foundation for Music and Arts

Hall One 7.30pm

Online Rates £14.50 £17.50 £21.50 £26.50 | Savers £9.50 (limited availability)

WEDNESDAY 29 MAY

ARTISTIC HIRE

Live Music Now 35th AnniversaryPerformers to include:Morgan Szymanski guitarHannah Stone harp (O° cial harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales)Lunar Saxophone QuartetDaniela Lehner mezzo-sopranoWalsh & Pound banjo and harmonica

CLASSICAL

A concert to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Live Music Now (LMN) featuring performances by musicians currently on the scheme and a number of distinguished alumni. LMN supports the emerging careers of outstanding young musicians by o® ering them training and performance opportunities with those whose lives are challenging due to disability, illness, poverty or social disadvantage. LMN continues to ful� l founder Yehudi Menuhin’s vision that by embracing the power of music to transform lives, musicians play a central part in a healthy society.

Hall One 7.30pm

Online Rates £14.50 Savers £9.50 (limited availability)

should rapidly enter the repertoire.ʼ 5* BBC Music Magazine, September 2012

Generously sponsored by Bluthner UK

Hall Two 7.30pm

Online Rates £12.50Savers £9.50 (limited availability)

TUESDAY 23 APRIL

ARTISTIC HIRE

Tactum Ensemble with Alberto PortugheisMompou Dansa de la noia que salta a la corda vora el riu (‘Dance of the girl skipping’) El pont de Monjuïc* (orch. Ferrer)Serious Fox-Trot* (orch. Ferrer)Pedrell Cant al Mati (orch. Ferrer)Turina El Jueves Santo a medianoche (‘Midnight on Maundy Thursday’)Jordi Codina Tres dramagramas Enric Ferrer Concerto for piano and chamber ensemble Percorso musicale** UK premiere

Alberto Portugheis pianoTactum EnsembleEnric Ferrer conductor

CLASSICAL

The Tactum Ensemble, with over 12 years of experience dedicated to interpreting 20th and 21st-century music, present a programme featuring the music of 20th-century Catalan composers. Apart from the UK premieres of arrangements of two unpublished works by Mompou (to celebrate the 120th anniversary of his birth), we will hear a gem by Pedrell, a work by Turina intimately linked to Easter in Andalusia and a splendid work by Codina, a tribute to the late cartoonist Fernando Krahn. Also featuring the UK premiere of Percorso musicale for piano and chamber ensemble by Enric Ferrer, dedicated to tonight’s guest soloist, Alberto Portugheis.

Generously supported by Editorial Boileau Institut Ramon Llull and Opus Musica.

Hall One 7.30pm

Online Rates £14.50 £19.50 £24.50 £29.50 | Savers £9.50 (limited availability)

WEDNESDAY 22 MAY

ARTISTIC HIRE

Goethe, Ha± z and the Lure of the Orient in SongThe Words of Music: Music Inspired by and Inspiring Literature

An illustrated talk by Richard WigmoreSchubert ‘Versunken’; ‘Geheimes’; ‘Du bist die Ruh’

MAKE IT YOUR PLACEKings Place auditoria are now available for artistic hire, o² ering world-class acoustics and an unparalleled level of technical support. For more information: 020 7520 1456 artistic.hires@kingsplace.co.uk

Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk | Prices shown are for online booking ARTISTIC HIRESApril – June 2013 77

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02 Tue Hall One 7.30pm Artistic Hire – Jean-Marc Luisada plays Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert (see p77) Classical

03 Wed Hall One 7.30pm FREE Artistic Hire – Sirin Pancaroglu Harp Recital: ‘Between Worldsʼ (see p77) Classical

04 Thu Hall Two 8pm O� With Their Heads! – Impropera has ‘Nothing to declare’ Comedy

05 Fri Hall One 8pm Collaborations – Manu Delago Handmade: ʻBigger Than Homeʼ – Album Launch Contemporary

05 Fri Hall Two 8pm Folk Union – Larkin Poe Folk

06 Sat Concert Level Foyer 6.45pm FREE Collaborations – Graduale Nobili Contemporary

06 Sat Concert Level Foyer 7.15pm FREE Collaborations – James Hersey Contemporary

06 Sat Hall One 8pm Collaborations – Manu Delago, Graduale Nobili, Circle of Sound & Knalpot Contemporary

06 Sat Hall Two 8pm The Base – Julia Biel Jazz

07 Sun Hall Two 4pm Out Hear – EXPERIMENTALSTUDIO feat. Kairos Quartett Contemporary

07 Sun Hall One 6.30pm London Chamber Music Series – Fitzwilliam Quartet & Guests Classical

TASMIN LITTLE & FRIENDS | FROM BACH TO BARTÓK

08 Mon Hall One 7pm Words on Monday – ‘Feeding Seven Billionʼ Food Security Debates: Food Distribution Spoken Word

10 Wed Hall One 8pm Wednesday Special – Stephan Micus: Transcultural Contemporary World

11 Thu Hall One 7.30pm Tasmin Little & Friends – Bach to Brahms Classical

11 Thu Hall Two 8pm O� With Their Heads! – Michael Legge’s Private Hell, with Rachel Parris, The Trap, Tony Law Comedy

12 Fri Hall One 7.30pm Tasmin Little & Friends – Schubert to Ravel Classical

12 Fri Hall Two 8pm Folk Union – The Young’uns Folk

13 Sat Hall One 7.30pm Tasmin Little & Friends – Strauss to Bartók Classical

13 Sat Hall Two 8pm The Base – Musica Paradiso: Songs and Stories of the Silver Screen Jazz World Film

14 Sun Hall Two 4pm Out Hear – Musichoreography: Duets for dancers and instrumentalists Contemporary

14 Sun Hall One 6.30pm London Chamber Music Series – Chilingirian Quartet with Carole Presland (piano) Classical

BACH UNWRAPPED WEEK 6

15 Mon Hall One 7pm Words on Monday – The Trojan Horse: Simon Armitage, Bettany Hughes, Simon Mundy Spoken Word

17 Wed Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Christoph Denoth: Bach’s Lute Music on Guitar Classical

17 Wed Hall Two 7.30pm Artistic Hire – Mei Yi Foo (piano): Musical Toys (see p77) Classical

18 Thu Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Christoph Richter: The Cello Suites and Sonatas – 2 Classical

18 Thu Hall Two 8pm O� With Their Heads! – Cariad Lloyd & Friends Comedy

19 Fri Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment: Cantatas and Brandenburgs – 2 Classical

19 Fri Hall Two 8pm Folk Union – Jamie Smith’s MABON Folk

20 Sat Pangolin London LAST DAY Jonathan Kenworthy – Six Decades of Sculpture Art

20 Sat St Pancras Room 10.30am–4.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Study Day: The Brandenburgs with Hannah French & John Butt Interact Classical

20 Sat Hall Two 11.30am Bach Unwrapped – Aurora Orchestra: Storytelling with Bach Interact Classical

20 Sat Hall Two (repeat) 12.15pm (repeat) Bach Unwrapped – Aurora Orchestra: Storytelling with Bach Interact Classical

20 Sat Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Principal Players of Aurora Orchestra: Echoes of Bach Classical

20 Sat Hall Two 8pm The Base – Trish Clowes Quintet feat. Gwilyn Simcock Jazz

21 Sun Limehouse Room 10am–5.30pm Sunday Special – Piano-Yoga® with GéNIA Interact

21 Sun Hall Two 4pm Out Hear – International Contemporary Ensemble: ‘Almost New York’ Contemporary

21 Sun Hall One 6.30pm London Chamber Music Series – Turner Ensemble Classical

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79Book tickets now:www.kingsplace.co.uk CALENDARApril – June 2013

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22 Mon Hall One 7pm Words on Monday – Alan Rusbridger: Why Amateurs Should Attempt the Impossible Spoken Word

22 Mon Hall Two 7pm Words on Monday – John Mullan: What Matters in Jane Austen? Spoken Word

23 Tue Hall Two 7.30pm Artistic Hire – Tactum Ensemble with Alberto Portugheis (see p77) Classical

25 Thu Hall One 7.30pm Priya Mitchell & Friends – Caravan – Gypsy Folk: The Journey Begins Classical

25 Thu Hall Two 8pm O� With Their Heads! – Trawler Comedy

26 Fri Kings Place Gallery LAST DAY Jeremy Gardiner – Unfolding Landscape Art

26 Fri Concert Level Foyer 6.15pm FREE Priya Mitchell & Friends – Caravan – Gypsy Folk: Free Foyer Performance Classical

26 Fri Hall One 7.30pm Priya Mitchell & Friends – Caravan – Gypsy Folk: Bohemian Routes Classical

26 Fri Hall Two 8pm Folk Union – Emma Sweeney Folk

27 Sat Hall One 11.30am Priya Mitchell & Friends – Caravan – Gypsy Folk: Free Spirits Classical

27 Sat St Pancras Room 3pm Priya Mitchell & Friends – Caravan – Gypsy Folk: ‘Latcho Dromʼ (1993/France/103mins) Film

27 Sat Hall One 5pm Priya Mitchell & Friends – Caravan – Gypsy Folk: Vagabond Classical

27 Sat Hall One 6.45pm FREE Priya Mitchell & Friends – Pre-concert Talk: Sam Lee Spoken Word Classical

27 Sat Hall One 7.45pm Priya Mitchell & Friends – Caravan – Gypsy Folk: End of the Road...? Classical

27 Sat Hall Two 8pm The Base – Trio Manouche Jazz

28 Sun Hall One 2.30pm Not So Silent Movies – Silent Movies with Live Improv Band Music / Film / Comedy

28 Sun Hall Two 4pm Out Hear – Lund Quartet Contemporary

28 Sun Hall One 6.30pm London Chamber Music Series – Red Priest Baroque Carnival Classical

BACH UNWRAPPED WEEK 7

29 Mon Hall Two 7pm Words on Monday – Steve Bloom’s Africa – PhotoVoice Lecture Series Spoken Word

29 Mon St Pancras Room 7pm Words on Monday – Rick Gekoski Book Launch: ‘Lost, Stolen or Shreddedʼ Spoken Word

01 Wed Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Keller Quartet: The Art of Fugue Classical

02 Thu Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Charles Owen: Partitas – 2 Classical

02 Thu Hall Two 8pm O� With Their Heads! – The Maydays present... Confessions Comedy

03 Fri Kings Place Gallery FIRST DAY Shani Rhys James – The Rivalry of Flowers (until 14 June) Art

03 Fri Kings Place Gallery FIRST DAY Marcelle Hanselaar – Walking the Line (until 14 June) Art

03 Fri Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Onyx Brass: Bach through Brass Classical

03 Fri Hall Two 8pm Folk Union – Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies Folk

04 Sat Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Florilegium with Katharine Fuge: Cantatas 199 & 82 Classical

05 Sun Hall One 6.30pm London Chamber Music Series – Wall§ sch-York Duo Classical

JOHN METCALFE | MONOMEDIA

09 Thu Hall One 7.30pm Monomedia – Thomas Dolby Contemporary

09 Thu Hall Two 8pm O� With Their Heads! – Hardeepisyourlove? Love and Romance and Heartbreak in 2 Halves Comedy

10 Fri Hall One 7.30pm Monomedia – Will Gregory Moog Ensemble feat. Adrian Utley, Graham Fitkin, Ruth Wall Contemporary

10 Fri Hall Two 8pm Folk Union – Orlando Seale and The Swell Folk

11 Sat Hall One 7.30pm Monomedia – Double Bill: John Metcalfe Band feat. Simon Richmond (Imagined Village),

Ali Friend (Red Snapper), Louisa Fuller (Duke Qt) + The New Radiophonic Workshop Contemporary

11 Sat Hall Two 8pm The Base – Emilia Mårtensson Jazz

12 Sun Hall Two 4pm Out Hear – Ensemble Amorpha and Special Guests: Emulsion Contemporary

12 Sun Hall One 6.30pm London Chamber Music Series – Russian Virtuosi of Europe Classical

BACH UNWRAPPED WEEK 8

13 Mon Hall One 7pm Words on Monday – Rock’n’Roll Politics with Steve Richards Spoken Word

13 Mon Hall Two 7pm Words on Monday – Lionel Shriver Book Launch: ‘Big Brother’ Spoken Word

15 Wed Pangolin London FIRST DAY Briony Marshall (Sculptor in Residence) Exhibition (until 15 June) Art

15 Wed Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – The Sixteen: Motets and Masses – 1 Classical

16 Thu Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – The Sixteen: Motets and Masses – 2 Classical

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020 7520 1490CALENDAR April – June 2013

16 Thu Hall Two 8pm O� With Their Heads! – The School of Night Comedy

17 Fri Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment: Cantatas & Brandenburgs – 3 Classical

17 Fri Hall Two 8pm Folk Union – Old Man Luedecke Folk

18 Sat St Pancras Room 10.30am–4.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Study Day: Sacred Works Interact Classical

18 Sat Hall Two 11.30am Bach Unwrapped – OAE: Family Concert Classical

18 Sat Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – The Sixteen: Motets and Cantatas Classical

18 Sat Hall Two 8pm The Base | Bach Unwrapped – Respectable Groove: Prelude and Groove Jazz Classical

19 Sun Hall One 4pm Out Hear – Bruce Brubaker: Plugged/Unplugged – Post-minimalist piano music Contemporary

20 Mon Hall One 7pm Words on Monday – Rimbaud and Verlaine in London Spoken Word

20 Mon Hall Two 7pm Words on Monday – Intelligence Revealed: Charles Cumming, Rhodri Je� reys-Jones Spoken Word

22 Wed Hall Two 7.30pm Artistic Hire – Goethe, Ha� z and the Lure of the Orient in Song (see p77) Spoken Word Classical

23 Thu Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – The Swingle Singers Classical Contemporary

23 Thu Hall Two 8pm O� With Their Heads! – WitTank & Friends Comedy

23 Thu Hall One 9pm (repeat) Bach Unwrapped – The Swingle Singers Classical Contemporary

24 Fri Hall Two 8pm Folk Union – The Kennedys Folk

25 Sat St Pancras Room 7pm FREE Pre-concert Talk with Pete Churchill Jazz

25 Sat Hall One 8pm The Base in Hall One – Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone & London Vocal Project Jazz

THE TIME AND THE PLACE

29 Wed Hall One 7.30pm Artistic Hire – Live Music Now 35th Anniversary (see p77) Classical

29 Wed Hall Two 7.30pm The Guardian Book Club – Barbara Kingsolver in conversation with John Mullan Spoken Word

30 Thu Hall One 8pm The Time And The Place – Budapest Bár with special guests World

31 Fri Hall One 8pm The Time And The Place – Soweto Kinch: Urban Landscape Jazz

31 Fri Hall Two 8pm Folk Union | The Time And The Place – Poul Høxbro & Miriam Andersén + Fraser Fi� eld Folk

01 Sat Hall One 8pm The Time And The Place – Mari Boine World

01 Sat Hall Two 8pm The Base | The Time And The Place – Gianluigi Trovesi and Gianni Coscia Jazz

02 Sun Hall Two 4pm Out Hear – Platform 33 Moves Contemporary

SONGLINES ENCOUNTERS FESTIVAL

03 Mon Hall One 7pm Words On Monday – The Great Men/Women Divide: Myths and Realities Spoken Word

03 Mon Hall Two 7pm Words On Monday – Rebecca Solnit Book Launch: The Faraway Nearby Spoken Word

05 Wed Hall Two 7.15pm Encounters – Transkaukazja: Vołosi + 33a Contemporary World

05 Wed Hall One 8.30pm Encounters – HOPA!: She’Koyokh + Paprika + Yurodny Contemporary World

06 Thu Hall One 7.30pm Encounters – Baladi Blues Ens. + Sarah Savoy & the Francadians Contemporary World

07 Fri Hall One 7.30pm Encounters – Malick Pathé Sow & Bao Sissoko + Duo Sabîl & John Williams Contemporary World

08 Sat Hall One 7.30pm FREE Encounters – Pre-concert Talk: S. Broughton, A. Wilson, K. Khan Spoken Word World

08 Sat Hall One 7.30pm Encounters – Lokkhi Terra + Trio Mali Latino with Omar Puente Contemporary World

09 Sun Hall One 2.30pm Not So Silent Movies – Silent Movies with Live Improv Band Music / Film / Comedy

09 Sun Hall Two 4pm Out Hear – //Backstep// Contemporary

BACH UNWRAPPED WEEK 9 | KINGS PLACE CHESS FESTIVAL 2013

10 Mon Hall One 7pm Words On Monday – Caught in the web: how free are we online? Spoken Word

10 Mon Hall Two 7pm Words On Monday – Michelle de Kretser Book Launch: ‘Questions of Travel’ Spoken Word

12 Wed Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Florilegium: A Musical O� ering Classical

12 Wed Hall Two 8pm Jazz on Wednesday – Django Bates’ Belovèd Jazz

13 Thu Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Kenneth Hamilton: 250 Years of Bach Classical

14 Fri Kings Place Gallery LAST DAY Shani Rhys James – The Rivalry of Flowers Art

14 Fri Kings Place Gallery LAST DAY Marcelle Hanselaar – Walking the Line Art

14 Fri Hall Two 8pm Folk Union – Andy Cutting Folk

15 Wed Pangolin London LAST DAY Briony Marshall (Artist-in-Residence) Exhibition Art

15 Sat Kings Place 10am–6pm Kings Place Chess Festival 2013 – Main Tournament Interact

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15 Sat St Pancras Room 6.30pm FREE Bach Unwrapped – Pre-concert Talk Classical

15 Sat Hall One 7.30pm Bach Unwrapped – Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Carolyn Sampson – 2 Classical

15 Sat Hall Two 8pm The Base –Double Album Launch: Alice Zawadzki’s ‘China Lane’ and ‘Lela’ Jazz

16 Sun Hall One 11.30am Bach Unwrapped – Keyboard Conversations® with Je� rey Siegel: Bach and the Romantics Classical

16 Sun Green Room 3pm Out Hear – Lazy Modem – 1 feat. Team Doyobi: Open Green Room Session Contemporary

16 Sun Hall One 4pm Out Hear – Lazy Modem – 1 feat. Team Doyobi Contemporary

KINGS PLACE TRAVEL FESTIVAL 2013

17 Mon Hall One 7pm Words On Monday – Bertolt Brecht Spoken Word

21 Fri Kings Place Gallery FIRST DAY The 2013 Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Competition – Exhibition (until 22 Sep) Art

21 Fri Hall One 8pm Folk Union – Monster Ceilidh Band Midsummer Mash-up Folk

22 Sat Hall One 6pm Travel Fest – Michael Palin: ‘The Truth’ and Other Adventures Spoken Word

22 Sat Hall One 8pm Travel Fest – Rêverie: The Life and Loves of Debussy – L Parham, H Goodman Spoken Word Classical

23 Sun Hall Two 12.30pm Travel Fest – Atul Kochhar: Curries Food & Drink Spoken Word

23 Sun St Pancras Room 12.30pm Travel Fest – Simon Gar� eld & Chris Schüler: Mapping the World Spoken Word

23 Thu Hall One 2pm Travel Fest – Tony Hawks Comedy

23 Sun Hall Two 2pm Travel Fest – Jeremy Seal: Down the Meander Spoken Word

23 Sun St Pancras Room 2pm Travel Fest – Andrew Martin: Travel around London Spoken Word

23 Sun Hall One 3.30pm Travel Fest – Rosie Thomas & Sara Wheeler: Beard Optional Spoken Word

23 Sun Hall Two 3.30pm Travel Fest – Martin Rowson: Gulliver’s Travels Spoken Word

23 Sun St Pancras Room 3.30pm Travel Fest – Hugh Thomson: The Beauty of England Spoken Word

23 Sun Hall One 5pm Travel Fest – Steve Richards: Politicians on Holiday Spoken Word

23 Sun Hall Two 5pm Travel Fest – Jay Gri¥ ths: The Riddle of the Childscape Spoken Word

23 Sun Hall One 6.30pm Travel Fest – M. McGrath, D. Hewson, M. Ridpath: Travel to the Dark Side Spoken Word

23 Sun St Pancras Room 6.30pm Travel Fest – Damien Brown: Doctor without Borders Spoken Word

WAGNER 200

26 Wed Hall One 7.30pm Wagner 200 – Janice Watson and Joseph Middleton: Songs by Wagner and Liszt Classical

26 Wed Hall Two 8pm Out Hear on Wednesday – Klangforum Wien – Music in the Space Time Continuum II Contemporary

27 Thu Hall One 7.30pm Wagner 200 – Llyr Williams plays Wagner and Liszt Classical

27 Thu Hall Two 8pm O� With Their Heads! – Niall Ashdown and Between the Notes in ʻNote to Taleʼ Comedy

28 Fri Hall Two 8pm Wagner 200 – Aurora Orchestra: The Giª – Wagner and Beethoven Classical

29 Sat Hall One 10am–1pm Wagner 200 – Symposium 1: Vocal Style in Wagner Classical Spoken Word

29 Sat Hall One 2pm–5pm Wagner 200 – Symposium 2: Conducting Wagner Classical Spoken Word

29 Sat Hall Two 6pm Wagner 200 – Wagner Opera on the Big Screen: Tristan und Isolde Classical Film

30 Sun Hall One 10am–5pm Wagner 200 – Symposium 3: The Challenge of Director’s Opera Classical Spoken Word

30 Sun Hall Two 6pm Wagner 200 – Wagner Opera on the Big Screen: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Classical Film

ENJOY A YEAR’S WORTH OF SHOWS IN JUST 3 DAYS13 – 15 SEPTEMBERALL TICKETS £4.50 ONLINEkingsplace.co.uk/festivalON SALE IN APRIL

When did you � rst play at Kings Place?Actually before it opened! In April 2008 I was invited by Peter Millican to play some Bach in Hall One, where there were still builders around and covers on the seats. I remember we discussed the age of the oldest wood in the hall – I thought it was my cello, a Gofriller dating from 1720, but he said that the wooden panels were made out of a 500-year-old oak!

What have been memorable occasions for you here?Firstly, the Opening Festival in September 2008; having seen the hall being built, to play one of the � rst concerts there was very touching. Then, in 2009, I played Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano with Dénes Várjon. In March 2011 I organised a festival to honour composer Heinz Holliger. Most recently I performed the Brahms Double Concerto with Anthony Marwood and Aurora Orchestra. All these occasions

made me feel at home – I like the intimate and concentrated atmosphere very much.

What part does Bach play in your musical life?As I think of Bach as being the root of our musical world, so of course he is the root of mine. My grandfather was a conductor and founded a Bach Choir Society. From my earliest childhood I witnessed rehearsals and performances of Bach’s St Matthew and St John Passions every year. My parents both played in those, so my siblings and I sat and listened: maybe the greatest musical education a child can have?

How has your approach to the Solo Suites evolved over the years? I was lucky that I had a very profound and sincere education on the Suites through my teachers André Navarra and Pierre Fournier. Navarra insisted on very little or no vibrato, no slides, very clear dance

rhythms. He o� en referred to Pablo Casals, who rediscovered the Suites for us in the late 19th century. But, naturally, my interpretations have evolved and continue to evolve, which should be the case for all great works you play o� en.

How has the period- instrument movement a� ected your approach?A great influence was Anner Bylsma, who recorded all the Suites on a Baroque cello. This made me rethink a lot of details and for a while I became very orthodox in my approach to phrasings and tempos. For these concerts I will play on gut lower strings, but I will play with a modern bow because the Steinway piano is part of these programmes, and it wouldn’t be possible to change the tuning from work to work (415 to 440 Hz and back).

Can you outline the form of Bach’s Solo Suites?The distinct character of each suite, informed by its key, is presented by the Prélude: it’s like entering a church, with the organ setting the mood. Then comes the Allemande which is like a sermon, an invitation to reflect on some wisdom, the longest of the dances. The Courante runs fast and lightly, contrasted with the Sarabande, which is like a prayer or processional, ‘alone with God’. Gavottes and Minuets are

82 CLASSICAL

Christoph Richter is one of the most highlysought-a� er cellists in Europe. A regular artistat Kings Place, he performs Bach’s SoloSuites and Viola da gamba Sonatas for BachUnwrapped in April & December 2013

Q&A CHRISTOPH RICHTER

Book tickets now:020 7520 1490April – June 2013

the most distinctive, aristocratic dances, while the Gigue is a heavier peasant dance and completes each suite.

How would you characterise the keys of the Suites?In Bach’s time people were much more aware of the di£ erent character of each key. Johann Matheson in 1713, and later Christian Schubart in 1784/5 wrote very elaborate descriptions of keys, e.g. G major was serious as well as blithe, brisk, animated – but also ‘in love’ and ‘lascivious’! The cycle of the Suites could be seen as a cycle of life: the First in G major is juvenile, trusting, while the Second, in D minor, is sad, prayerful, but not tragic, the key in which Bach wrote the Art of Fugue. The Third Suite in C major has both feet in life, it’s proud, bright and brilliant, followed by the spiritual E flat major Suite, with its philosophical Prélude. For me, the Fi� h Suite is tragic and dark, while the � nal Suite in D major is golden, festive, wise and profound.

You are mixing the Suites with the accompanied Sonatas: tell us about your pianist Alasdair Beatson.Alasdair is a wonderful pianist and musician, and I am happy to be playing several programmes with him. The decision to play these Sonatas with piano instead of harpsichord was an important step into the interpretation already. I think it is either gamba/harpsichord or cello/piano. I love the conversation we have through this wonderful music.

What do you most like doing when you come to London?I have a lot of friends in London, and my son and my partner live here as well. I like that London is quite a green city – lots of parks and very di£ erent areas to walk through.

Bach Unwrapped: Christoph Richter & Alasdair Beatson18 April, 7 DecemberSee Listings p56 for details

I FEEL AT HOME IN THIS HALL – I LIKE THE INTIMATE AND CONCENTRATED ATMOSPHERE VERY MUCH

Aurora Orchestra, Academy of Ancient Music, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of St John’s, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment,

Oxford Philomusica, Royal Academy of Music Baroque Orchestra, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, New College Choir, La Nuova Musica, The Sixteen, The Swingle Singers, Chris Garrick Quartet, Florilegium, Fretwork, Gwilym Simcock Quartet, Keller Quartet, Onyx Brass, Respectable Groove, Wallfisch Band, Sophie Bevan, Robin Blaze, Allan Clayton, Iestyn Davies, Rosemary Joshua, Carolyn Sampson, Andrew Tortise, Elin Manahan Thomas, Sally Bruce-Payne, James

Oxley, Jimmy Holliday, Katya Apekisheva, Avi Avital, Alasdair Beatson, Bine Katrine Bryndorf, Terence Charlston, Christoph Denoth, Kenneth Hamilton, Pekka Kuusisto, Robert D. Levin, Charles Owen, Daniel-Ben Pienaar, Rachel Podger, Christoph Richter, Maxim Rysanov, Ivor Setterfield, Jeffrey Siegel, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Miki Skuta, Ashley Solomon, Penelope Spencer, Marcin Swiatkiewicz, Wolfgang Zerer, Family Concerts, Study Days, and more