New piano commissions for Rolf Hind
Rolf Hind commissions two new works by Elaine Mitchener that he will premiere in October:
Wednesday 6 October, 6.30pm
Kings Place
Rolf Hind – Is it too soon to talk about all this?
At the beginning of lockdown Hind felt the need to keep his relationships with composer and musician friends alive by asking for short pieces to reflect the times. From a harvest of nearly one hundred responses, from all corners of the world and varying widely in style, he has curated a selection. All the moods that we have experienced are there, from anger to introversion to the consolations offered by Nature, and they all resurface again in John Adams’ virtuosic and ultimately exultant masterpiece which completes the programme and reminds us of music’s endless power to thrill and uplift.
More info and tickets: www.kingsplace.co.uk
Sunday 18 October, 7.30pm
Saint John’s Smith Square
Occupy the pianos
In this concert, designed as a taster and prelude to a full iteration of the Occupy The Pianos Festival next year, Hind, Lixenberg and Balmazi-Owen, design and describe a personal journey through some of the preoccupations the future festival will dwell on: migrations – of humans, of birds and animals.
The time and mood of lockdown is also reflected in fierce and angry music, ruminative music, and especially the increased awareness of our relationship with nature (Schumann and Hindley.) In an uninterrupted 90 minute sequence these moods are examined and played out, with sound and film to complement and comment on the journey.
More info and tickets: www.sjss.org.uk