Reawaken the past. Reach into the future.
Experience the full force of the string orchestra as Manchester Collective revive old classics and summon futuristic sounds alongside ‘cyborg pianist’ Zubin Kanga.
Tchaikovsky said his Serenade for Strings was “a piece from the heart”. Beloved by the composer and audiences alike, it’s a technicolour, opulent romance. Here it’s given a Collective twist, blurring into music that lives closer to the present day.
There’s more muscle to the brisk Concerto for String Orchestra by Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz. It’s a real workout for the players. Feverishly paced, it will leave you catching your breath.
In these two works, the composers take inspiration from their heritage to create something new. But what happens when a retreat into history turns violent? After seeing a replica of Schiller’s piano – which was built by WW2 prisoners and unable to play music – Laurence Osborn responds to fascism’s empty attempts to recreate the past in his new concerto. It’s an auditory hallucination where Zubin conjures ghostly samples of piano construction with his keyboard: handsaws, sandpaper, drills.
Time is an illusion. Let’s dispel it.
‘Schiller’s Piano’ is commissioned by Zubin Kanga and Manchester Collective. Zubin originally co-commissioned the work as part of Cyborg Soloists, with the support of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship and Royal Holloway, University of London. The premiere is supported by the Vaughan Williams Foundation.
Dates
10 Oct – Manchester – Royal Northern College of Music
12 Oct – London – Southbank Centre
Check times, ticket prices and access info via the links above
Setlist
Grażyna Bacewicz Concerto for String Orchestra
Laurence Osborn Schiller’s Piano (world premiere)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings, I. & III.
Caroline Shaw Evergreen, I & II.
Wojciech Kilar Orawa
Approximate runtime: 80 mins plus interval
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Programme notes →
Line-up
Zubin Kanga Piano, keyboard, live electronics (Schiller’s Piano)
Aaron Holloway-Nahum Conductor (Schiller’s Piano)
Rakhi Singh Director, violin
Martyn Jackson Violin
Martha-Maria Mitu Violin
Ellie Consta Violin
Roman Lytwyniw Violin
Marie Schreer Violin
Lily Whitehurst Violin
Rosemary Attree Violin
Dylan Edge Violin
Alex Mitchell Viola
Carol Ella Viola
Alistair Vennart Viola
Christian Elliott Cello
Hannah Roberts Cello
Peggy Nolan Cello
Alice Durrant Double bass
Diane Clark Double bass