BCMG

CBSO Centre, Birmingham
Berkley Street, Birmingham, B1 2LF
United Kingdom
0121 767 4050
http://www.bcmg.org.uk

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
Conductor: Franck Ollu
Violin: Keisuke Okazaki

Surprises are in store. Debussy's sensuous Prélude à 'L'Après-midi d'un faune' is removed from its full orchestral scoring to the arrangement for a dozen players made by one of Schoenberg's associates for the group's chamber concerts in Vienna immediately after World War I. The light is still there in this version, and there's more in George Benjamin's dazzling impression of a sunrise as depicted by J.M.W. Turner. Benedict Mason's ! hooks into the sounds of Africa, whereas Pierre Boulez offers more of a fascinating journey within the mind, carried out by a few chords as they travel through an ensemble of six instruments. And, brand new, the piece by the highly gifted and wide-ranging Morgan Hayes promises a different look at the violin.
Paul Griffiths


Claude Debussy : Prélude à ‘L’Après-midi d’un faune’
Pierre Boulez : Dérive I
George Benjamin : At First Light
Morgan Hayes : Violin Concerto
Bendict Mason : !