Brian Lock Ensemble

LSO St Luke's, London
161 Old Street London EC1V 9NG
United Kingdom
020 7638 8891
http://www.lso.co.uk/lsostlukes/

Brian Lock Ensemble and Hugh Webb (Harp), Zoe Martlew (cello) and Neyire Ashworth (clarinet)

“I, like nearly every other composer I know, wrestles with genre” says Brian Lock. This will not be a problem with Rêve, Brian Lock’s new project, as it simply defies genre, full-stop. Think classical music, electronica, lush melodies, laptops, recorded bird song, the sound of a food processor, some seriously heavy beats, an electric harp, a clarinet, a dog barking - and you start to get the picture. With such an unusual soundscape it was difficult to find a band to play his music, so he started his own comprising two computers, three percussionists and a string quartet. The underlying premise is very simple: take a traditional form or instrument, such as a sonata or a cello and explore their possibilities in a non-traditional way. It’s about the sound of something, not what that thing represents – in other words, a breath of fresh air. The result is a paradoxical mix of the accessible and highly experimental, which actually works.

The two concertos and one sonata that make up Rêve, along with three other pieces, are to be premiered by Lock and three of the most innovative and highly rated performers in the UK. Hugh Webb (principal harp of the Philharmonia, jazz harpist, avant garde and film music specialist) will perform the Concerto for the Sound of a Harp & other sounds like a Stylophone and board games on the rarely played electric harp. He will be joined by Zoë Martlew, cabaret artiste, no-holds-barred improvising musician (who is equally at home at the cutting edge of classical, avant garde, rock, pop, punk, jazz, dance, theatre, live electronics and video scenes) on cello for the Sonata for Cello and Mixing Desk. One of the UK’s most inventive and brilliant clarinetists, Neyire Ashworth, will perform the Concerto for Clarinet, Percussion, Birds and Computers whilst Lock himself will be poised over the electronics and keyboards.

The three other pieces that make up Rêve include Three Songs for a New Europe, which takes remarks made by Donald Rumsfeld as its departure point and also features a specially commissioned text by award-winning Czech author Jan Stavinoha; Three pieces on ambient themes: Kreuzberg, Pont Neuf, Vincennes and Variations on Ideas by Ligeti, Varese, Frank Zappa, Glenn Gould and others.


Brian Lock : Concert for Clarinet, Percussion, Birds and Computers
Brian Lock : Sonata for Cello and Mixing Desk
Brian Lock : Czech Song from Three Songs for a New Europe
Brian Lock : Three Pieces on Ambient Themes; Kreuzberg, Pont Neuf and Vincennes
Brian Lock : Variations on Ideas by Ligeti, Varese, Frank Zappa, Glenn Gould and Others
Brian Lock : Concerto for the Sound of a Harp and Other Sounds