Stockhausen: Gruppen

Royal Festival Hall, London
South Bank, London SE1
United Kingdom
020 7840 4242
http://www.rfh.org.uk

Luigi Nono’s uncompromising post-war meditations on form, silence and timbre form a fitting precursor to one of the pinnacles of the Darmstadt School’s output. A landmark in 20th century composition, Gruppen must be seen to be believed. Stockhausen’s testament to serial composition is scored for three independent orchestras, each with its own conductor, bringing over 100 players together on stage to create a momentous tower of sound. As the music ebbs and flows, Stockhausen’s kaleidoscopic colours and shifting textures evoke the rise and fall of the Graubünder Alps which were the work’s inspiration. Rarely performed, few other pieces have such a dramatic impact in live performance.

Martyn Brabbins conductor
Baldur Bronnimann conductor
Geoffrey Paterson conductor
London Sinfonietta
Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble

Karlheinz Stockhausen : Gruppen
Luigi Nono : Canti per 13
Luigi Nono : Polifonica – Monodia – Ritmica