The colourful destabilised, floating soundworld of Christian Drew鈥檚 'Aquarium Drifter' takes the listener to unusual places including a lounge-style jazz bar, and the sun setting over the Thames Tideway construction site in Bermondsey. Pulitzer Prize-winning Tyson Sorey鈥檚 'Adagio (for Wadada Leo Smith)' features David Zucchi as saxophone soloist. Instead of a showcase for the technical virtuosity of the soloist, all the players are asked to play very quietly and at a glacial tempo.
Sky Macklay鈥檚 'Microvariations' is a witty take on British conductor George Thomas Smart鈥檚 1825 journey across Europe comparing his A = 423.5hz tuning fork to the tuning of every musical group he could find. Microvariations is a fast-forward sonic fantasy on Smart鈥檚 journey. Anton Lukoszevieze is a cellist, composer, visual artist and founder of the experimental group Apartment House. His 'Angel with Parachute' is scored for small orchestra with solo cello accompaniment.
The concert ends with a recent major work by one of Germany鈥檚 leading composers. Enno Poppe writes: 鈥淪trom is a work for orchestra that changes and develops very slowly from delicacy to massive monumentality and then back again to its delicate qualities.鈥�
Presented by Tom Service and recorded for future broadcast on Radio 3's New Music Show.
