Fast rewind. Half a century ago British music was being shaken up by three young Manchester-trained composers, and tonight we hear how. Peter Maxwell Davies, fresh back from studies in Rome, wrote a lustrous setting of poetic fragments by Giacomo Leopardi for two female voices and ensemble, following the example of Alexander Goehr in The Deluge, based on a description by Leonardo. Meanwhile, Harrison Birtwistle, impressed by a Picasso show at the Tate that showed the painter tackling the same subject in multifarious ways, created The World is Discovered.

But this is not all: we also hear how music in this country is being stirred again by new voices. Luke Bedford’s rapturous meditation on Paradise Lost, returns from two years ago, and Helen Grime offers a beautiful instrumental poem, which BCMG performed the world premiere of at Aldeburgh Festival in June 2009.

When: Mon 25th January 2010, 7:30pm
Where: CBSO Centre, Berkley Street, Birmingham
Tickets: Adv: £14 / £8 / £5 door: £15 / £9 / £6

We will also be performing this programme at Wigmore Hall in London on Sunday 24 January 2010.

(Photo © Chris Nash)

More Information: http://www.bcmg.org.uk/diary.php?showid=181
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