RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
Featured composer: Ann Cleare
Elision Ensemble (Richard Haynes, Benjamin Marks, Tristram Williams)
Gavin Maloney conductor
Ann Cleare phosphors (world premiere) [13’]
Metastaseis (B) by Iannis Xenakis
Ann Cleare to another of the other for bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone and orchestra (world premier) [16’]
In a change to the programme for the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra’s free Horizons concert on Tuesday 12 February in which Ann Cleare is the featured composer, Metastaseis (B) by Iannis Xenakis will replace the previously advertised Dämmerschein by Xenakis.
In a recent Irish Times article, Ann Cleare cited Metastaseis (B) as the piece which has most influenced her own work, noting Xenakis to be ‘one of the most fiercely original musical minds of the 20th century’, a composer who ‘imagined and created sound in a way that no one else ever has.’ Looking forward to its performance by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, she has commented: ‘Premiered at Donnaueschingen in 1956, Metastaseis B is commonly referred to as one of the most unique orchestral works of the 20th century. A piece of exhilaration and surprise, it is an exhilarating listening experience, like a natural force being recreated on the orchestral stage.’
Cleare’s concert also features the world premieres of two of her own works: phôsphors (…of ether) (2013) and to another of that other (2013) for bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone and orchestra featuring three soloists from the Australian ensemble, Elision.
For Cleare, ‘ideas of intricate architectures, vivid landscapes, floating islands, chemical transformations, unusual languages, and infiltrating lights permeate this programme.’ In phôsphors (…of ether), ‘the various instrumental colours of the orchestra are divided into four different islands of sound that slowly communicate through the construction of new instrumental colours, creating one huge space of undulating light, while in to another of that other, the vast colours and textures of the orchestra will outline a narrative of transformation that the trio of soloists undertake, creating a multilayered, overlapping sonic texture, which aims to bring the listener into a state of timelessness.’
12.30pm: Composers in Conversation*
Contemporary Music Centre Director Evonne Ferguson with composer Ann Cleare
*Composers in Conversation in association with Contemporary Music Centre