Tim Rutherford-Johnson's Blog

CD review: Jeremias Schwarzer: New Recorder Concertos

New Focus Recordings, fcr430 Recorder concerti are pretty rare beasts in contemporary music, so plaudits first of all to the German recorder player Jeremias Schwarzer for finding not only four, but four such and contrasting ones. (All four, it transpires, were written in collaboration with the performer.) The principal challenge with combining recorder and orchestra, … Continue reading CD review: Jeremias Schwarzer: New Recorder Concertos →

Delayed memorial: Chas Smith

Researching another piece of writing, I discovered today with great sadness that the American composer and instrument builder Chas Smith died earlier this year, on 13 May. I can’t say that I knew a huge amount about Smith’s life before today – although he found success in Hollywood, particularly through his work on Dune, he … Continue reading Delayed memorial: Chas Smith →

Train home review: Rolf Hind: Sky in a Small Cage

First of all, I loved it. This being the end of a busy and challenging summer, I came to Hind’s opera with little foreknowledge. Beyond knowing most of the players involved, and some of Hind’s music (although not so much recently), I also came with few expectations. Often that’s a problem if you’re trying to … Continue reading Train home review: Rolf Hind: Sky in a Small Cage →

Some recent sleevenotes

In the last couple of years I’ve found myself writing more and more sleevenote essays. I’ve said in the past that this is one of my favourite mediums for writing: 1500 words or so is a lovely length – long enough to explore an idea; short enough to contain in one breath. And while there … Continue reading Some recent sleevenotes →

Train home review: Hollie Harding, Theories of Forgetting

Colin Alexander, cello Heather Roche, clarinet Eva Zöllner, accordion LSO St Luke’s, London | 14 January 2023 For her LSO Jerwood Composer+ showcase event, Hollie Harding curated an elaborate event on the theme of memory, culminating in her thirty-minute piece for clarinet, accordion and cello, Theories of Forgetting. Six pieces were given from the stage … Continue reading Train home review: Hollie Harding, Theories of Forgetting →

Train home reviews: Riot Ensemble, ‘from dusk to dawn’, Kings Place

A fabulous concert at Kings Place last night by Riot Ensemble, crowned by a coda in memory of composer, singer and guitarist Alastair Putt. Putt’s Quincunx was commissioned by Riot in 2019 but because of the pandemic was only getting its premiere tonight, two months after Putt’s death. It is a really beautiful piece: intricate, … Continue reading Train home reviews: Riot Ensemble, ‘from dusk to dawn’, Kings Place →

Forthcoming on NMC – Rebecca Saunders: Skin

It is remarkable that Rebecca Saunders – by any measure one of the UK’s leading and most admired composers – has not yet been recorded by this country’s primary new music label, NMC (although her music has appeared on three discs by HCR, which are distributed through NMC). So the announcement of a first release this … Continue reading Forthcoming on NMC – Rebecca Saunders: Skin →

The Music of Liza Lim: Chang-O Flies to the Moon

The third and last post in my short series of offcuts from The Music of Liza Lim, comes from the final chapter, ‘Music for the stage’. Lim’s second opera, Yuè Lìng Jié (Moon Spirit Feasting) is very high on my fantasy list of revivals. Its complexity makes that unlikely, and the particulars of its staging … Continue reading The Music of Liza Lim: Chang-O Flies to the Moon →

The Music of Liza Lim: Burning House

The second piece in my short series of bonus Liza Lim content is Burning House for singing koto player. This is a good example of Lim’s practice of working with the histories and ergonomics of individual instruments in her practice, and of her way of working with non-Western instruments. It’s a particularly interesting example, because … Continue reading The Music of Liza Lim: Burning House →

The Music of Liza Lim: The Weaver’s Knot

For reasons of space, a small number of work analyses had to be cut from the printed version of The Music of Liza Lim. I’m very happy, however, to be able to publish these online as sort of DVD extras. First up is The Weaver’s Knot. Although this is a short piece, I wanted to … Continue reading The Music of Liza Lim: The Weaver’s Knot →