Tim Rutherford-Johnson's Blog, page 5

Sparrows in the hedge

The most striking things I heard today were the sparrows. Most of them live in the hedge at the end of our garden, where it backs onto the railway, but there are some under the eaves where our house joins our neighbours’. Last year there were two broods born in the hedge, and this year … Continue reading Sparrows in the hedge →

Sent to hospital – by Symkevi!

[NB this post was begun around ten days ago, while I was still in hospital. I’m out now, and have been for a few days. I haven’t bothered to change the tenses though.] I’m back in hospital. I’ve got an IV line in my arm, a ventilation machine by my bed and an antibiotic drip … Continue reading Sent to hospital – by Symkevi! →

Albums to look out for in 2020

This is the season of end-of-year lists (I’m pleased to see several of my top 10 make it into The Wire‘s albums of the year). But it is also a time of year when many great recordings are still coming out that might get overlooked in twelve months’ time. I want to give quick shoutouts … Continue reading Albums to look out for in 2020 →

This is not a love story: Chaya Czernowin’s Heart Chamber

Chaya Czernowin’s fourth opera, Heart Chamber, will receive its premiere at Deutsche Oper Berlin on 15 November, and subsequent performances on 21, 26 and 30 November, and 6 December. Tickets and other information can be found here. The following essay is a longer version of the text that is published (in German, translated by Wieland Hoban) … Continue reading This is not a love story: Chaya Czernowin’s Heart Chamber →

Speaking appearances, November 2019

I will be talking about music in two settings next week. On Tuesday, 5 November, I will be at the University of Huddersfield as a contributor (with Robert Adlington and Aaron Cassidy) to the first session in this year’s Speculations in Sound, a five-week series of seminar/workshop afternoons discussing the role and place of new … Continue reading Speaking appearances, November 2019 →

New piece, FEV1/FVC premiering at Deep Minimalism festival

Kathryn Williams will be including a short piece of mine in her performance of one-breath pieces Coming Up for Air as part of the Deep Minimalism festival at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre this weekend. I am absolutely thrilled. Coming up for Air is an ongoing project of Kathryn’s, in which she collects and performs … Continue reading New piece, FEV1/FVC premiering at Deep Minimalism festival →

Lim and Nono chronological playlists

I suppose as a nascent hobby I’ve started putting together chronological, bingeable playlists of composers’ outputs on Spotify. So far I’ve done this in connection with something I’ve been reading and/or writing about. My first one, for the music of Luigi Nono, was inspired by a review I was writing of Nostalgia for the Future, University … Continue reading Lim and Nono chronological playlists →

Never throw away

From theatre, film and game composer Matthew Reid comes an amusing story: Reid was pleased to discover that a movement from his orchestral work Intervals was included in a recent official Spotify playlist of new classical releases, sequenced between excerpts from Act III of Siegfried and ‘Torna ai felici di’ from Puccini’s Le villi.  Reid’s Intervals is … Continue reading Never throw away →

Borough New Music comes to an end

I was sad to read this morning that the excellent Borough New Music series has had to come to end. Over three seasons, artistic director Clare Simmonds and her team have put on a remarkable 72 lunchtime concerts in St George the Martyr Church, featuring 254 composers, 122 performers and 88 premieres. Although the stars never … Continue reading Borough New Music comes to an end →

Notes from the London Music Fund’s annual fundraiser

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the London Music Fund‘s annual fundraising lunch at the May Fair Hotel in London. The London Music Fund (formerly the Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians) supports musically gifted children from low income families across London. It does so by providing scholarships to children who primary schools … Continue reading Notes from the London Music Fund’s annual fundraiser →