Reflective, swooping, hard-edged and crystal clarity – and that’s just the inspiring architecture of this year’s Pavillion at the Serpentine Gallery. Perfectly set under the gleaming aluminium roof,  British drummer Charles Hayward (This Heat, Camberwell Now) and Japanese prog rock musician Tatsuya Yoshida brought a rhythmic maelstrom to a peaceful summer Hyde Park.  Andi Studer, one of the producers on our New Music Plus programme, had co-produced this night with the Serpentine Gallery and OTO projects, and the rapturous capacity crowd spilled out onto the park around creating a appreciative festival vibe.

Charles Hayward’s first set married his percussive wizardry with live electronics and vocal dexterity, fleet of foot and hand while teasing delicate resonances and bombastic gestures from his kit. Tatsuya Yoshida’s haunting vocals raised the second set as the sun dropped. Renowned for his prog rock in Ruins and YB02, and as ‘the indisputable master drummer of the Japanese underground’, his fans pressed forward in eager anticipation. The briefest of breaks and they were both back for an astonishing duo, improvising with trays, ding-dong hand-overs and delightful wit. 

More to come from both Yoshida care of Cafe Oto that weekend, and more to come from Andi Studer’s production on 9 October (Phill Niblock, Nelly Boyd) at the Pavillion.

Charlotte

Yesterday, the Proms saw 3 concerts in a day for their celebration of multiple pianos, all involving PRSF-funded ensembles – pianocircus, Britten Sinfonia and London Sinfonietta. I was lucky enough to catch the Sinfonietta’s Prom last night.

The concert kicked off with George Antheil’s Ballet mécanique, a composer of whom I had previously little knowledge. Scored for 4 pianos, 2 xylophones, glockenspiel, electric doorbells, percussion and aeroplane propellers, the piece had me spellbound from the start. Although I was a little disappointed that the aeroplane propellers weren’t in use (a recording of an aircraft engine replaced the propellers), the music was beautiful and the dexterity of the xylophone players, as well as the pianists, was awe inspiring. John Adam’s Grand Pianola Music was the highlight of the concert for me. Half an hour of music passed by in what felt like a few minutes, and the atmospheric music was entrancing, consisting of 2 pianos, wind, brass and percussion.

In some ways, the second half was a bit of an anti-climax after Antheil and Adams. That’s not to say that the music or playing wasn’t of a high quality. Bartok’s Sonata for two pianos and percussion was well played, with the pianos acting almost as percussion instruments alongside the 7 percussion instruments (played by 2 performers). Stravinsky’s musical interpretation of a traditional Russian wedding - Les Noces - brought the concert to a suitably raucous end, involving 4 pianos, 4 solo singers, the London Sinfonietta and the BBC Singers.

The virtuosity of the percussion in the London Sinfonietta was the main thing that stuck out for me – that and conductor Edward Gardner. I was sitting to the side of the stage, and so could see the players and conductor at close quarters – always a fascinating bonus when watching a concert. All in all, a resounding thumbs up and a Sunday evening well spent away from the TV!

You can listen to the prom here

Eleanor

Saturday 1st August, Victoria Park, London

I attended the first Field Day two years ago which had a spectacular line-up, but was marred by the incredible amount of time spent queueing, as there simply weren’t enough toilets on site. However the organisers were good enough to hold their hands up to this, emailing round an apology the next day, and this year I don’t remember queueing for either the bar or the toilet: I just remember a day of lovely music and unbridled fun, as this picture should testify:

The one that broke the camel's back

7th July 2009

St. Andrew’s Church, Holborn, London

Popped along to the PRSF-funded Nigel Osborne premiere ‘Seven Words, Seven Icons, Seven Cities’ on 7th July, part of the 2009 City of London Festival . St. Andrew’s Church in Holborn is a fantastic venue…just wish I’d brought a cushion.

Osborne’s world premiere kicked off proceedings and didn’t disappoint. Featuring texts from Celtic, Nordic and Baltic languages (taking inspiration from COLF’s theme of the 60th parallel), the composition comprised seven short movements performed exceptionally by Tenebrae  and Scottish Ensemble. 

Good to hear some Shostakovich after the Osborne (his 8th Quartet receiving a welcome performance), with the second half dedicated entirely to a stirring performance of MacMillan’s ‘Seven Last Words from the Cross’. Ivan Hewett from the Telegraph was also in attendance - check out his review here.

James

Welcome to the PRS Foundation’s blog. We like to get out to hear and see the projects we fund, and we’ll let you know about our experiences of new music around the UK on this blog. Don’t forget that you can find out all about what we do on our website, and find out what performances are coming up by signing up to our monthly e-bulletin.