February night not be the best time of year for festivals, but there are two decent events this month. The first, in Paris, is Festival Présences‘ Kaija Saariaho, Un Portrait, which runs from 10th–19th. Whilst the Finnish-born French composer’s work is the main focus, there is also a lot else to enjoy. One of the strands, indeed, focuses on other composers that have chosen France, and Paris in particular, as their place to live and work, including figures such as Ramon Lazkano, Hèctor Parra and Martin Matalon. There are also performances of music by well-known figures of the previous generation, such as Messiaen, Xenakis, Dutilleux and Grisey. In total there are 18 concerts, 40 composers, 78 works and 31 world premieres.
In UK from Friday 24th–Sunday 26th, Plymouth University will hold its annual Peninsula Arts Contemporary Music Festival. Titled ‘Voice 2.0’ the festival ‘offers a glimpse of how musicians, scientists and linguists are re-inventing voice through an ambitious programme exploring new means, forms and usages of voice in communication and musical creativity.’ Not all of the events are musical, but all are fascinating.
The first, for example, is a lecture by David J. Peterson, the world-famous language creator whose inventions include Dothraki for HBO’s Game of Thrones. He will talk about the experience of creating new languages and specifically that used in Eduardo R. Miranda’s vocal work Vōv. That will be premiered the following day with new works by Linas Baltas, Butterscotch and Nuria Bonet.
Other highlights include Nuria Bonet’s The Voice of the Sea, a collaboration with the Marine Institute and the Plymouth Coastal Observatory that uses information from a marine buoy to determine compositional choices; Alexix Kike’s Come Together: The Sonification of Lennon and McCartney, which analyses the emotions of their lyrics, the results being turned into a classical duet; and Marcelo Gimenes’s Silicon Voices, which draws upon the composer’s research into music and Artificial Intelligence.
Significant premieres next month include Michael Zev Gordon’s Violin Concerto at the Barbican, London on 3rd; Wolfgang Rihm’s Gruß-Moment 2 – in memoriam Pierre Boulez at the Philharmonie, Berlin on 10th; Timo Andres’s Steady Hand for two pianos and orchestra at the Barbican London on 25th; and Ryan Wigglesworth’s The Winter’s Tale, a new opera that begins its run at ENO, London on 27th. Astonishingly, Birtwistle’s Earth Dances receives it’s French premiere at the Philharmonie de Paris on 1st conducted by Daniel Harding.
Another event that promises to be a real treat is the chance to hear Jonny Greenwood’s magnificent score to Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, played live with a screening of the film at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on 5th February.