Julian Anderson is the subject of A BBC Total Immersion Day on 21st October. It begins at 1pm at Milton Concert Hall with Guildhall musicians performing chamber works Ring Dance, The Colour of Pomegrantes, Van Gogh Blue and Alhambra Fantasy; followed by an exploration of his choral music with the BBC Singers at St Giles’ Cripplegate at 5pm. The day concludes back at Milton Court with performances of his orchestral works Eden, Imagin’d Corners, In lieblicher Blaue and Symphony at 7.30pm. Unlike other Total Immersion Days there does not appear to be any lectures, talks or films.
On 14th Wigmore Hall is putting on a day dedicated to Polish music, hosted by Jennifer Pike and friends. There will be music from Chopin, Szymanowski, Karłowicz, Lutosławski, Wieniawski, Knapik, Górecki, Adam Jarzębski and Grazyna Bacewicz, not to mention the UK premiere of Penderecki’s Capriccio for solo violin and the world premiere of a new work by Paulina Załubska.
Other noteworthy performances in October include the premiere of a new ballet by Welsh harpist and composer Catrin Finch at the Swansea Festival on 14th; a new concert staging of George Benjamin’s opera Written on Skin at LSO St. Luke’s on 20th; John Williams score for Jaws simultaneously performed with a screening of the film on 21st at the Royal Albert Hall; and an as yet untitled septet world premiere by George Tsontakis at Wigmore Hall on 30th.
There is also plenty of new music, including regional and world premieres at three October festivals. The Venice Biennale (29th Sept–8th October) will explore the theme of the Orient, including in the music of Stockhausen; Scotland’s Sound Festival (26th October–11th November) will include premieres by Rebecca Bruton, Jason Doell, Lawrence Dunn, Sarah Lianne Lewis, Gunnar Andreas Kristinsson, Sonia Allori, Pete Stollery, Janet Beat, Stéphane Magnin and John De Simone. The 32 days of Wien Modern (30th October—1st December), finally, will include 48 productions, about 90 events and over 50 premieres.