From Wednesday to Saturday each week, Kings Place will be given over to one artist, group or organisation to present whatever they feel most appropriate within the available spaces. Performers appear by invitation of Kings Place and, in contrast to the majority of music venues, will have carte blanche over the artistic content of their week. This departure from standard practise presents an extraordinary opportunity for artists of all disciplines, enabling them to take risks that few could otherwise contemplate, and to give an in-depth view of their work; take a look at our forthcoming Weekly Themes below.
Classical Opera Company: Mozart week (Mon 1st Dec 2008 - Sun 7th Dec 2008)
The Classical Opera Company's first Kings Place residency focuses on Mozart's extraordinary childhood. It opens with a 'Mozart in London' concert, which includes his first symphony - written in Chelsea when he was eight years old - and also explores some of the music he would have heard during his stay. This is followed by two concert performances of Mozart's enchanting opera 'Ascanio in Alba', written for Milan in 1771. Following their acclaimed new recording, the company also presents a brand-new version of 'The A-Z of Mozart Opera', a whistle-stop tour through Mozart's operatic canon from 'Apollo et Hyacinthus' to 'Die Zauberflote', and the week concludes with a Sunday-morning interview with Sir Thomas Allen.
Haydn in London (Mon 8th Dec 2008 - Sun 14th Dec 2008)
When Haydn arrived in London in 1791 he was the most famous composer in Europe. Peter Cropper of the much-missed Lindsay Quartet explores the chamber music he wrote for and during his two visits, inspired by Saloman, the women he admired and the city's enthusiastic audience. He is joined by regular partners cellist Moray Welsh and pianist Martin Roscoe to play the 'London' piano trios, three inspired by a passionate love affair Haydn conducted during his stay. These will be interleaved with concerts by the esteemed Chilingirian Quartet, who take up the challenge of the late quartets, some of the first pieces of chamber music ever to be composed for a large public audience.
Roald Dahl Plus (Mon 15th Dec 2008 - Sun 21st Dec 2008)
Peter Ash curates a week focusing on childhood, with concerts for schools, families and grown-ups. There will be free Roald Dahl concerts at lunchtime in the Atrium performed by school children. Simon Callow and the Dante Quartet persent Mozart as a teenager. Aleksander Madzar plays Tchaikovsky; Joan Rodgers and Roderick Williams sinfg Mahler's 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn'; Quentin Blake gives talk on how his illustration tells its stories in 'We All Join In', Gerald Scarfe on 'A Caricaturist's Youth'. Roald Dahl's 'Little Red Riding Hood' by Paul Patterson and Britten's 'A Ceremony of Carols' make this a festive Christmas finale.
The Song of Roland (Mon 12th Jan 2009 - Sun 18th Jan 2009)
A series of four choral concerts showing off very different ensembles – from children’s voices with Finchley Children’s Music Group, on to the big sounds of the Hertfordshire Chorus and Crouch End Festival Chorus to the intimacy of The Shout. All four concerts feature the music of Orlando Gough (hence the title), who has written a new piece for Hertfordshire Chorus’s opening concert. Finchley Children’s Music Group includes a Gough piece among other contemporary works, Crouch End Festival Chorus sings Gough’s arrangement of a Buddy Holly song and Gough presents his own ensemble, The Shout, for an evening of greatest hits.
The Art of News (Mon 19th Jan 2009 - Sun 25th Jan 2009)
Celebrities, binge drinking, football, the American election… our diet of daily news can be like so much fast food, gulped down and barely digested. This project, led by composer Dominic Muldowney and poet Graham Roos, discovers the ‘art’ under our noses and before our eyes, by turning the daily news into the text for music, radical song and ‘hold the front page’ poetry. The London Sinfonietta (whose headquarters are now at Kings Place, the new home of The Guardian) explore music, words, news and new collaborations with composers, singers and poets from all walks of life. Look out for free foyer and on-stage ‘interventions’ with films and performances from members of the local King’s Cross community, developed through the London Sinfonietta’s participation programme.
Beethoven Unwrapped: Week 3 (Mon 26th Jan 2009 - Sun 1st Feb 2009)
Beethoven is a towering figure in Western Music; his music represents the ultimate realisation of one tradition and the explosive birth of another. As a revolutionary artist, he casts a shadown that will surely outreach the 21st century. But his was not just a revolution on the public stage; some of his most radical inspirations are contained in his music for solo piano and string quartet. In the third week of this comprehensive chamber series, the Orion Quartet complete their survey of the string quartets, Jean-Bernard Pommier continues his journey through the piano sonatas and Nicholas Marston examines the sketch books in a fascinating Study Day.
Mendelssohn Rediscovered: Unknown Songs (Mon 2nd Feb 2009 - Sun 8th Feb 2009)
Until now a large number of Mendelssohn’s songs have remained hidden away in library archives or private collections. This series, conceived for the Mendelssohn anniversary year in 2009, presents these virtually unknown songs in programmes coupled with music by other composers – mainly friends, colleagues and contemporaries of Mendelssohn who influenced or were influenced by his music. Pianist and series creator Eugene Asti, together with nine leading young singers take you on a fascinating journey of discovery as they explore this unjustly neglected repertoire. Pre-concert talks by two of the world’s most respected song experts, Susan Youens (who will also give a public masterclass) and Richard Stokes, will highlight important aspects of the programmes along the way.
Transformations: Words and Music (Mon 9th Feb 2009 - Sun 15th Feb 2009)
Four evenings devised by pianist and broadcaster Iain Burnside combine music and poetry in different ways. ‘Transformations’ features just a singer, an actor and a pianist – the intensity of sung and spoken poetry enhanced by minimal movement and lighting. ‘Lads in their Hundreds’ goes one step further: an outstanding group of young artists weave songs and poems about war into a fully staged theatre piece. Our final evening is more relaxed as a wide range of guests kick loose for ‘Party Time’, an entertainment part jam session, part chat show.
Mikhail Rudy: Piano Dialogues (Mon 16th Feb 2009 - Sun 22nd Feb 2009)
Russian-born pianist Mikhaïl Rudy has always been fascinated by the connections between different types of art. For this series, this creative and versatile artist is presenting a number of innovative projects around classical music conversing with other kinds of music, creators or genres: in Letters to Milena there is a dialogue between Kafka’s text and Janácek’s music involving a pianist and an actor. In Double Dream, two different types of music – jazz and classical – collide. And Mikhaïl Rudy’s own recitals set up a dialogue between the pianist and masters of romanticism from Chopin to Scriabine.
Beethoven Unwrapped: Week 4 (Mon 23rd Feb 2009 - Sun 1st Mar 2009)
Beethoven is a towering figure in Western Music; his music represents the ultimate realisation of one tradition and the explosive birth of another. As a revolutionary artist, he casts a shadown that will surely outreach the 21st century. But his was not just a revolution on the public stage; some of his most radical inspirations are contained in his music for solo piano and string quartet. In the fourth week of Beethoven Unwrapped, violinist Peter Cropper with Moray Welsh (cello)and Martin Roscoe (piano) perform the piano trios, while John Mark Ainsley and Iain Burnside combine neglected gems from Beethoven's song outout with his late masterpiece An die ferne Geliebte.
Sacconi Quartet: Exploring the Arts (Mon 2nd Mar 2009 - Sun 8th Mar 2009)
The Sacconi Quartet curates a varied and energetic week of creative performance. The overriding theme is that of chamber music, with the string quartet at its core. The Quartet’s collaboration with dancers stems from the players’ own desire always to feel music within the body as a physical process. The anniversaries of Haydn and Mendelssohn are celebrated through collaborations with musician-playwright Justin Pearson, actor Roger Ringrose and the Badke Quartet. Finally, the Sacconi Quartet’s creative energies are put to the test with a programme of part-notated part-improvised music with Acoustic Triangle and the Lighthouse Trio.
Classical Opera Company: Haydn’s Brave New World (Mon 9th Mar 2009 - Sun 15th Mar 2009)
“Whoever studies music, let his daily bread be Haydn. . . Haydn the great musician, the first who created everything, discovered everything, taught everything to the rest.” Jean Ingres (1780-1867) To mark the 200th anniversary of Haydn’s death, the Classical Opera Company presents a series of four concerts exploring the magnificent sequence of works which he wrote while in the employment of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy. These concerts combine Haydn’s most innovative symphonies with highlights from the fifteen operas which he wrote between 1762 and 1783. With the company’s acclaimed period-instrument orchestra and an exciting array of young singers, the series offers an opportunity to hear this glorious repertoire performed in the sort of intimate setting for which it was first conceived, and the week concludes with a lunchtime recital featuring the outstanding fortepianist Gary Cooper.
ECM Live at Kings Place (Mon 16th Mar 2009 - Sun 22nd Mar 2009)
ECM Records passes two milestones in 2009. Manfred Eicher’s visionary record label is 40 – four decades of recording that have defined and re-defined a world view of jazz and improvised music, transcending genres, cultures and expectations. And ECM New Series – formed to nurture the label’s commitment to new composition – is 25. This series explores two fascinating strands that reflect paths being followed by ECM artists today. An interest in forging a shared language between early music and European folk musics, and the art of improvisation takes us in one direction – and the new sounds emerging from a younger generation of European musicians and their response to jazz takes us in another.
Beethoven Unwrapped: Week 5 (Mon 23rd Mar 2009 - Sun 29th Mar 2009)
Beethoven is a towering figure in Western Music; his music represents the ultimate realisation of one tradition and the explosive birth of another. As a revolutionary artist, he casts a shadown that will surely outreach the 21st century. But his was not just a revolution on the public stage; some of his most radical inspirations are contained in his music for solo piano and string quartet. In the fifth week of Beethoven Unwrapped, Peter Cropper and Martin Roscoe present all the violin sonatas, the Avison Ensemble perform early orchestral works and Jean-Bernard Pommier completes his cycle of the piano sonatas.
The NMC Songbook (Mon 30th Mar 2009 - Sun 5th Apr 2009)
To celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2009 the leading new music record label NMC has commissioned songs from nearly 100 British composers. Recorded at Kings Place in the autumn of 2008 the NMC Songbook will be launched on CD simultaneously with the first public performances of the songs, spread over four concerts curated by composer Colin Matthews. These will also include instrumental music from the 17th-century Fitzwilliam Virginal Book and songs and music by John Dowland. The aim is nothing less than a renaissance for British song! The composers range from leading figures in British music to many new and rising stars; expect to hear work by Julian Anderson, Richard Rodney Bennett, Harrison Birtwistle, Gavin Bryars, Gordon Crosse, Peter Maxwell Davies, James Dillon, Michael Finnissy, Alexander Goehr, Emily Hall, Jonathan Harvey, Robin Holloway, Simon Holt, Oliver Knussen, Anna Meredith, Thea Musgrave, Anthony Payne, David Sawer, Howard Skempton, Errolyn Wallen, Judith Weir and John Woolrich. Singers include Elizabeth Atherton, Claire Booth, Ailish Tynan, Susan Bickley, Jean Rigby, Lore Lixenberg, James Bowman, Dan Norman, and David Stout with Iain Burnside, Andrew Ball and Huw Watkins piano Jane Chapman harpsichord Lucy Wakeford harp Antonis Hatzinikolaou guitar Owen Gunnell percussion Other unexpected events will occur during the week! Please check online for further details on concerts as it becomes available.
Easter Reflections: The Sixteen (Mon 6th Apr 2009 - Sun 12th Apr 2009)
In this series of three concerts of Easter meditations, members of The Sixteen under the direction of Harry Christophers will be exploring the way in which deeply spiritual composers and poets view Holy Week. Buxtehude's Membra Jesu nostri acts as the link between the programmes; his passion-meditation sets the scene with subtle emotion and clarity. Coupled with the intense drama of Victoria's Tenebrae Responsories, the searingly powerful Lamentations by Robert White, Biber's extraordinary Mystery Sonatas and poems by such illustrious metaphysical poets as John Donne and George Herbert, the experience will prove to be heartfelt and inwardly searching.
Beethoven Unwrapped: Week 6 (Mon 20th Apr 2009 - Sun 26th Apr 2009)
Beethoven is a towering figure in Western Music; his music represents the ultimate realisation of one tradition and the explosive birth of another. As a revolutionary artist, he casts a shadown that will surely outreach the 21st century. But his was not just a revolution on the public stage; some of his most radical inspirations are contained in his music for solo piano and string quartet.
Beethoven Unwrapped: Week 7 (Mon 25th May 2009 - Sun 31st May 2009)
Beethoven is a towering figure in Western Music; his music represents the ultimate realisation of one tradition and the explosive birth of another. As a revolutionary artist, he casts a shadown that will surely outreach the 21st century. But his was not just a revolution on the public stage; some of his most radical inspirations are contained in his music for solo piano and string quartet.
Beethoven Unwrapped: Week 8 (Mon 22nd Jun 2009 - Sun 28th Jun 2009)
Beethoven is a towering figure in Western Music; his music represents the ultimate realisation of one tradition and the explosive birth of another. As a revolutionary artist, he casts a shadown that will surely outreach the 21st century. But his was not just a revolution on the public stage; some of his most radical inspirations are contained in his music for solo piano and string quartet.