GBSR Duo: For Philip Guston
in partnership with Another Timbre
Memory Unwrapped
| Morton Feldman | For Philip Guston |
|---|
| George Barton | percussion |
|---|---|
| Siwan Rhys | piano / celeste |
| Taylor MacLennan | flutes |
“We do not hear what we hear… only what we remember” Morton Feldman. A valedictory masterpiece, a study of memory and a transcendental concert experience: Morton Feldman’s 4-hour tribute to his estranged friend Philip Guston is one of the most extraordinary and moving musical memorials ever composed.
GBSR begin their year as Artists in Residence by celebrating Morton Feldman, one of the great explorers of memory in music, in his centenary birthday week, in a concert that also launches their new box set of Morton Feldman trios with Taylor MacLennan, on Another Timbre.
The close friendship between Morton Feldman and the painter Philip Guston collapsed in 1970, an estrangement that would endure until the painter’s death in 1980. Four years later Feldman would dedicate this contemplative epic to his late friend and to their lost friendship; a work that conjures an emotionally complex world of hazy perceptions and hazier reflections.
As the hushed tones of piano, flutes, celeste and metallic percussion cluster in complex soft-focus rhythms, at some points cohering around snatches of melody, at others scattering to explore seemingly unrelated ideas, Feldman explores the limits of memory and half-recollection – traversing and re-traversing the same terrain, but with deceptively sure tread leading the listener towards a poignant, perhaps devastating, conclusion.
This event will last approximately 4½ hours.
NB – There is no scheduled interval for this concert.
Concessions & Under 30s tickets
Kings Place Concessions Tickets
We want to ensure that people who may be struggling financially to purchase a ticket can still enjoy visiting Kings Place. A limited number of tickets are allocated for certain events (if the ticket type does not show in the booking pathway, it means they are not available for this event or have all been sold). Concessions tickets are accessible for people on the following criteria (for more information visit our FAQs)
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Disability Benefit
- Income Support or Job Seekers allowance
- Students
£10 ‘Under 30s’ tickets
A limited number of £10 tickets for attendees aged under 30 are available for certain shows. To purchase an ‘Under 30s’ ticket, please choose the ‘Under 30s’ price type when selecting your ticket(s). If the option does not appear, this means all ‘Under 30s’ tickets have sold out or are not available for this performance. Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue. The £10 offer does not apply to premium price categories.
Plan your visit
Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.
Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.
The Venue
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.
Event Times
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.
- Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
- We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
- Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible
Access
We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.
If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk.
Food & Drink
Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.
Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.
GBSR Duo
Kings Place Artists in Residence GBSR Duo – George Barton (percussion) and Siwan Rhys (piano) – combines two of the UK’s finest contemporary chamber instrumentalists.
Their work ranges from the twentieth-century modernism of Stockhausen and Ustvolskaya to music by Brian Eno and Aphex Twin; from the delicacy of Eva-Maria Houben and Barbara Monk Feldman to the cracked virtuosity of Alex Paxton and Arne Gieshoff.
Regular performers at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Bold Tendencies, other recent performances include Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, ROH Linbury Theatre, Walt Disney Hall, Stadtcasino Basel, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Sound Festival Aberdeen and Darmstadt Festival.
GBSR’s recordings are praised for their exceptional fidelity and variety, whether bringing new depths of appreciation to existing repertoire through benchmark recordings of Stockhausen and Barbara Monk Feldman, or highlighting new works in premiere recordings of Oliver Leith, Eva-Maria Houben, Lisa Illean, Alex Paxton and others.
Their year as Kings Place Artists in Residence takes in celebrations of Morton Feldman and Steve Martland and exciting new large-scale works by Beatrice Dillon and Sarah Davachi. GBSR are the winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society 2025 Young Artist award.
Taylor MacLennan
Taylor MacLennan is one of the leading new music flautists of his generation, renowned for his control, creativity and versatility.
He is a founder member of Explore Ensemble, who give acclaimed performances of twentieth century milestones and new works, and enjoys close collaborations with composers of today in the creation of their music.
Taylor has appeared at numerous festivals throughout the UK and Europe, such as the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh, hcmf//, Rainy Days, November Music, and Schleswig-Holstein.
As a soloist, he has performed at ZKM Karlsruhe, Zeitströme Darmstadt, Kings Place, and Cambridge Music Festival. He has recorded for labels such as NMC, HCR, Hyperion, New Amsterdam Records, and Another Timbre.
Reviews
‘A wonderful, adventuresome, sensitive pair of musicians.’ Kate Molleson, BBC Radio 3
‘Calm authority and exquisite precision… an immaculately conceived programme.’ Rian Evans, The Guardian
‘Quiet magic and sonic wonder, in deeply sensitive, considered performances.’ David Kettle, The Scotsman