Michael Tilson Thomas
Painter of Dreams, 24 Jan–2 Feb
MTT on Debussy
Tuesday 24 January–Thursday 2 February 2012
MTT explores Debussy with the LSO at the Barbican and LSO St Luke's; and on tour in Spain.
As the LSO’s Principal Conductor from 1988–95, Michael Tilson Thomas led festivals devoted to Claude Debussy and as a composer and pianist he shares the French composer’s love of intimacy in music. For Tilson Thomas, Debussy’s chamber works offer a chance to really get to know and understand the composer behind them and feels that ‘If we are able to get inside the music and inhabit it … it will cause everyone to find each other in this new psychological space. And that’s most exciting’.
From the very start, Debussy’s music sought out more intimate, stripped down forms and textures to contrast with the heavy Romanticism of his predecessors such as Richard Wagner, whose heavy shadow still hung over Western music. Debussy’s music did far more than break away from old shadows – as one of the most prominent figures of the French impressionist movement (alongside Maurice Ravel), his works are infused with influences from around the globe, focusing on suggestion and atmosphere rather than depiction, enigmatically using loose structures and glimmering harmonies. For Debussy, music was about a fluidity of self-determining rhythms and colours: ‘I try to free it from barren traditions that stifle it’.
***JANUARY SALE!***
20% off Barbican concert tickets (24 Jan & 2 Feb) and LSO St Luke's Eclectica tickets (1 Feb)! Use the promo code 120101 when booking online, or quote 'LSO January Sale' when booking on the phone or in person.
MTT returns in May
Michael Tilson Thomas returns in May and June to conduct Mahler Symphonies Nos 1, 4 and 5, and works with soloists Yefin Bronfman and Gil Shaham.
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Open Rehearsal
Sun 22 Jan 2–5pm, LSO St Luke's
£4 - call 020 7638 8891 to book
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Artist Conversation
Tue 24 Jan 1.15pm, Barbican and Facebook
Free to attend in person, and streamed live on the LSO's Facebook page
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> Watch a recording of the conversation on YouTube
Concert #1
Tue 24 Jan 7.30pm, Barbican
Debussy Préludes | Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra (soloist Nelson Freire) | Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
Tickets from £10
> More info and online booking
Debussy: Painter of Dreams
UBS Soundscapes: Eclectica chamber concert
Wed 1 Feb 8pm, LSO St Luke's
MTT on piano with the LSO String Ensemble and Woodwind Principals and mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter
Debussy Danse sacrée et danse profane | Sonata for Cello and Piano | Chansons de Bilitis | Sonata for Violin and Piano | Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp
Tickets from £10
> More info and online booking
Concert #2
Thu 2 Feb 7.30pm, Barbican
Debussy Danse sacrée et danse profane (soloist Bryn Lewis) | En blanc et noir | La mer | Weill/Brecht Seven Deadly Sins (soloist Anne Sofie von Otter)
Tickets from £10
> More info and online booking
Concerts on tour
> Fri 27 Jan: Madrid
> Sat 28 Jan: Madrid
> Sun 29 Jan: Valencia
> Mon 30 Jan: Zaragoza
