Ligeti's opera Le grand macabre can still come as quite a shock to listeners in the 21st century. But what did the press of 1978 think about the premiere performance?
Throughout the centenary commemmorations of World War I we have been researching the history of the LSO and its musicians during the war years. Today, 100 years after his death while on active service, we remember trumpeter Sydney Moxon.
2014 Panufnik Composer Michael Taplin received the 5-minute commission after his workshop with the LSO back in 2015. He has been expanding his piece Ebbing Tides from the 3-minute work that was played at the workshop, and the finished work receives its world premiere at the Barbican Centre on Wednesday 14 December 2016, conducted by Fabien Gabel. Here he explains how he goes about constructing his music:
In 1966, the parishes of St Luke’s on Old Street, now LSO St Luke's, and St Giles’ Cripplegate, now just across the water from the Barbican Centre, joined together to form a single community in the heart of London after St Luke's was forced to close due to structural damage. The united congregation is still thriving today.