On 1 December, Christian Jost’s The Woman in the Gardens of Suzhou will receive its German premiere at the Congresshalle Saarbrücken with the Saarländische Staatsorchester conducted by Jonathon Heyward. The concert forms part of the orchestra’s “Artist in Focus” series which will feature Jost both as composer and conductor throughout the 2019/20 season.
Originally commissioned by the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, The Woman in the Gardens of Suzhou received its world premiere on 27 November 2018 in China. Over the course of 15 minutes, Jost’s work explores the architecture and history associated with a series of nine classical gardens which together form an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Christian Jost – The Woman in the Gardens of Suzhou: procurement of contents

Titles are very important to me because I want to create a specific space of association for the listeners. I'm less and less concerned with what sounds I want to compose. I am much more concerned with conveying content than constellations, which then have an abstract size. When listening to contemporary music, you can see a lot in a larger arc. A complex structure can be heard in a larger picture. This larger image needs a really strong and exciting content in the first place. – Christian Jost

The Woman in the Gardens of Suzhou will be performed by the orchestra again on 2 December, after which the orchestra’s next “Artist in Focus” concert will take place on 16 February 2020, where Jost conducts two of his own works Lovers – Sky Song and Dichterliebe.

• Christian Jost – profile


• The Woman in the Gardens of Suzhou – work details 


• Saarländisches Staatsorchester 

Photo: Joe Quiao

On 20 November Andrew Norman’s orchestral work, Sustain, will receive its European Premiere at the Barbican, London. The work will be performed by its commissioners, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor, Gustavo Dudamel.

While the work was itself completed over the course of several months, Norman’s idea for Sustain had itself began with an extended period of conceptualisation and experimentation several years earlier. The new 40-minute work that results, marks a change of direction in Norman’s music that contrasts with the character of earlier works such as Play. Instead, Sustain draws on its audience to consider its place within time and space. The work is not quite cyclical but rather it spirals, repeating the same music ten times with each repetition unfurling much faster than the last.  

Andrew Norman – Sustain: how the Earth is holding and sustaining us

All the work I was doing with long spans of musical time and geologically-unfolding sonic processes was in many ways my attempt to place us, the listeners, in relation to things in nature which are unfathomably bigger and longer than we are. And if there is a sense of sadness or loss that permeates this music, it comes from the knowledge that we, at this critical moment in our history, are not doing enough to sustain the planet that sustains us, that we are not preparing our home for those who will inhabit it in the next hundred, thousand, or million years. – Andrew Norman

Preceding the upcoming performance of Sustain, the UK Premiere of Norman’s Sacred Geometry will be given by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London on 19 November. Meanwhile, on 21 November audiences in Finland can hear Try in Lahti, performed by Sinfonia Lahti and conductor Dahlia Stasevska.

• Andrew Norman – profile


• Sustain – work details 


• Barbican Centre London

 

A Practical Approach

Frank Sikora

 

• In-depth analysis of Jazz and Pop songs


• Includes examples, exercises and assignments


• Downloadable MP3 play-along tracks and online material


• For intermediate to advanced players

 

 

This book aims to establish as close a relationship as possible between theory, the ear and the instrument. Jazz Harmony- Think, Listen, Play is a comprehensive approach to improvisation, translating knowledge into sound and developing the musical imagination. Its aim is to provide a rewarding journey whilst helping the player find their ‘inner voice’.

The world premiere of Chaya Czernowin’s opera, Heart Chamber, for Deutsche Oper Berlin takes place on 15 November conducted by Johannes Kalitzke. The production, which has been directed by Claus Guth, is realised by a small cast of soloists consisting of Patrizia Ciofi, Noa Frenkel, Dietrich Henschel, and Terry Wey.

Czernowin has described her Deutsche Oper commission as a ‘chain of connected situations, dreams and nodal moments’ together expressing only a hint of a story. Heart Chamber is rather, as it is subtitled, ‘an enquiry about love’. The opera asks questions about what happens when we fall in love and changes love can bring, exploring love both as a desire for closeness as well as the wish for independence or as a need to overcome loneliness through an emotional bond.

This project is a departure to a new, subtle world. None of her pieces are easy to sing, but the work each one requires is worth it! She has a microscopic view on music, for example, she explores the transition of speaking and singing in tiny steps. She also understands the breathing in and out as tones. – Noa Frenkel

There will be five performances of the opera in total, with the last night of the production taking place on 6 December. Following the performances in Berlin, a DVD of the production is scheduled to be released. Also in Berlin this November, Ensemble ilinx perform Czernowin’s Lovesong and the evocatively titled, Ayre: Towed through plumes, thicket, asphalt, sawdust and hazardous air I shall not forget the sound of on 24 at the Universität der Künste Berlin.

• Chaya Czernowin – profile


• Heart Chamber – work details


• Deutsche Oper Berlin

Photo: Chaya Czernowin & Christopher McIntosh

Richard Strauss’ opera Die ägyptische Helena received its world premiere in 1923 in Dresden. This year on 9 December, a new production of the opera will open at La Scala in Milan, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst and directed by Sven-Eric Bechtolf.
The libretto for Strauss’ opera was created by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, with whom the composer had collaborated previously on a number of works. The libretto for the first act was completed quickly, but disagreements between the two led to delays in the work’s completion.

Richard Strauss – Die ägyptische Helena: Recollection and oblivion

The story centres around the sorceress Aithra’ discovery of the plot by Menalas, the King of Sparta, to kill his wife, Helena, over her infidelity during the Trojan War. Aithra seeks to prevent the murder by giving the couple a potion that makes them both susceptible to suggestion. She then assures Menelas that his wife was actually safe in Egypt and that, when the Trojans had initially abducted Helena, the gods had intervened and replaced her with a phantom.

The processes of the soul by which this reconciliation had been caused are the content of Hofmannsthal’s poetry, and they offered the musician the most grateful task. Richard Strauss

There will be a total of six performances of Die ägyptische Helena in Milan during November, with the final night taking place on the 23rd. Strauss’ operas Der Rosenkavalier and Salome also receive performances during November, at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden and Staatsoper Berlin respectively.

• Richard Strauss – profile


• Die ägyptische Helena – work details 


• Teatro alla Scala

Photo: Marcus Lieberenz

Double Bass

Catherine Elliott

 

 

• Complete repertoire resource for grades 1 to 5


• Diverse collection of pieces with practice and performance tips


• Includes numerous grade-appropriate exercises and audio demonstrations


• Piano accompaniment included

 

 

This series draws on the rich and varied Boosey & Hawkes catalogue of classical, contemporary and educational repertoire, for the aspiring Grade 1 to 5 double bassists.

Each volume contains grade-appropriate scales and arpeggios, sight-reading and improvisation activities, as well as aural awareness tasks.

Grade by Grade is ideal for teaching, exam preparation and performance.

30 Famous Pieces for Piano

Hans-Günter Heumann

 

• 30 well-known pieces for piano


• Easy to intermediate level


• Includes practical performance notes

 

To celebrate Beethoven’s 250th Birthday, Schott Music presents a new collection of his most popular works for piano.

Heumann has compiled 30 original works and arrangements, including “Für Elise”, “Moonlight Sonata”, and “Ode to Joy”, all in one volume.

Complete with fingerings, tempo suggestions, and an easy-to-read layout, this collection is ideal for both teaching and playing for fun.

Vocal Score

Will Todd

 

• Contains 6 movements about love and loss


• Easy to intermediate level


• Written in memory of Will Todd’s mother


• Optional jazz trio accompaniment available

 

 

Although not a conventional Requiem, Todd’s six-movement work about love and loss might be appropriate in a memorial context, but should by no means be confined to it.

It can also be seen as ‘life-affirming’ work, characterised by Todd’s recognisable jazz-infused
harmonic language, memorable melodies, and powerful and personal texts.

Songs of Peace may be performed complete or as separate movements, two of which are scored for upper voices.

It includes a piano accompaniment with optional bass and drums.

For Guitar

Manuel Maria Ponce

 

• Composed in a baroque style


• Written for the famous guitarist Andrés Segovia


• Intermediate to advanced level

 

 

Composed by Manuel Ponce, this Prelude always appeared under the name of the reputable lute composer Silvius Leopold Weiss in Segovia’s repertoire.

In this first edition, the original version for solo guitar has been reconstructed and is now available as part of the Guitar Archive series.

 

Easiest Piano Pieces by P.I. Tchaikovsky

Wilhelm Ohmen

 

• Contains Tchaikovsky’s easiest works in one volume


• Easy to intermediate level


• For teaching and playing at home

 

My First Tchaikovsky contains a varied selection of the Russian composer’s original and popular pieces, suitable for beginners to intermediate pianists.

The repertoire includes works from Tchaikovsky’s Album for the Young for beginners, as well as pieces from The Seasons and 12 pieces for intermediate players. Arrangements from the ballet, The Nutcracker, also feature for players wanting something slightly more demanding.