SINFONIETTA NOVA

An exciting partnership with Sinfonietta Cracovia, London Sinfonietta musicians will be guest concertmasters to celebrate their 30th anniversary and discover new areas of music for the Krakow audience. 

The first of three Sinfonietta Nova concerts will feature London Sinfonietta's Jonathan Morton. The concert will take you on a journey through the raw and palpable power of Krzysztof Penderecki, the eerie and unsettling undercurrent of the Oscar-winning soundtrack 'There Will Be Blood' to the unistic and deeply layered style of composer Zygmunt Krauze, who will sit at the piano.

The programme will include: 

Witold Lutosławski  Overture
Bryce Dessner  Réponse Lutosławski 
Peter Sculthorpe  Jabiru Dreaming
Edmund Finnis  Between Rain
Krzysztof Penderecki  String Quartet no 1 
Sygmunt Krauze  Penderecki in memoriam
Jonny Greenwood  Three movements from There Will be Blood

Jonathan Morton  violin
Sinfonietta Cracovia

The second Sinfonietta Nova concerts will feature London Sinfonietta's Paul Silverthorne. The concert programme will show the virtuosity of the ensemble and the individual players, while giving you an insight to Paul's personal connection to the music he has chosen.

The programme will include:

Nicholas Maw  Life Studies (III, V, VI)
Toru Takemitsu  A way A lone II
John Woolrich  Ulysses Awakes
Joanna Wnuk-Nazar  Quintetto per archi no. 2

"I’m very excited to be working with the Sinfonietta Cracovia in April. In planning the programme I have tried include works that have a particularly personal connection whilst giving the players the opportunity to show off their individual and ensemble virtuosity. The audience will also I hope enjoy some music that is unfamiliar and engaging.

The eight movements of Life Studies by Nicholas Maw were completed in 1976. They are written for 19 string players in two opposing groups separated by a solo double bass player. I have chosen movements 3,4 and 5, which display Maw’s imaginative use of these resources. This was one of the very first works I played with the London Sinfonietta early in my career, I’ve wanted to explore them again for a long time.

Toru Takemitsu was a great friend of the London Sinfonietta, and a man of great warmth and wit. He wrote many works for the group and often visited London to work with us on the premières. I also personally value his wonderful contribution to the viola solo and chamber repertoire. This exquisite work for string orchestra is from 1981. The title is a quotation from Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake.

John Woolrich is a composer I’ve known personally for many years, aside from his composing he is very much sought after for curating imaginative and eclectic concerts and festival programme's. Many of his work draw inspiration from earlier composers in this case looking back four centuries to Monteverdi’s opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria. 

This is my first encounter with the music of Joanna Wnuk-Nazarova,.The work is dedicated to the memory of Krzysztof Penderecki, and while it has in common some of the strength and rigour of her mentor there is a strong individual voice in this music with some challenging and exciting writing." - Paul Silverthorne.

Each Sinfonietta Nova concert will feature one London Sinfonietta musician who will visit Poland to rehearse and perform with the Sinfonietta Cracovia.

The concerts and players are:

16 February       Jonathan Morton

7 April                 Paul Silverthorne

20 October         Tim Gill