Music of Today: Xenakis and Reimann

Artists

Roland Kluttig – conductor
Nicolas Hodges – piano

Programme

Xenakis Evryali (for solo piano)
Aribert Reimann Piano Concerto No.2 (UK premiere)

Hear two influential works from the 1970s in this programme showcasing the formidable skill of pianist Nicolas Hodges.

Opening the concert, Xenakis’s Evryali, a whirlwind piece for solo piano, crosses the entire range of the piano in bursts of frenetic energy, punctuated by moments of silence. Composed using a mathematical technique, Evryali is filled with contrasts as the music moves from violent chords and rumbling bass lines up to the fragile upper end of the piano’s register.

Written a year earlier, Aribert Reimann’s Second Piano Concerto places the piano at the centre of a constantly shifting ensemble. Intense moments from the entire group give way to subdued duets in which the piano partners up with a solo instrument, the restless music constantly changing in a kaleidoscope of colour.