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In 2020 our five Young Composers were each invited to compose a short chamber work inspired by an excerpt of Beethoven’s music on the occasion of his 250th anniversary year.
Expertly guided by Sir James MacMillan, in his third and final year as the programme’s Composer Mentor, the composers used Beethoven’s ideas as a springboard to create imaginative new pieces. These works were performed by an ensemble comprising members of the LPO and participants on the 2019/20 Foyle Future Firsts Development Programme.
The performance was originally scheduled to take its usual form of a live concert at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in July 2020; we were very grateful to the composers, musicians and production team for their hard work and flexibility in adapting the format to facilitate a socially-distanced recording session in September and the subsequent online broadcast. The performances were recorded on 12 September 2020 at Blackheath Halls, London.
The Young Composers and works featured are:
- Daniel Davis – Stones Skipping
- Joshua Brown – Morphogenesis
- Aileen Sweeney – Above the Stars
- Sylvia Lim – suspended in the air
- Maciej Bałenkowski – Space-time
The video playlist features an introduction from James MacMillan, followed by all five new pieces, each introduced by its composer.