KINGS PLACE IN OCTOBER
INAUGURAL LUMINATE FESTIVAL FEATURES SPECIALLY-COMMISSIONED
D&B SOUNDSCAPE PERFORMANCES
LONDON PIANO FESTIVAL CELEBRATES RACHMANINOV AND LIGETI
SOUND UNWRAPPED ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE HANNAH PEEL PRESENTS BBC RADIO 3 NIGHT TRACKS LIVE
- Other Sound Unwrapped highlights include world premiere from Éliane Radigue, UK premiere of Gavin Bryar’s new string quartet and the Gesualdo Six collaborating with trumpeter Matilda Lloyd
- Piatti Quartet begin their tenure as Kings Place Resident Quartet
- Folk highlights include The Brothers Gillespie performing as part of the Future Folk series, as well as Jesca Hoop and India Electric Company
LUMINATE FESTIVAL – CONTEMPORARY
The inaugural Luminate festival takes place in October, showcasing electrifying performances from cutting-edge, upcoming UK talent as well as established international artists. An extension of the venue’s long-running series of the same name, the festival also forms a focal point of the current Sound Unwrapped series, with many performances specially commissioned for the d&b audiotechnik Soundscape system to create opportunities for 360˚ sound.
aya, formerly known as LOFT, opens Luminate in a new Soundscape performance, drawing on her mix of post-dubstep, grime and musique concrète [12 Oct]. Daniel Blumberg presents GUT, a live performance of his raw and personal new album which was recently released on Mute, in a double bill with the UK debut of Ellen Arkbro and Johan Graden, who embody the limitless curiosity and fearless innovation of the Swedish and Berlin music scenes they inhabit [13 Oct]. Another double bill pairs New York-based singer-songwriter, producer and composer Dawuna’s blend of timeless R&B and intricate production style with Voice Actor, a collaboration between Noa Kurzweil (Supertalented) and Levi Lansar (Ludittes) [13 Oct]. caroline, chosen by The Guardian last year as ‘one to watch’, bring their experimental mix of post-rock, emo, folk and minimalist classical to Hall One [14 Oct].
Space Afrika, current Artists in Residence for Kings Place’s Sound Unwrapped series throughout 2023, present a brand-new immersive sound installation for Luminate, employing the d&b Soundscape system to full effect [14 Oct]. felicita also utilises the Soundscape system to transform their Spalarkle live show into a fully immersive experience, performing in the round [14 Oct]. Colleen returns to Kings Place following a sell-out show in 2022 to present work from upcoming new record Le jour et la nuit du reel – due out in September – described as a ‘voyage deep into the world of synthesis’ [15 Oct].
Following her sell-out debut headline show as part of Southbank’s Purcell Sessions, producer, DJ and singer FAUZIA comes to Kings Place to present a specially-commissioned spatialised set (utilising d&b Soundscape) for Luminate [15 Oct] with cellist and co-writer Maddie Ashman. Tuba mastermind Theon Cross closes the festival in a special duo set with frequent collaborator guitarist Nikos Ziarkis, performing in the round and through the Soundscape system allowing audiences to hear one of the key players on the London jazz scene as never before [15 Oct].
LONDON PIANO FESTIVAL – CLASSICAL, JAZZ
Now in its eighth year, the London Piano Festival (LPF) returns to Kings Place in October for four days of classical and jazz piano performances, with a focus on the legacies of Rachmaninov and Ligeti in honour of their respective 150- and 100- anniversary years. Co-Artistic Directors Katya Apekisheva and Charles Owen open the Festival with a four-hands programme featuring Rachmaninov’s Suites No. 1 and 2 for Two Pianos [5 Oct], and Ukrainian pianist and 2013 Van Cliburn winner Vadym Kholodenko makes his LPF and Kings Place debut with pieces by Beethoven, Liszt and Haydn alongside Thomas Adès’ Traced Overhead and Valentyn Silvestrov’s Bagatelles [6 Oct].
Renowned British pianists Danny Driver and Clare Hammond join forces with Katya Apekisheva and Charles Owen for ‘Ligeti Plus’, exploring music by Ligeti and associated composers including his star pupil Unsuk Chin [7 Oct], and Polish pianist, composer and producer Leszek Możdżer performs a solo improvised set [7 Oct]. Lucy Palmer closes LPF with ‘Elégie: Rachmaninov – A Heart in Exile’, featuring some of his best-loved works for solo piano and interspersed with letters and diaries read by actor Tim McInnerny [8 Oct].
SOUND UNWRAPPED – CLASSICAL, CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL
Sound Unwrapped, the 15th edition of the award-winning series from Kings Place continues in October, taking a deep dive into innovation in sound art and music through spatialised listening experiences and immersive sonic events.
Phaedra Ensemble and Laura Jurd present an immersive retrospective of experimental composer Gavin Bryars for his 80th birthday, including the UK premiere of his String Quartet No. 4 and a new work by Laura Jurd [1 Oct]. Close associates of influential composer Éliane Radigue, including Rhodri and Angharad Davies and Hélène Breschand, present the world premiere of Occam River XX, her new duo piece for two harps, with other works from the Occam series [1 Oct]. Pianist Christina McMaster and wellness music pioneer and ambient composer Tom Middleton collaborate for ‘Inner Temple’, a performance for piano, electronic and nature soundscapes, with meditation guide [8 Oct]. Vocal consort The Gesualdo Six join forces with trumpeter Matilda Lloyd to present a stunning programme that explores different sonorities and spatial relationships within the church of St Martin in the Fields [12 Oct].
Sound Unwrapped Artist in Residence Hannah Peel presents a special edition of BBC Radio 3’s Night Tracks live, featuring music and musicians who inspire her including mentor and electronic pioneer John Foxx, Maya Youssef, Hatis Noit and the Ruisi Quartet [28 Oct]. City of London Sinfonia join forces with musical polymath Bishi for a programme that spans the centuries from Purcell to Edward Finnis, before culminating in Terry Riley’s In C [29 Oct].
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS – CLASSICAL, FOLK, WORDS
Artist in Focus Laura van der Heijden is joined by Misha Mullov-Abbado and Max Baillie for Duos and Dances [4 Oct], while the Diotima Quartet perform in Master Series, presenting modern masterpieces for string quartet by Janácek and Ligeti [11 Oct]. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment kickstart their Bach, The Universe and Everything series with a performance of BWV 48: Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen, joined by journalist and author Michael Marshall [15 Oct]. The Piatti Quartet begin their time as Kings Place’s Resident Quartet by reviving the venue’s ‘Rush Hour Lates’ series focused on Dvořák, performing his String Quartet No. 12 in F alongside Schubert’s Quartettsatz [25 Oct], and The Sixteen come to Kings Place as part of their Choral Pilgrimage, celebrating the 400th anniversary of William Byrd [26 Oct].
Multi BBC Folk Award winning composer and songwriter Chris Wood blends tradition with his own contemporary parables [5 Oct], and fiddle and banjo duo Hannah Read and Michael Starkey perform traditional repertoire as well as new self-composed tunes and songs [11 Oct]. Contemporary folk duo India Electric Company make a welcome return to Kings Place in support of their third album due to be released this autumn, blending traditional instruments, folk melodies and subtle electronic influences [25 Oct]. Californian-born singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop – whose fans include legends such as Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel and Guy Garvey – showcases her fluid, effortless yet carefully crafted songs [27 Oct], and The Brothers Gillespie perform as part of the Future Folk series, their songs often describing relationships with wild places [27 Oct].
Poet in the City bring together poets, artists and those connected with the late, great Toni Morrison to shed new light on her pivotal work Sula, 50 years since its publication, including a world-premiere commission by multidisciplinary artists Cecilia Morgan/CIL and Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa [9 Oct].