UNLTD, a creative and immersive programme powered by the Verbier Festival, presents Pastoral 21 with English composer, producer and DJ Gabriel Prokofiev and the UNLTD Collective at Kings Place, London, on 9 October. Pastoral 21 is a music and sound experience that asks what ‘pastoral’ means to us in this time of climate crisis.
Upon invitation by the Verbier Festival Academy and UNLTD, Gabriel Prokofiev began working on Pastoral 21 in early 2020 and spent time exploring the Valaisan alps as a starting point for a response to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. Taking a cue from the great 19th century composer, who drew inspiration from the Viennese countryside, Prokofiev searched for and captured field recordings of nature’s interrupted tranquillity, which were later integrated into Pastoral Reflections, a new work for string sextet and live electronics.
Through a fusion of electronic and classical music, Pastoral 21 explores themes of consumerism, digital life and impending crisis through Prokofiev’s thoroughly modern response to Beethoven, alongside music from the boundary-pushing composer’s latest album, Breaking Screens.
Gabriel Prokofiev said “Today, the concept of ‘pastoral’ is bittersweet. We can still experience the beauty of nature, but the traces of humanity and industry are always present, and the spectre of the ever-increasing climate crisis is looming.”