Spotlight Series: Finnissy at 70 Performance

Spotlight Series: Finnissy at 70

Ian Pace, piano

Programme to include:

Finnissy: Kemp’s Morris (1978)
Finnissy: Beethoven’s Robin Adair (2015) London premiere
Finnissy: White Rain (1981)
Finnissy: Australian Sea Shanties Set 2 (1983)
Finnissy: Stanley Stokes, East Street 1836 (1989-94)
Finnissy: Strauss-Walzer (1967, rev 1989)
Finnissy: Free Setting (1981, rev 1995)

Michael Finnissy’s manuscripts are labyrinthine. The real ‘difficulty’ of Finnissy's music is the richness and complexity that is really part of all music – if we choose to hear it. Finnissy's transcriptions of other composers' music prove this point. This programme includes works featuring mediated renditions of English folk song and dance, Australian sea shanties, Beethoven and Strauss, but also responses to Japanese woodcuts, to the story of Stanley Stokes, who was murdered for his sexuality in Brighton in 1836, and to Finnissy’s work with dancers.

Join us for a rare experience of conversation with Michael Finnissy and pianist Ian Pace, as we explore music influenced by that of the past.