The London Sinfonietta will present a two-part series titled “Spectrum of Sound,” exploring the advances in sonic manipulation. The first part of the series will feature the world premiere of Mica Levi’s -- famed for her work on the film Under the Skin starring Scarlett Johannson -- new work Greezy. Other pieces include works by Iannis Xenakis, Claude Vivier and Georg Friedrich Haas.
According to the London Sinfonietta website, the two-part series explores the extraordinary advances in sonic manipulation over recent years, from the maverick pioneers of the second half of the 20th century to spectral music of the 21st. Using quarter-tones to destabilize harmony and pulsing rhythms to obscure a sense of meter, yesterday’s composers opened up the possibilities for new directions in tuning and texture, a baton now passed to the mixed-media, computer-led, electronic composers of today.
In the first session of “Spectrum of Sound,” the performances will be conducted by André de Ridder and will include Xenakis’s Aroura, Vivier's Zipangu and the U.K. premiere of Haas’s Open Spaces. Levi, whose new piece will also be premiering, is experiencing a sudden rise to fame for her work on the score for Jonathan Glazer’s film “Under the Skin,” which won her a European Film Award for Best Composer.
Levi was working on her third album with her band, Michachu and the Shapes, when she got a call asking if she wanted to work on a new project.
“It was out of the blue. I didn’t know Jonathan. Peter [Raeburn], the film’s music producer, had played him some of my music, including a live recording of 'Chopped and Screwed,' a collaboration we did with the London Sinfonietta,” she said. "Jonathan liked it and thought I would be the right person to compose his film’s score. It all felt a bit far-fetched. I went in to talk to them at the studio and we started working immediately. There wasn’t even time to think about it.”
“Spectrum of Sound: Part 1” will take place Feb. 27 at the Purcell Room in London.
