As I begin to catch up again on my writing (I’ve been at work, just not very publicly), I realise that I have again left behind a number of recent reviews I’ve written for the Journal of Music.
First, the Kaleidoscope Gala concert felt like it was made for me; I’d be very surprised if it isn’t my favourite concert of the year.
Two refrains amongst classical music listeners are that contemporary music is difficult to programme alongside more traditional works because of the stark difference in style, and that alternative concert venues provide suboptimal listening experiences, and potentially noisy audiences. Smorgasbord concerts like this epitomise the nonsense of these arguments. Four more variegated works would be hard to find, but the audience – as full as I have seen the Sugar Club – was rapt.