Martyn Harry: Test Drive

Entry free, no registration required.

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CLARA SCHUMANN:  Three Songs from Lieder, Op. 12 and Op. 13

DANIEL REYNOLDS: Summer Shower (world premiere)

PHILIP THEODOROU: The Wind Among The Reeds (two songs, world premiere)

MARTYN HARRY: Automat Kalashnikova for solo piano (2025, 'test drive' version)

A performance, preceded by an illustrated lecture.

In this short informal recital, Professor Martyn Harry introduces his piano work, 'Automat Kalashnikova', the latest of his compositions to explore approaches to musical meaning that he terms 'within' and 'without'. On the one hand 'Avtomat Kalashnikova' - literally 'Kalashnikov's automatic rifle' in Russian - is the latest of his large-scale '48' piano cycle, each of whose pieces draw inspiration from Preludes and Fugues by Bach. This is the first of the pieces to be conceptualised in topic-theoretical terms as a fugue that gradually dissolves into a set of variations - with the reference points being the G minor and A minor Preludes and Fugues of Book 1, as well as Bach's Klavierübung, part 4. On the other hand, the score avails itself of identifiers pertaining to the semiological self-mythology of Cologne and specifically to the area where Hanns Martin Schleyer was ambushed and kidnapped by the Red Army Faction on 5th September 1977. 'Automat Kalashnikova' speaks of the 'aftershock' of this catastrophic event through a hidden musical pseudo-narrative outlined by references to specific place names in the score, and implied journeys between them that offer new perspectives on the musical topics presented in the piece. The work is dedicated to Martin Winkelheide, a well-known journalist working for Deutschlandfunk and WDR in Cologne and one of Martyn's closest friends.

The first part of the concert presents world premieres of three songs by two emerging composers, Daniel Reynolds and Philip Theorodou, performed by soprano Emily Arlidge alongside a set of three songs by Clara Schumann. The pianist for this concert is Maki Sekiya, who will give the official premiere of Martyn's piano piece later this year.