LONDON SINFONIETTA & MARIUS NESET
LONDON SINFONIETTA & MARIUS NESET
Maximalist saxophones merge with lush orchestral work in two world premieres
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Welcome
Welcome to this concert tonight – the first at Southbank of our 2025/26 season.
It’s a great pleasure to welcome back Sir George Benjamin to conduct us and lead us through this exploration of Boulez’s ...explosante fixe…. As well as his musical insight and expertise, we are hugely grateful for his generosity of time and commitment to the London Sinfonietta, which is so valuable to us. It’s also a pleasure to welcome Andrew Gerzso, who, as a long-time collaborator with Pierre Boulez, has a unique position in relation to his works. Thanks also to Gillian Moore CBE and Jonathan Cross for their insights and guidance during the event, and to the sound engineers Jonathan Green and Ian Dearden, whose role in this music is fundamentally important to its success.
It is also a pleasure to welcome back the Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble. Our side-by-side collaborations continue to great effect, and we are proud to be working with this next generation of musicians whom I trust are inspired by the extraordinary repertoire we can stage together. Later this season we will be playing side-by-side with teenagers from the North London Music Hub as we expand these opportunities for more young musicians, hopefully giving them a lifelong positive memory of performing great music. We also could not stage this work without the support of the Arts Council, Southbank Centre and the trusts and foundations who share our vision.
Finally, huge thanks to you – the audience – for coming to the event and taking this journey to hear this music played live. We will soon be giving more information about our future commissions and concert plans and hope very much you may come with us on our journey. We always need more support – and would be happy to welcome you if you can offer your help.
Enjoy the evening.
Andrew Burke
Chief Executive & Artistic Director
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Programme Notes
Tracing the lineage of Pierre Boulez’s body of work can be like sleuthing through the tangled limbs of a person’s ancestry. Few pieces illustrate this better than Mémoriale (1975) and …explosante-fixe… (1971), two intimately connected works that begin with a modest sketch and grow into expansive tributes.
Programme Notes
Electric Boulez! From the Ondes Martenot to IRCAM
Pierre Boulez was in at the beginning of electronic music, working with Pierre Schaeffer at French Radio’s experimental studio in 1948, recording sounds to be filtered, otherwise transformed, and put together in new compositions. Nearly half a century later, after many trials and disappointments, he at last achieved an astonishing breakthrough: ‘…explosante–fixe…’
Read Paul Griffiths' ArticleTonight's Programme
6:15-7pm: Pre-Concert Talk - Back to Basics... An Introduction to Boulez with Professor Jonathan Cross and Gillian Moore CBE
7.30pm: Evening Concert
Pierre Boulez Mémoriale (7’)
Benjamin & Gerzso discuss Boulez and ...explosante-fixe...
Interval
Pierre Boulez ...explosante-fixe... (36’)
Tonight's Artists
Sir George Benjamin conductor
Michael Cox** solo flute
Andrew Gerzso presenter
Gillian Moore CBE presenter
London Sinfonietta
Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble
Jonathan Green sound engineer
Ian Dearden sound engineer
Tony Simpson lighting designer
Tonight's Players
Karen Jones shadow flute 1
Sofia Patterson Gutierrez* shadow flute 2
Melinda Maxwell oboe 1
Jessica Ellis* oboe 2 and cor anglais
Mark van de Wiel** clarinet 1
Eliott Berdugo* clarinet 2
Katy Ayling bass clarinet
Fraser Gordon bassoon 1
Thomas Donkin* bassoon 2
Ben Hulme horn 1
Henry Close* horn 2
Ryan Linham trumpet 1
Sigrid Bengtsson* trumpet 2
Andrew Cole trombone 1
Benjamin Haslam* trombone 2
Nona Lawrence* tuba
Jonathan Morton** violin 1
Takanori Okamoto* violin 2
Freya Goldmark violin 3
Ann Beilby viola 1
Simon Song* viola 2
Tim Gill** cello 1
Jae Kim Kang* cello 2
Enno Senft double bass
* The Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble will be performing side-by-side tonight with the London Sinfonietta players as part of our Playing the Future talent development programme.
** London Sinfonietta Principal Players
Sir George Benjamin
Sir George Benjamin is a celebrated composer and conductor whose career has spanned over five decades. Known for his operas, orchestral works, and dedication to contemporary music, he has premiered major compositions with leading ensembles worldwide. Benjamin’s work continues to shape the modern music landscape, both on the podium and in the concert hall.
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Michael Cox
Michael Cox is one of Britain’s foremost flute-players. He studied music at the Zimbabwe College of Music and then the Royal College of Music in London. Early competitive successes led directly to a solo career that has included concerts and recordings in all continents and performances with major orchestras and conductors.
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London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is one of the world's leading contemporary music ensembles. Formed in 1968, our commitment to making new music has seen us commission over 470 works and premiere many hundreds more.
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Royal Academy of Music
The Manson Ensemble is the Royal Academy of Music’s specialist contemporary music ensemble. Its first concert was at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1968, and it plays regularly at the Academy and in festivals around the UK.
Read moreCurrent Supporters
The London Sinfonietta’s work is sustained by the incredible generosity of many collaborators, individuals, companies, trusts and foundations.
We are immensely grateful to Arts Council England and the following organisations and individuals for their invaluable support, as well as those who prefer to remain anonymous.
London Sinfonietta Council
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London Sinfonietta Staff
Our dedicated team work tirelessly to realise our ambitious projects.
This event is produced by the London Sinfonietta. The work of the London Sinfonietta is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
Boulez: Sonic Structures is kindly supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation and the John Ellerman Foundation.
Boulez: Sonic Structures is performed with the friendly support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.
We are very grateful to the Steven R. Gerber Trust, the Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust and the De Laszlo Foundation for their support of the London Sinfonietta’s Playing the Future programme.
Post-Concert Survey
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