Dutilleux: Les Citations (The Riot Ensemble) The Forge

At Culture Whisper we pride ourselves on identifying the hottest up-and-coming ensembles long before they take to the mainstream London stages. Led by the extremely gifted composer-conductor Aaron Holloway-Nahum, The Riot Ensemble are the very embodiment of young talent. Their flexible lineup comprises a seemingly endless list of brilliant young musicians, and this concert, featuring, among others, Polish harpsichordist and Krisztof Penderecki International Competition winner Goska Isphording and the London Sinfonietta’s Principal Double Bassist Enno Senft, will be crammed to the rafters with rising stars.

The programme forms around Henri Dutilleux’s chamber masterpiece, Les Citations, and honours the composer by taking place two days before the one year anniversary of his death. Henri Dutilleux was part of an immensely talented group of French composers to emerge during the second half of the twentieth century, and Les Citations, which weaves an intricate tapestry from an array of musical quotations, is testament to the composer’s tremendous technical gifts. Les Citations is coupled with an orchestration of Dutilleux’s early piano piece, Blackbird, by Kenneth Hesketh, who studied with Dutilleux and remained close with him right up to his last days. We are also excited to witness a new work by the young German composer, Arne Gieshoff, who, in spite of his tender 25 years has already enjoyed performances by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

We predict that the Riot Ensemble will be going places in 2014, so this is the perfect time to catch them. Tickets for this performance will be available on the door, but will almost certainly sell out, so be sure to get there early to avoid disappointment.