Sphinx, the latest orchestral work by Edition Peters composer David Sawer will receive its World Premiere next week, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall.
The new work is typically imaginitive, its inspiration derived from a painting of the same name by French avant-garde artist Francis Picabia. Sawer describes the process here:
‘He (Picabia) was going through a transparency period where he laid different images on top of one another, sometimes literally with transparent paper. I was intrigued by the idea of using this approach in music – of trying to layer different ideas so that you can almost see through the music – and how I might create that depth by layering different types of material over each other.’
Edward Gardner will conduct the performance on February 26, in what is set to be a powerful evening of musical creativity, as Sphinx is followed by Britten's Violin Concerto and Berlioz' psychedelic Symphonie Fantatique.
