Helen Grime’s River receives two country premiers this week. On November 9 Basel Sinfonietta led by Jamie Phillips will perform the Swiss premiere, following the first UK performance on November 6 when the Scottish Chamber Orchestra perform the work in Glasgow, conducted by Colin Currie. The work is inspired by the flow of water as it is drawn inexorably to the sea.
The composer writes: “A river has many characteristics that have inspired composers throughout history. The flow and energy, violence, and threat of destruction but also the possibility for calm and moments of glassy stasis are aspects that have driven my imagination.”
Originally written with Hamburg’s Elbe river in mind, Grime derived her musical material from musical ciphers by combining the letters of Elbe with the initials of the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Kent Nagano, who jointly commissioned the work with the Orchestre de Paris. “As the piece evolves, this material explodes and takes many new directions”, says the composer.
More orchestral works by Helen Grime are introduced in our Feature: Helen Grime: Orchestral Portrait.
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