Simon Rattle, 70 today and still unafraid of risk, ushered in the new season with a throw of the dice: two big world premieres and music that features elements of chance – that is, to a greater extent than usual in any live performance. Now conductor emeritus of the London Symphony Orchestra, he opened the first of a pair of concerts with Éclat (1965) by Pierre Boulez (1925-2016). The conductor conjures fixed elements, in any order, from two groups of solo instruments: one tapping, chiming, plucking, the other sustaining, through blowing or bowing. This glistening short piece, never sounding the same and about which far more could be said, acted as a crisp salvo to celebrations for the French composer-conductor’s centenary year.
New compositions by George Benjamin and Mark-Anthony Turnage, written for Rattle’s birthday, take priority here. Both composers were born in 1960. Each has had a supportive association with Rattle since early in their diverse careers. Benjamin’s new Interludes and Aria is an arresting montage (the composer’s word) based on his opera with librettist Martin Crimp, Lessons in Love and Violence, an exploration of the painful emotional life of Edward II. That opera’s rich orchestral interludes, vital to the drama, have been woven together, absorbing all anew into a many-layered instrumental texture, full of momentous brass outbursts, tolling gongs and clangorous cimbalom. In three main parts, the central section features an aria: the queen, Isabel, is confronted with details of her husband’s transgressions.
