November premieres and notable performances
- JJMM
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
Différance premiere with Anssi Karttunen and Olivier Latry
On 10 November, Anssi Karttunen and Olivier Latry premiere George Lewis’ Différance for cello and organ at Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo. Written in memory of Kaija Saariaho who passed away in 2023, the work will be premiered on the hall’s organ which a significant donation from Saariaho helped bring into being.
Nuances of Water with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Anna Berg’s new orchestral work, Nuances of Water, will be premiered by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra on 13 November, conducted by Kahchun Wong. Commissioned by Kode as part of Berg’s artistic residency, the piece draws on her fascination with the symbolism of water, from ancient traditions to our relationship with water today as our oceans are threatened and drinking sources are drying up.
Meta4 performs Nine Fragments at Wigmore Hall
Sally Beamish’s String Quartet No. 4 ‘Nine Fragments’ will be performed by Meta4 on 17 November at Wigmore Hall. Each of the fragments, which premiered at Wigmore Hall in 2019, tilt a broken mirror towards a particular passage in Schumann’s A minor String Quartet, which is also on the programme. Meta4 will then perform the piece at Stockholm’s Konserthuset on 22 November.
George Lewis celebration at Wien Modern
The International Contemporary Ensemble will perform two concerts in celebration of George Lewis at Wien Modern on 22 and 23 November. Featuring Lewis’ The Deformation of Mastery, P. Multitudinis and more, the programs form part of the Ensemble’s ‘Composing While Black’ series and are presented in collaboration with the Webern Ensemble Neue Musik of the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien (MDW).
BBC Symphony Orchestra and The Florida Orchestra co-commission
Ryan Latimer’s trumpet concerto, Bestia, has been announced by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The world premiere at the Barbican in London will be premiered by soloist Selina Ott and conducted by Fabien Gabel on 24 April 2026.
Co-commissioned with The Florida Orchestra, Bestia is inspired by the book Fearsome Creatures of Florida by the author John Henry Fleming. The book takes the form of a medieval bestiary, a curious catalogue of fantastical beasts that can be found lurking beneath America’s modern-day suburbia.
