Written by: Colin Anderson
It’s always a pleasure to listen to talented young musicians, the beacon of the future. The South Bank Centre’s welcome initiative, Fresh, is about to begin its 17th series at the Purcell Room. On February 22, Swedish guitarist Johannes Möller plays an attractive collection of works including Tárrega’s famous Memories of the Alhambra, which is included on Möller’s impressive new recording from SFZ Records (SFZ 6014, www.sfzrecords.com). During his recital Möller includes the premiere of his own work, Joy, and maybe that is the key word here: the joy of live music played by musicians who could well be the big names of tomorrow.
Following Möller, pianists Daniel Becker (March 8) and Matthew Schellhorn (April 6) perform enterprising programmes (Schellhorn’s is all-Messiaen, a composer Becker includes, too, plus a couple of premieres). On May 3, violinist Harriet Mackenzie is equally adventurous – she includes a UK first for an unpublished sonata by Streatham-born Arnold Bax (dead more than 50 years!). And on March 30 the percussion group known as Rhythm Attack, its four members are graduates from the Royal College of Music, brings a diverse collection of music, from John Cage to the brand spanking new.
- Fresh
- The above article was published in “What’s On in London” on 16 February 2006 and is reproduced here with permission