{"id":9554,"date":"2021-06-08T14:50:38","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T13:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/?p=9554"},"modified":"2021-06-08T14:50:38","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T13:50:38","slug":"eso-present-a-portrait-of-adrian-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2021\/06\/08\/eso-present-a-portrait-of-adrian-williams\/","title":{"rendered":"ESO Present A Portrait of Adrian Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Trailer - Composer Portrait: Adrian Williams\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ny52GqdBkd0?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>4<sup>th<\/sup> June 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 eso@eso.co.uk<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>What:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ESO Digital Concert \u2013 Composer Portrait: Adrian Williams<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>When:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 7:30pm GMT Friday 11<sup>th<\/sup> June 2021<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Where:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 www.eso.co.uk\/composerportrait-adrianwilliams<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>English Symphony Orchestra Continue \u201cCOMPOSER PORTRAIT\u201d SERIES WITH PROGRAMME CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF ADRIAN WILLIAMS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>New virtual concert to premiere on 11 June with three major works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The English Symphony Orchestra continue their acclaimed series of virtual concerts filmed at Wyastone Concert Hall on the 11<sup>th<\/sup> of June with a programme of music by the orchestra\u2019s current \u201cJohn McCabe Composer-in-Association\u201d, Adrian Williams. The programme opens with Williams\u2019 mercurial and virtuosic Chamber Concerto: <em>Portraits of Ned Kelly<\/em>, based on paintings of the late Sidney Nolan, continues with his touching threnody <em>Russells\u2019 Elegy<\/em> and concludes with his nature-inspired string orchestra masterpiece, <em>Migrations<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Williams, who succeeded David Matthews as Composer-in-Association in 2020, came to the attention of the ESO\u2019s Artistic Director, Kenneth Woods, fairly recently. \u201cAdrian and I met at an ESO concert in Cheltenham a couple of years ago,\u201d says Woods. \u201cAlthough we\u2019d been acquainted on social media for some time, I realised when we met that I didn\u2019t know his music. After that encounter, I checked out his website, and within 24 hours I was convinced he was one of the finest composers of our time and I immediately asked him to succeed David at the ESO.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Adrian-Williams-e1604606877437.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-9555\" src=\"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Adrian-Williams-e1604606877437.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"456\" height=\"505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Adrian-Williams-e1604606877437.jpeg 456w, https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Adrian-Williams-e1604606877437-420x465.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Adrian-Williams-e1604606877437-300x332.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 456px) 100vw, 456px\" \/><\/a>Williams came to early renown after winning the prestigious Menuhin Prize in competition. Lord Menuhin, who also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the ESO during the 1990\u2019s, described the young Williams as &#8220;a master of intricate patterns and forms\u201d. Williams showed precocious gifts as a pianist (he is particularly known for his ability to improvise), and his talents as both pianist and composer were nurtured by mentors including Lennox Berkeley and John Russell. In the 1980\u2019s, he founded the Presteigne Festival on the Welsh-English borders where he has lived for most of his adult life. In addition to many commissions from the BBC, he has enjoyed long partnerships with the cellist Raphael Wallfisch (for whom he wrote his Cello Concerto, commissioned by Roger Wright for BBC Radio 3 and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, in 2009), the celebrated chamber choir I Fagiolini and their director Robert Hollingworth and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta under Candida Thompson. He has also worked closely with the cellists of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.<\/p>\n<p>Williams\u2019 <em>Portrait\u2019s of Ned Kelly<\/em>, which opens the concert, was one of two works inspired by his friendship with the late painter, Sidney Nolan, whose last home in rural Herefordshire made he and Williams neighbours. \u201cI used to practise on his piano,\u201d said Williams. \u201cHe was a complex man and a powerful personality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Woods describes the work as \u201cbrilliant and exceptionally virtuosic,\u201d noting that \u201cAdrian described the piece to me as a being \u2018like a modern-day <em>Till Eulenspiegel\u2019<\/em>, to which I added \u2018on acid.\u2019 It\u2019s witty, it\u2019s surreal, it\u2019s thrilling, it\u2019s fantastical, and, somehow, in the end it\u2019s very moving.\u201d The work was inspired by Nolan\u2019s famous paintings of the Australian outlaw and bushranger, Ned Kelly.<\/p>\n<p>The programme concludes with <em>Migrations for 22 Solo Strings<\/em>, a work Woods describes as \u201cone of the very greatest works in the rich canon of English string music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdrian\u2019s connection to nature is a recurring theme throughout his work,\u201d says Woods. \u201cIn this piece, his meditation on the migrations of birds evokes both wonder and sorrow, and a profound mixture of connection and isolation. It\u2019s one of the most moving works I\u2019ve come across, from any generation, in a long, long time, and you can see in the performance the depth of the players\u2019 emotional engagement with it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In between these two large-scale works is Williams\u2019 short string threnody, Russells\u2019 Elegy. \u201cIt\u2019s important to note the apostrophe in the title,\u201d quips Williams. \u201cIt\u2019s in memory of two friends named \u2018Russell\u2019: my former teacher and mentor, the pianist John Russell, and the filmmaker Ken Russell, who I worked with on several projects and admired a great deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williams\u2019 association with the ESO continues, and in December the orchestra will premiere his First Symphony as part of its acclaimed 21<sup>st<\/sup> Century Symphony Project. \u201cAdrian\u2019s First Symphony was a lifetime in the making,\u201d says Woods. \u201cIt\u2019s the largest work in the project to date, a nearly hour-long score of searing power and dark beauty. We\u2019re very grateful to the Steven R. Gerber Trust, without whose support such an ambitious project would not be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Next in the ESO\u2019s Music from Wyastone series is a performance of Mahler\u2019s Ninth Symphony, to be released on the composer\u2019s birthday of 7 July, and the orchestra makes its long-awaited return to live concerts on the 28<sup>th<\/sup> of July at the Three Choirs Festival in a programme which pairs Beethoven\u2019s Seventh Symphony with the world premiere of Steve Elcock\u2019s Eighth Symphony and the first performance of the new wind ensemble version of Emily Doolittle\u2019s Reedbirds.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7:30pm GMT Friday 11<sup>th<\/sup> June 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>www.eso.co.uk\/composerportrait-adrianwilliams<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[ENDS]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the English Symphony Orchestra visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eso.co.uk\">www.eso.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For further press information please contact <a href=\"mailto:eso@eso.co.uk\">eso@eso.co.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0;float:none;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2021\/06\/08\/eso-present-a-portrait-of-adrian-williams\/\" send=\"false\" layout=\"box_count\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"true\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; 4th June 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 eso@eso.co.uk\u00a0 What:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ESO Digital Concert \u2013 Composer Portrait: Adrian Williams When:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 7:30pm GMT Friday 11th June 2021 Where:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 www.eso.co.uk\/composerportrait-adrianwilliams\u00a0 English Symphony Orchestra Continue \u201cCOMPOSER PORTRAIT\u201d SERIES WITH PROGRAMME CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF ADRIAN WILLIAMS New virtual concert to premiere on 11 June with three major works The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-opion-life-as-a-performing-musician"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9554"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9556,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9554\/revisions\/9556"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}