NEWS

Line-up announced for Tectonics 2014

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s Tectonics festival returns to Glasgow this May, with a line-up that confirms its reputation as one of the world’s most adventurous ensembles.

Tectonics Glasgow sees experimental music pioneers such as Christian Wolff and Takehisa Kosugi share the spotlight with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, contemporary vocal ensemble EXAUDI, Icelandic composer collective S.L.Á.T.U.R., Scottish jazz iconoclast Bill Wells, and a host of local and international performers.

Last year’s festival was praised for its success in bringing sizeable new audiences to contemporary music, with 70% of bookers new to the BBC SSO.

Ilan Volkov, the BBC SSO’s Principal Guest Conductor, said: “The support and engagement the festival received from audiences last year was remarkable. And this year’s line-up is in a similar vein, bringing local and international artists and musicians together in a spirit of collaboration and experimentation.”

An extra evening and venue have been added to the festival which now runs for three days from Friday 9 until Sunday 11 May. The opening concert will be at Glasgow’s St Andrew’s in the Square, a former church celebrated for its intimate space and unique acoustics.

Co–curator Alasdair Campbell said: “Friday night is like the festival in microcosm, with lots of local acts mixing with some international names. The performances are short - but will explore as broad a series of works and sound-worlds that you’re likely to hear anywhere.”

The BBC SSO will perform in nine World Premieres across the three days, including BBC commissions from Georg Friedrich Haas, John Oswald, David Behrman, and Klaus Lang, and revised works by Michael Finnissy, James Clapperton and Christian Wolff.

Many performances have been conceived specifically for the festival’s spaces, including two for the Old Fruitmarket by Edinburgh group Usurper and a new work for the BBC SSO by Richard Youngs; and artist Sarah Kenchington will install a ‘mechanical instrument’ in the City Halls Recital Room which can be played by members of the public throughout the weekend.

Saturday closes with appearances by Thurston Moore - frontman of legendary US alt-rock band Sonic Youth - in a performance with Dylan Nyoukis, and Scottish band cindytalk make a rare appearance in their native country. There’s a strong choral strand this year with appearances from EXAUDI, and a new work conceived by the group’s director, James Weeks, which will be premiered by two local amateur choirs. Performances will be recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s new music programme Hear And Now at the end of May 2014.