Monday at last

The Monday All Week festival has been underway since Tuesday 3 April, with daily concerts and an array of guests. This festival finale – Monday All Week, day 7 – is also a regular Monday At Last concert. 

There is always something special about a piece of music being played for the very first time. At this concert, music by Finnish composer Jukka Tiensuu will meet its premiere audience. Tiensuu is also a pianist and harpsichordist, and his endlessly surprising music spans a broad register. And the particular excitement of premiere performances derives from the fact that you never quite know what might happen.

Better known is Maurice Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro for Flute, Clarinet, Harp and String Quartet. The music was commissioned by the harp manufacturer Érard to demonstrate all the possibilities of the new chromatic harp. In Introduction and Allegro, Ravel has also truly explored the unique properties of the harp.

Luciano Berio’s legendary Folk Songs is dedicated to American mezzo-soprano Cathy Berberian, who specialised in interpreting the music of Berio. Several of the songs are from Berio’s homeland of Italy, but we will also hear music from Armenia and Azerbaijan. In addition, we will hear contemporary American vocal music by William Bolcom.