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I went to the BBC proms last night, to see Michael Nyman‘s performance. It’s been a delightful hour, such inspiring and intriguing melodies, really worth it! I really love the way minimalistic ideas crop up all the time, but always with a dense and emotional touch. And the Royal Albert Hall is an outstanding venue too..

After more than 40 years in the vanguard of British music as a composer, pianist, librettist and musicologist, Michael Nyman has been honoured with his first BBC Proms concert.

The concert, part of the 115th Proms season, will take place at the Albert Hall, London on Aug 25 and features the World Premiere of a new piece entitled The Musicologist Scores commissioned by the BBC and music from Draughtman’s Contract, Celan Songs and Memorial with guest soloist Anu Komsi in a programme that will commemorate two key dates in musical history – the 350th anniversary of Purcell’s birth and the 250th anniversary of the death of Handel.

Both were key influences on Nyman, who edited scores by the two composers as a PhD student under Thurston Dart in the 1960s [at Kings College!!].

“A BBC Prom is obviously something that any composer hopes will happen one day,’’ Nyman says. ‘‘The concert self-evidently commemorates the two giants of English baroque music. But coincidentally it also celebrates my own relationship with the work of the two composers,’’ Nyman says.

“A concert combining the music I have composed directly their work – the Purcell-based ‘The Draughtsman’s Contract’ and ‘The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover’ and the Handel-based ‘The Musicologist Scores’ seems entirely appropriate.’‘

This is the list of songs played last night:
The Draughtsman’s Contract – selection 23’
The Musicologist Scores c20’
BBC commission: world premiere
Six Celan Songs – Blume; Psalm 10’
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover – Memorial 12’

ANd the lineup:

Anu Komsi soprano
Michael Nyman Band
Michael Nyman director/piano

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