Tilbury, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Volkov, Royal Albert Hall

Experimentalists Cage, Cardew, Feldman and Skempton given rare Proms slot

by Igor ToronyilalicSunday, 22 August 2010

John Cage preparing a piano: 'My mind was always drawn back to the unforgettable metallic clatter of the Cage, which after the initial roar took on the shape of a fanfare'

A metallic shower rained down upon us as five percussionists of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra's percussion sextet unleashed the meteoric potential of five huge metal thundersheets on our unsuspecting ears, and percussionist number six, a pianist, encouraged her muzzled instrument (a metal brace lying across its stringed body) to gnash away rhythmically and to dance amid the downpour. 1939 was when John Cage came up with this breathtakingly original, endlessly exhilarating work, First Construction (in Metal), that opened this late-night Prom. It was the most invigorating 10 minutes I've had at the Proms so far.

Treatise Project, Goldsmiths review - potent symbols reveal rich music potential

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