London Contemporary Orchestra perform on London Underground
An orchestra performing in a disused Underground station? It's just one of the London Contemporary Orchestra's chosen venues as part of their Imagined Occasions concerts, where the venue itself is used as part of the overall performance.
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1. Inside a disused train
Composer Claude Vivier wrote his unfinished 1983 opera Glaubst du an die Unsterblichkeit der Seele about a man who falls in love on the Paris metro, but is later stabbed by the object of his affections. Picture: Jana Chiellino
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2. Claude Vivier, 30 years on
Vivier is now most famous for predicting his own death: his opera was the last piece he wrote, before he, like the opera's protagonist was stabbed himself. It seemed like a fitting - and haunting - choice of music to perform on the Underground 30 years after the composer's death. Picture: Jana Chiellino
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3. London Contemporary Orchestra
The audience listen to music by John Cage: Imaginary Landscape No 1, piped out of speakers on the platform and accompanied by film. Picture: Jana Chiellino
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4. London Contemporary Orchestra perform underground
The performance isn't just on a train, or on a platform: different pieces of music are played in varying spaces around the station. Picture: Jana Chiellino
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5. The Viola in My Life - Feldman
The orchestra also played a selection of other modern works including Darknesse Visible by Adès and The Viola in My Life 3 by Feldman. Picture: Jana Chiellino
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6. No ordinary concert
Gone are the plush chairs, and the stage is nowhere in sight. This is no ordinary classical concert. Picture: Jana Chiellino
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7. Health and safety
The performance only allows around 50 people down to the disused tube line at one time. Picture: Jana Chiellino
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8. Darknesse Visible
Performing Darknesse Visible for solo piano. Picture: Jana Chiellino
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9. The location tells a story
Not as glamorous as other UK concert destinations, but in these concerts, it's the location as well as the music that tells a story. Picture: Jana Chiellino
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10. Imagined Occasions
The concert is one of three fully immersive performances from the modern orchestra, titled Imagined Occasions. They're also planning a 'sound walk' where audiences will hear music as they walk between different destinations in London. Picture: Jana Chiellino
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11. London Contemporary Orchestra
The orchestra are soon to perform Stockhausen's Klang at London's Roundhouse. Picture: Jana Chiellino
