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    Concert

    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.

    1. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      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

    2. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      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

    3. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      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

    4. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      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

    5. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      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

    6. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      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

    7. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      7. Health and safety

      The performance only allows around 50 people down to the disused tube line at one time. Picture: Jana Chiellino

    8. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      8. Darknesse Visible

      Performing Darknesse Visible for solo piano. Picture: Jana Chiellino

    9. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      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

    10. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      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

    11. london concert orchestra aldwich station

      11. London Contemporary Orchestra

      The orchestra are soon to perform Stockhausen's Klang at London's Roundhouse. Picture: Jana Chiellino

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