Sunday 14th May at 4pm
St Mary Magdalene, Thornham Magna
Aisha Orazbayeva & Eloisa-Fleur Thom violins
Bach B minor partita no 1 in a version for two violins
Telemann Fantasias for solo violin
Bach A minor sonata no 2
To reserve ring 01379 788130
tickets £12 (accompanied children free)
seating unreserved
BOOK IN ADVANCE FOR MAY 14TH AND JULY 5TH : £27 FOR TWO CONCERTS
Two experienced soloists come together bringing a unique approach to some of the high points of the Baroque repertoire. Last summer Aisha Orazbayeva visited Thornham Magna to make a recording of the Telemann Fantasias: in this concert she will introduce us to these innovative and highly personal accounts.
Aisha writes about her approach to the Telemann Fantasias: “Some of the techniques used on the record (and in performance) are often used in works by composers including Luigi Nono, Salvatore Sciarrino and Helmut Lachenmann. What inspires me the most about pieces like Lachenmann’s Toccatina, Sciarrino’s 6 Caprices and Nono’s La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura is the way they radically change our perception of the violin which challenges musical expectations and conventions. This change in our perception of the violin is something that has become central to my everyday practice offering me more freedom to interpret new and old repertoire as well as my own music-making"
Of the two-violin performance of the Bach B minor Partita Aisha writes: "Bach's B minor violin partita is unlike any other from the 6 sonatas and partitas cycle. There are four dance movements each followed by a double, the dance movements and the doubles mirror each other in their harmonic structure. I was fascinated to see how it would sound if you played the dances and the doubles at the same time. Sometimes it sounds like another Bach double violin concerto, other times they merge together or become each other's shadow. It offers a different perspective both for performers and listeners to discover, this often familiar piece, anew."
Aisha Orazbayeva is a Kazakh violinist with an interest in filmmaking. She has released two critically acclaimed solo albums on Nonclassical and PRAH recordings featuring her own compositions, and has performed internationally in venues such as New York’s Carnegie Hall. Recent releases include Bryn Harrison's Receiving the Approaching Memory with Mark Knoop on Another Timbre, vinyl EP Seeping Through with Tim Etchells on PRAH recordings and Scelsi's Duo vinyl EP for violin and cello on SN variations. Aisha regularly performs with ensembles Plus-Minus and Apartment House. Her music video for Leo Abrahams’ Steal Time single was recently premiered on Clash Music magazine.
Aisha's third solo album Telemann Fantasias played using contemporary/extended violin techniques was released in November 2016. aishaorazbayeva.com
Eloisa-Fleur Thom is a prize-winning violinist, director and curator. Highlights of her career so far have included performing J.S Bach's Concerto for two violins with the celebrated violinist Maxim Vengerov, and chamber music with Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood (LCO soloists). In the past few years Eloisa-Fleur has given performances at the Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, the Southbank Centre's 'Deep Minimalism' festival, St George’s Bristol, has been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 6, and collaborated with composer Kate Whitley and Rambert Dance Company. In 2015/16, Eloisa-Fleur held a creative residency at Heima in Seydisfjordur, Iceland. Eloisa-Fleur is the Artistic Director and Leader of the 12 ensemble, London's un-conducted string orchestra, whose upcoming projects include a concert tour of Bulgaria, commissioning a new dance work from acclaimed choreographer Alexander Whitley as part of an Aldeburgh Music Residency, and giving the UK premiere of a work by Bryce Dessner at Kings Place in June 2017. eloisafleurthom.co.uk