Sir Simon Rattle - LEAVING HOME: Orchestral Music in the 20th Century - Episode 3/7 - Colour (English)

About this event
Written and presented by Sir Simon Rattle, the foremost British conductor of our day, this series forms a fascinating introduction to, and overview of, the music of the twentieth century. Sir Simon Rattle leads viewers on an exhilarating journey through the music of our time, explaining the chief musical developments from Mahler to the present day.
Each programme is illustrated with evocative imagery, archive film and photographs and the featured music is set within the broader context of artistic and social change.
Why “Leaving Home”? The story of twentieth-century music is one of leave-taking in many ways. As a wealth of talented composers searched for new creative responses to the world around them, many made departures from the solid ‘home’ foundations of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century music – tonal harmony, melody, regular rhythm and metre. Many had to literally leave home, displaced by political upheavals. A remarkable diversity of expression developed – not all of the difficult or discordant variety commonly associated with modern music. The range is wide and this series samples the work of over thirty composers, discovering new and challenging sounds as well as some unexpectedly familiar music. It presents an extraordinary kaleidoscope of orchestral images, full of contrasts and surprises.
Episode 3/7 - Colour
Painting and poetry developed a more abstract style during the latter part of the 19th century, and music was quick to follow. In Colour, Sir Simon Rattle looks at the shift away from melody towards an emphasis on tone colour or “timbre“.
With excerpts from:
Claude Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune L 87 (86)
Igor Stravinsky: L'Oiseau de feu (The Firebird), Suite (1919)
Arnold Schoenberg: Five Pieces for Orchestra op. 16 (1909, rev. 1922/1949)
Pierre Boulez: Notations for Piano (1945, rev. 1985)
Olivier Messiaen: Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (And I await the resurrection of the dead) for Concert Band (1964)
Claude Debussy: Jeux L 133 (126)
Tōru Takemitsu: Yume mado (Dream / Window) (1985)
Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé M 57 (1909-1912)
Duration: approx. 51 minutes.
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