I³ project: pianocircus
The project with the six-piano ensemble pianocircus illustrates the classic modus operandi of I³, the composition strand of the CETL for Music and Inclusivity. The series – its title stands for Innovation, Inspiration, Interactivity – aims to offer student composers an accelerated learning opportunity based on a microcosm of what would happen in professional life in optimal conditions: drafting a new work, having it tried out by professional performers, adjusting the based on the experience of the trial session, completing the work, having this completed version tried out, and then public performance. To this paradigmatic cycle is, of course, added something professional composers do not normally have: the guidance of a senior supervisor.
Pianocircus first visited on 10 March 2008 for an all-day workshop at Culture Lab – to whom CETL is much indebted for their generous hospitality. The pieces at the workshop were by Tom Albans, Claire Anderson, Ron Brown, Miles Cragg, Eric Egan, Fiona Gilbank, Anita Morais, Lee Morgan-Thomas, Helen Papaioannou and Matthew Rowan. A long programme indeed, but pianocircus worked with commitment and professionalism, asking questions and offering suggestions as to how the writing for this unusual instrumental combination could be improved. The lesson showed its efficacy in the transformation most of the pieces experienced after the workshop.
The completed compositions were sent to pianocircus in early April, and on 17 April the ensemble returned for a second workshop. It was fascinating to hear how embryo ideas had become fully-fledged elaborations, as was the case with Ron Brown's work, and how dense textures had acquired clarity and gained in definition, as was the case with Helen Papaioannou. Even the methodical, painfully meticulous Matthew Rowan had refined his procedures in response to the first workshop, resulting in a piece of the most exquisite workmanship.
In the event, the selection of pieces for performance was dictated as much by the obvious considerations of effectiveness and musical interest as by the practicality of the writing in the limited preparation time available. The chosen works were by Anita Morais from Newcastle and Fiona Gilbank from Durham.
The concert was on 18 April 2008 at King's Hall, and the student compositions were presented alongside works by Martyn Harry – Senior Lecturer in composition at Durham –, Graham Fitkin, a selection of very recent music by British composers, and, of course, the piece that launched the multi-piano ship back in 1973, Steve Reich's Six Pianos. Most of the participating composers have written testimonies expressing their appreciation of this unique opportunity, and the six-piano repertoire has been enriched by the addition of nine pieces from the Northeast of England.
