Playlist: Sound Within Sound
Uncover the lives and works of international artists who pushed the boundaries of sound with this playlist, introduced by our Head of Classical Music, Toks Dada.
‘In July 2022, journalist, critic and BBC Radio 3 broadcaster Kate Molleson published ‘Sound Within Sound’. The book changed the way we think about classical music and the artists who achieve recognition on a global scale, prompting us to question who is included in the classical music canon and who isn’t – and why. Using Molleson’s radical book as inspiration, we created a new festival, taking a deep dive into the stories and music featured within its pages.
‘Sound Within Sound shines a spotlight on the life and work of composers of the 20th century who have been marginalised and whose work has been neglected or unheard. These visionaries composed rule-breaking, world-awakening music, introducing microtonal revolutions, incorporating indigenous sounds, and even turning entire cities into orchestras.
‘At the festival (4 – 7 July, 2024) you will have the chance to join us on a journey of discovery across the globe through works that have been relegated to the shadows for too long. In advance of the festival, take a deep dive into the unique sound worlds of the ten remarkable composers featured in Molleson's book, and open your ears to music's lost pioneers.’
Here’s a little more about the ten composers featured in Molleson’s book, this playlist, and the festival.
Muhal Richard Abrams (1930–2017), US
Jazz pianist Abrams and the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), which he formed in the 1960s in Chicago, were at the forefront of avant-garde music.
Julián Carrillo (1875–1965), Mexico
A sound revolutionist, Carrillo boldly blended traditional Western scoring with microtonal experiments that, according to Molleson, ‘skew the familiar into the uncanny fantastical’.
Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901–53), US
While US audiences adored Crawford Seeger for her folk-leaning songbooks, Molleson describes her as ‘a pioneer of hard-hitting, distinctly un-sweet American modernism’.
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou (1923–2023), Ethiopia
The pianist, composer and nun known as Ethiopia’s ‘piano queen’ fused classical training with folk, popular and liturgical influences in her extraordinary compositions.
Annea Lockwood (b. 1939), New Zealand
The sound artist uses rivers as an artistic stimulus and material, and has been exploring the link between river environments and mental wellbeing since the 1960s.
José Maceda (1917–2004), Philippines
A composer and ethnomusicologist who studied and researched ethnic music of the Philippines, Maceda incorporated the indigenous music of South East Asia in his works.
Else Marie Pade (1924–2016), Denmark
Sound pioneer and ‘Technogranny’ (Ekstra Bladet) Pade translated the sounds around her into dark, unsettling soundtracks for films and other electronic tapes.
Éliane Radigue (b. 1932), France
The electronic music composer of undulating continuous music often found inspiration in the connection between the constant movement of water and meditative contemplation.
Walter Smetak (1913–84), Brazil (Swiss-born)
The creator of Plásticas sonoras (sound plastics) – a hand-built collection of unconventional, cosmic instruments – inspires our interactive, family-friendly musical playground, The Rig.
Galina Ustvolskaya (1919–2006), Russia
Ustvolskaya resisted conforming under the Great Terror of the Soviet Union, and many of her works represent a violent expression of anger at the oppressive system she grew up in.
Join us to experience their music at Sound Within Sound, 4 – 7 July, with 14 events across our venues including several free performances.
Sound Within Sound is kindly supported by Cockayne – Grants for the Arts: a donor advised fund held at The London Community Foundation.
