November's Listening Picks

Hello there again! I’ve had an incredibly busy month, but one filled to the brim with music. Here are just five of the pieces in my life at the moment.

Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 4

This is a whopper. I’m writing a big old essay on this over the coming months, and while it’s not an easy listen in places, I’m fairly convinced it’s a bona fide masterpiece. There’s so much to it, and such instrumental colour and intrigue. I’d say it’s well worth a listen.

Henri Dutilleux - Le Mystère de l’Instant

Here, the composer takes very small ideas and develops them until they become something completely new. Part of the point of this is also simply to listen in the moment, rather than trace development through the piece - something which initially went completely against my entire understanding of listening, but I think it really works here!

Morfydd Owen - Four Welsh Impressions

This is an incredibly beautiful collection of four short movements which instantly make me want to go and travel to Wales. This is a prime example of deceptive simplicity - there’s so much to the harmonies and rhythms here but they are expertly streamlined and varied.

Hildur Guðnadóttir - Opaque

This month’s awesome cello moment comes from none other than Hildur, composer of the fantastic soundtracks to ‘Joker’ and ‘Chernobyl’. She is a classically trained cellist who just dials the awesomeness of the instrument right up to maximum in all of her music. Her soundtracks are incredibly visceral, and this short piece feels incredibly familiar yet unique.

Daniel Kidane - Winged

I’m always hugely interested in writing and scoring for string ensemble, and Kidane here has a fantastically captivating set up with the electric guitar. All of the instruments meld and combine but also remain their own. The harmonies and textures (and different sounds) that can be made from such a small group are really interesting and compelling.