Tim Rutherford-Johnson's Blog

When I started The Rambler back in 2003, blogs were a relatively new phenomenon. They weren’t yet commercialised, they weren’t homogenised, they had a Wild West feel to them. I came to them slightly naively, searching for commentary on the Iraq War, which was then just beginning its ghastly unfolding. Most of what I read … Continue reading This is not goodbye →

Voice, body, language, place: these have long been the central preoccupations – basic materials, really – of Leo Chadburn’s work, from his early releases as his avant-pop alter-ego Simon Bookish (‘Portrait of the Artist as a Fountain’) to the stream of recent releases every year or two on his own Library of Nothing Records label: The … Continue reading The Sound of Place: Leo Chadburn, Sleep in the Shadow of the Alternator →

I was meant to be at the Southbank Centre on Sunday for the London Sinfonietta’s ‘deconstruction’ and performance of Boulez’s marvellous …explosante-fixe … On-stage conversations, leather seats and Boulezian orchestration at its most refined. Full luxury new music and all that. Unfortunately, a family football injury scuppered my afternoon and sent the rest of the … Continue reading Sarah Dacey’s Night Songs: Reviving Women’s Voices →

It was lovely to attend last night the launch of Liza Lim’s new disc for NMC records (and of Zoë Martlew‘s forthcoming debut, Album Z). I’ve reviewed String Creatures for an upcoming issue of Nutida musik in Sweden, so those who are really keen can read my initial thoughts on the album there. But last … Continue reading Liza Lim’s String Creatures →

New Focus Recordings, fcr430 Recorder concerti are pretty rare beasts in contemporary music, so plaudits first of all to the German recorder player Jeremias Schwarzer for finding not only four, but four such and contrasting ones. (All four, it transpires, were written in collaboration with the performer.) The principal challenge with combining recorder and orchestra, … Continue reading CD review: Jeremias Schwarzer: New Recorder Concertos →

Researching another piece of writing, I discovered today with great sadness that the American composer and instrument builder Chas Smith died earlier this year, on 13 May. I can’t say that I knew a huge amount about Smith’s life before today – although he found success in Hollywood, particularly through his work on Dune, he … Continue reading Delayed memorial: Chas Smith →

First of all, I loved it. This being the end of a busy and challenging summer, I came to Hind’s opera with little foreknowledge. Beyond knowing most of the players involved, and some of Hind’s music (although not so much recently), I also came with few expectations. Often that’s a problem if you’re trying to … Continue reading Train home review: Rolf Hind: Sky in a Small Cage →

In the last couple of years I’ve found myself writing more and more sleevenote essays. I’ve said in the past that this is one of my favourite mediums for writing: 1500 words or so is a lovely length – long enough to explore an idea; short enough to contain in one breath. And while there … Continue reading Some recent sleevenotes →

Colin Alexander, cello Heather Roche, clarinet Eva Zöllner, accordion LSO St Luke’s, London | 14 January 2023 For her LSO Jerwood Composer+ showcase event, Hollie Harding curated an elaborate event on the theme of memory, culminating in her thirty-minute piece for clarinet, accordion and cello, Theories of Forgetting. Six pieces were given from the stage … Continue reading Train home review: Hollie Harding, Theories of Forgetting →

A fabulous concert at Kings Place last night by Riot Ensemble, crowned by a coda in memory of composer, singer and guitarist Alastair Putt. Putt’s Quincunx was commissioned by Riot in 2019 but because of the pandemic was only getting its premiere tonight, two months after Putt’s death. It is a really beautiful piece: intricate, … Continue reading Train home reviews: Riot Ensemble, ‘from dusk to dawn’, Kings Place →