Past events from 2014
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Friday 26 December 2014 at 9.00AM
Desert Island Discs
Listen, Listen, O My Child
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby joined Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs on Boxing Day. Amongst his selection of music was Michael Berkeley's 'Listen, Listen, O My Child', fast becoming a classic of choral repertoire. The Archbishop also chose this work along with Christmas music from Bach and Britten when he appeared on Private Passions in December 2013. You can hear the programme on BBC Radio Player.
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Wednesday 03 December 2014 at 1.00PM
Lunchtime recital
Re-Inventions performed by the Britten Sinfonia
Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP
Also on the programme were works by Crawford Seeger, Patrick John Jones and Nielson.
Photo: Wigmore Hall, London
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Tuesday 02 December 2014 at 1.00PM
Lunchtime recital
Re-Inventions performed by the Britten Sinfonia
West Road Concert Hall, 11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP
Also on the programme were works by Crawford Seeger, Patrick John Jones and Nielson.
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Friday 28 November 2014 at 1.00PM
Lunchtime recital
Re-Inventions performed by the Britten Sinfonia
St. Andrew's Hall, St. Andrew's Hall Plain, Norwich, NR3 1AU
Also on the programme were works by Crawford Seeger, Patrick John Jones and Nielson.
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Sunday 23 November 2014
New Paddington film warmly received at premiere
Odeon Leicester Square, 24-26 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7LQ
The new family film Paddington received its premiere at the Leicester Square Odeon on 23 November. The famous series of books upon which the film is based were written by Michael's brother-in-law, Michael Bond. Despite feeling some trepidation at the prospect of a big-screen adaptation, and the fear that Paddington might be let down, he is delighted with the result, giving the film "full marks". It has been acclaimed by critics too - the Telegraph proclaims it "a total delight", whilst the Guardian says "as warm as an eiderdown and as fluffy as its feathers".
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Monday 17 November 2014
Michael talks about Private Passions at Hampstead Arts Festival
Burgh House, New End Square, London, NW3 1LT
Michael presents one of BBC Radio 3's most successful programmes, Private Passions (Sunday at 12 noon), in which guests discuss their musical loves and hates, and talk about the influence music has had on their lives. In conversation with Piers Plowright, Michael talked about his own private passions.
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Sunday 16 November 2014
Choral Evensong
Build This House performed by the Choir of King's College Cambridge & Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
King's College Cambridge, King's Parade, Cambridge, CB2 1ST
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Sunday 09 November 2014
Michael leads Berkeley Ensemble Masterclass for Young Composers
The Forge, 3-7 Delancey Street, London, NW1 7NL
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Thursday 30 October 2014
The Role and Power of Music in Society
Listen, Listen, O My Child performed by Paul Mealor (conductor)
King's College Chapel, University of Aberdeen Music Department, AB24 5UA
Michael gave a lecture about the role and power of music in society. This followed a concert in which Paul Mealor conducted Listen, Listen, O My Child and students performed a variety of pieces by Michael and his father, Lennox.
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Saturday 18 October 2014
Joyful Company of Singers perform works by Lennox and Michael Berkeley
Listen, Listen, O My Child & Three Motets performed by the Joyful Company of Singers
Church of St. Sepulchre-without-Newgate, Holborn Viaduct, London, EC1A 2DQ
This concert was given by the Joyful Company of Singers to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of Lennox Berkeley. Also on the programme was 'Mass for Five Voices' and 'Three Motets' by William Byrd and 'Three Latin Motets', 'Mass for Five Voices' and 'Sonatina' by Lennox Berkeley.
The concert was preceded by an interview with Michael and his brother Julian, who were choristers at Westminster Cathedral when Lennox wrote his Mass for Five Voices for the choir. Tony Scotland, author of the biography Lennox and Freda, talked to them about their father's sacred music and the faith that inspired it. -
Friday 17 October 2014
St. Paul's Sinfonia perform Fantasia Concertante
Fantasia Concertante performed by the St. Paul's Sinfonia
St Stephen's Church, Granville Grove, Lewisham, London, SE13 5AF
Also on the programme was Richard Strauss Horn Concerto No. 2 (with Timothy Jackson, French horn), Piazzolla's Oblivion and Haydn's Symphony No. 104 'London'.
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Monday 22 September 2014
BBC Singers' 90th Birthday Concert
Gregorian Variations performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
On BBC Radio 3, Verity Sharp introduced the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in recent performances and recordings, and celebrated the BBC Singers' 90th birthday. Michael was Composer in Association with BBC NOW in the early 2000s. The orchestra performed Michael's Gregorian Variations along with a rare chance to hear Lennox Berkeley's unaccompanied choral work The Hill of the Graces, commissioned by the BBC Singers in 1975. Also featured was Merseyside Echoes by the British composer Peter Dickinson, who celebrates his 80th birthday this year.
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Monday 25 August 2014 at 11.30AM
To a Poet
Hollow Fires performed by Chris Hopkins (piano) & Christopher Foster (baritone)
Assembly Rooms, Presteigne, LD8 2AD, Wales
Part of the Presteigne Festival programme.
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Saturday 23 August 2014 at 4.30PM
Joyful Company A Cappella
Listen, Listen, O My Child performed by the Joyful Company of Singers & Peter Broadbent (conductor)
St. Mary's Parish Church, Pembridge, HR6 9EA, Wales
Part of the Presteigne Festival programme.
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Saturday 23 August 2014 at 1.00PM
On This Island
Fierce Tears I performed by James Turnbull (oboe) & Elizabeth Burgess (piano)
The Tabernacle, Heol Penrallt, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 8AJ, Wales
'On This Island' was one of a series of concerts in the 2014 Machynlleth Festival, a week of inspiring music making, lunchtime, evening and late night concerts, talks, interviews and masterclasses.
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Saturday 23 August 2014
Dances, Fierce Tears and Conversations
Fierce Tears I & Fierce Tears II performed by Ilid Jones (piano) & Richard Uttley (piano)
St. Andrew's Church, Broad Street, Presteigne, Powys, LD8 2AF, Wales
Part of the Presteigne Festival programme.
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Tuesday 12 August 2014
Enniskillen Beckett Festival
Michael took part in the acclaimed Enniskillen Beckett Festival 2014, Happy Days. The great pianist Alfred Brendel, in discussion with Michael, focused on the role of silence in music and in performance, which relates to Beckett’s use of silence.
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Sunday 13 July 2014 at 3.00PM
Choral Evensong
Listen, Listen, O My Child
Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury
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Tuesday 17 June 2014
Grassington Festival
Oboe Quintet 'Into the Ravine' performed by the Carducci String Quartet & Nicholas Daniel (oboe)
Town Hall, 1 Moor Lane, Grassington, BD23 5AA
World famous oboist Nicholas Daniel and the Carducci String Quartet team up for an evening of high-class music making. Features Oboe Quintet 'Into the Ravine' (recently recorded to rave reviews), Piazzolla's 4 for Tango and Haydn's famous Joke quartet.
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Thursday 12 June 2014 at 1.00PM
Anxiety Fanfare, Variations for Voices and Three Rilke Sonnets
Three Rilke Sonnets
Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP
Alongside Michael's Three Rilke Sonnets, this concert features the world première of Anxiety Fanfare and Variations for Voices, a new work by Jocelyn Pook commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation for 'Anxiety 2014'. A unique collaboration between the Wigmore Hall, Aurora Orchestra and the Mental Health Foundation, the première was performed by Aurora Orchestra with the Mind and Soul Choir at the Wigmore Hall.
Photo: Wigmore Hall, London
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Friday 06 June 2014 at 7.00PM
Oboe Quintet 'Into the Ravine' performed by the Carducci String Quartet & Nicholas Daniel (oboe)
Burgess Hall, One Leisure, Westwood Road, St Ives, PE27 6WU
Also on the programme was a quintet by Arnold Bax, the fiery Spanish Toreador's Prayer by Turina and Haydn's Joke quartet.
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Tuesday 01 April 2014
Storms Rock the Air
Jane Eyre
National Opera Studio, The Clore Building, 2 Chapel Yard, London, SW18 4HZ
The National Opera Studio included scenes from Jane Eyre in their contemporary opera production Storms Rock the Air that took place on 1 and 2 April.
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Wednesday 12 March 2014
Night and Day Recital at Bangor New Music Festival
Veilleuse (Night Watch) performed by Madeleine Mitchell (violin)
Main Arts Building, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DG, Wales
Photo: Madeleine Mitchell
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Tuesday 04 March 2014
In Tune: Clarion Call
Clarion Call and Gallop performed by the Berkeley Ensemble
Suzy Klein's guests include the star tenor Juan Diego Florez, who returns to Covent Garden to perform alongside Patrizia Ciofi and Kiri Te Kanawa in Donizetti's La fille du Regiment. There's lots of live music on the show too: the Berkeley Ensemble - an enterprising chamber group of young British musicians which takes its name from father and son composers Lennox and Michael Berkeley; Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero will be displaying her renowned improvisational talents; and singers Kim Criswell, Louise Dearman and William Burden will all perform ahead of their Wigmore Hall concert with the Nash Ensemble.
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Monday 03 March 2014
Berkeley Ensemble performs Clarion Call at album launch concert
Clarion Call and Gallop
Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust, 22 Mansfield Street, London, W1G 9NR
On 3 March 2014, The Berkeley Ensemble performed Clarion Call and Gallop, a new work by Michael Berkeley commissioned for the ensemble, as part of a concert to launch their debut album Clarion Call. The programme also included works by Charles Wood, Howard Ferguson and John Casken alongside Beethoven's Septet. The event was kindly hosted by Bob and Elisabeth Boas at 22 Mansfield Street, London. “A high spirited and buoyant piece” – Planet Hugill review
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Friday 07 February 2014
The Art of Fugue at Royal Opera House
Tetractys - The Art of Fugue
Royal Opera House, Bow Street, London, WC2E 9DD
Box office: Royal Opera House
In the Royal Ballet's production 'Tetractys – The Art of Fugue', Michael collaborated with Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor to create 21st-century choreography set to Bach's 18th-century music. This exhilarating fusion took place between 7 and 15 February at the Royal Opera House as part of a mixed programme which also included the works Rhapsody and Gloria.
Michael's version uses a Mozart-sized orchestra and the piano has a prominent concertante/concerto role. On Monday 3 February 2014, Michael and Wayne spoke about their work at an event in the Clore Studio at the Royal Opera House.
In summer 2014, The Royal Ballet took the production to Moscow. You can read more on the 'reviews' page of this website.