Music and the Moving Image Winter at the Howard Assembly Room

Press Release

24 November 2014

MUSIC AND THE MOVING IMAGE – WINTER AT THE HOWARD ASSEMBLY ROOM

This Winter the Howard Assembly Room presents an eclectic programme of music, film and performance that revisits the many and varied relationships between music and the moving image, takes the musical temperature of the northern half of Europe and responds to Manuel de Falla’s opera La vida breve.

The Howard Assembly Room’s FILMusic strand continues with the 1927 German sci-fi film Metropolis. Gottfried Huppertz’s original chamber orchestra score will be conducted by Hugh Brunt and performed live by the Orchestra of Opera North to a screening of the cult classic (2 Apr). Icebreaker: Kraftwerk Uncovered (23 Jan) is a journey through the influential Kraftwerk’s iconic back catalogue including music from Autobahn, Computer World and Trans-Europe Express, with visuals by Sophie Clements and Toby Cornish.

The Soundings strand invites explorers of place, tradition and contemporary music from the countries scattered across the northern half of Europe. Austrian guitarist Christian Fennesz and visual artist Lillevan (21 Mar) bring a special project to the UK that transforms the themes of Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, through Fennesz’s characteristic guitar and washes of elemental sound. Kathryn Tickell and her new band The Side (17 Feb) perform a poetic and exhilarating sound inspired by traditional songs and the Northumbrian landscape.

Following his BAFTA-winning success, Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Ólafur Arnalds (27 Feb) performs his most recent album For Now I am Winter, weaving his cinematic sound through the mix of ambient strings and piano with electronic loops. In a special UK performance, Norwegian jazz trumpeter Arve Henriksen (12 Mar), takes improvising inspiration from his Places of Worship album, with musical associate Jan Bang and newly commissioned film by his long term collaborator Anastasia Isachsen.

Alongside La vida breve, experience the passion of Spain in Blood Wedding and Flamenco Twilight (14 Feb) through Chico Pere and Glenn Sharp’s flamenco vocals and guitar, followed by Carlos Saura’s dance film masterpiece, based on Lorca’s original Blood Wedding.

As ever, the programme also includes a handpicked selection of the finest international music across genres and continents, juxtaposing musicians as diverse as West African guitarist Bombino (28 Jan) and François and the Atlas Mountains with Burkhina Fasian Sanou Darra & Djiga Boubacar (29 Jan); cellist Natalie Clein and Iranian harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani (20 Mar); pianist Angela Hewitt (19 Feb) and Grammy-nominated jazz royalty Ravi Coltrane (11 Mar). Legendary Indian sarod player, Amjad Ali Khan (5 Feb) also appears alongside his two sons in one of only a few UK shows, demonstrating the exquisite and delicate range of glorious Indian classical music.

Finally, The Cardinall's Musick (1 Apr) present a special Easter concert dominated by Thomas Tallis’ darkly glorious Mass for Four Voices.

More highlights of the Winter 2015 season at the Howard Assembly Room include:

· One of the UK’s finest string ensembles, The Doric Quartet appear alongside internationally recognised pianist Andreas Haefliger (12 Feb) for an evening of exquisite chamber music including pieces by Haydn, Britten and Shostakovich.

· An ideal introduction to opera for younger audience members, Opera North and The Wrong Crowd present a new touring production of Jonathan Dove’s family chamber opera Swanhunter (16-18 Apr).

· A Beautiful Death (18 Feb) sees leading thinkers and artists explore the relationship between violence and its artistic representation in film, opera and the visual arts to coincide with Opera North’s revival of La vida breve.

· Croatian mezzo soprano Renata Pokupić and British pianist Roger Vignoles (5 Mar). The duo delights in a programme that includes Mahler’s heart-breaking Rückert Lieder, Finzi’s wonderful Shakespeare Songs: ‘O Mistress Mine’, ‘Come Away Death’ and pieces by Wolf and Hahn.

· Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or award-winning film The White Ribbon (6 Mar), which shines a light onto an unjust social system coupled with a repressive society in a Northern German village just before World War I.

ENDS/

For further information please contact:

Julia Gregg, Press & PR Manager

0113 223 3526 | 07956 647 573 |

Sian Dudley, Press Officer

0113 223 3528 |

Molly Fetherston, Communications Assistant

0113 223 3590 |