We Need To Talk About Jo(h)n

I Googled Myleene Klass quickly whilst writing this review.  Now I see her knickers in my sidebar whenever I go on Facebook.  It must be by far the most commercially viable thing I've Googled in about 2 years.

LCO SOLOISTS & JONNY GREENWOOD, Beard Museum, St John The Evangelist, 21/2/15

There are a number of people who have taken the sometimes shaky walk between pop and classical but, whether they’re iconoclasts who rubbed against their new world (Zappa), surprising traditionalists (Lord; Sting) or vapid embarrassments (Klass), the popular star generally retains centre stage.  Interestingly, neither Jonny Greenwood nor his promo people have over-publicised his recent compositions for concert hall or celluloid and, whilst this event probably sold out more quickly than your average contemporary music gig, it’s clear that serious (if not necessarily austere) music is the sole focus tonight.  Perhaps we should file Greenwood as “cross-under”.

Tellingly, Jonny isn’t onstage that much, leaving the spotlight to the excellent London Contemporary Orchestra Soloists.  His one solo showcase, Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint” has surprisingly bluesy phrasing, as if yanking the airy serenity of Metheny’s famous version down from the clouds to dingy bars and city streets.  As a composer his work is balanced and varied, highlights being “Miniature”, which adds to tambura drones a cold constellation of Satie piano notes and aching violin that is positively Vaughan Williams, and “Future Markets”, a full throttle dirt-ride for strings like a cross between Bernard Herrmann and Can.  Occasionally the soundtrack origins of much of the music can make it feel a little pat and guilty of emotive signposting, but the sound has a depth and mystery that makes it far more Penderecki than Korngold.  Only “Self-Portrait With Seven Fingers” disappoints, using the audience’s phone-triggered tinny plinks to create a Fisher-Price carillon: the aleatory concept is intriguing, but it’s mostly just annoying.

Although the LCO musicians are a honed ensemble, the night’s highlights come from two solo pieces.  Oliver Coates’s version of cello and effects piece “Love” by Mica Levi takes the blasted romanticism of the original version and emphasises a cheap seasick awkwardness, until it resembles V/Vm tackling Nyman, and Anna Lapwood’s take on Messiaen’s Bachian boogie-woogie pile-up “Les Anges” on the SJE’s organ perfectly mixes the twitchy intricacy with the devotional intent.  That the applause for these two pieces is as warm as that for Jonny’s guitar spot speaks volumes about the quality of these performers, and the open-minds of the audience.