THE BIG ISSUE The Big Issue - 11 January 2016 | Page 37

WorldMags.net
MUSIC
CLASSICAL / DAVID FAY
Battle of
the batons
W
More art is on display
at Robert Indiana:
Don’t Lose HOPE
(until January 31,
Mayfair, London;
continiartuk.com).
The American pop
artist is famous for his
sculptures with the
signature sloped ‘O’
(notably the iconic
LOVE series) and
this collection brings
together his HOPE
pieces for Obama’s
presidential campaign
in 2008.
Black Georgians:
The Shock of the
Familiar (until April 9,
Brixton, London;
bcaheritage.org.uk)
redresses the balance
in terms of depictions
of the Georgian era.
It takes the focus away
from the well-trodden
tales of Austen and
iconography of
Hogarth to explain the
reality for black people
in the UK. From slaves
and domestic help to
seamen and
soldiers, there is
the additional story
of British-born
freemen who,
through education
and business
interests, paved the
way for a new black
British bourgeoisie.
Ada Lovelace
(until March 31,
South Kensington,
London;
sciencemuseum.org.
uk) is commonly
referred to as
“the daughter of
Lord Byron” but
she must be
allowed to escape
that shadow and
have her remarkable
achievements in
maths and science
put in their own
spotlight. Her
work in the 1800s
foreshadowed
modern computing
and this exhibition
displays not only
the pioneering
calculating
machines she used
but also her letters
and notes.
Eamonn Forde
ith musical fireworks illum-
inating both of London’s
main symphonic venues
courtesy of some of the
biggest names in classical music, 2016 is
starting with a bang in the capital. It could
be billed as a battle of the curly-haired
conductors, with Sir Simon Rattle joining
forces with the London Symphony
Orchestra at the Barbican Centre, and
Gustavo Dudamel bringing his Simón
Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela High-octane: Gustavo Dudamel is set to electrify the RFH
to the Royal Festival Hall. Add Daniel
Barenboim and a stellar line-up of singers fabulous all-star cast: Magdalena Kožená
into the mix and you’ve got a roll call of and Christian Gerhaher singing the parts
musicians to make even the most seasoned of the two lovers, and Gerald Finley as the
of concertgoers weak at the knees.
jealous Golaud (Mélisande’s husband and
It’s not just the spectacular roster of Pelléas’s half-brother). If you missed it,
performers that is so exciting, though – it’s don’t worry, for Rattle will serve up
what they’re performing. Some of the most some more transfixing and intriguing
revolutionary, breathtaking orchestral 20th-century French music on January 13,
music ever written will burst forth from in a concert that will be broadcast live on
Dudamel’s baton, with Stravinsky’s BBC Radio 3.
ballet scores The Firebird and The Rite of
Violinist Leonadis Kavakos plays Henri
Spring on Tuesday and Messiaen’s Dutilleux’s concerto L’arbre des Songes;
Turangalîla on Saturday. The
soprano Julia Bullock sings
visceral energy and searing
Maurice Delage’s Four Hindu
power of Stravinsky promises
Poems, and Ravel’s sumptuous
second Daphnis et Chloé suite
to be matched by the expansive,
ecstatic thrill of Messiaen’s sen-
will draw the