Royal Festival Hall, London
The London Philharmonic and Synergy Vocals made a strong, evocative impression with works by Steve Reich and Gavin Bryars
Like belief itself, it seems that the Southbank Centre’s year-long Belief and Beyond Belief festival can justify almost anything. Here, the label was attached to a concert by members of the London Philharmonic that included one of the greatest achievements of pure, entirely abstract minimalism, Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians.
It’s a piece that used to be the exclusive preserve of bespoke ensembles, following the template laid down by Reich’s own performances. But here, 14 LPO instrumentalists, together with the four members of Synergy Vocals, showed that it could become the repertory work it deserves to be. This was a performance of tremendous concentration and sustained energy, even if didn’t have quite the savage precision that specialist groups bring to it.
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