Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 2022

The 10-day festival hcmf// 2022 will be built around a focus on three of the most innovative and in-demand composers working in Europe today: Swedish composer Lisa Streich, Lithuanian composer Justė Janulytė, and Berlin-based British composer Philip Venables. The festival will present a comprehensive overview of Lisa Streich’s work, including a new work for Ensemble Intercontemporain that will receive its UK premiere alongside Streich’s 2021 work Himmel. Furthermore, another new work (2022/20′) by Streich for Quatuor Diotima is heard in its world premiere, as well as the UK premiere of two large-scale choral works – Stabat and Civil Song. Finally, an installation-based programme of chamber pieces invites the audience to experience Streich’s small, invented instruments and machines. From Justė Janulytė, the festival presents the first live performance of his work Unanime, commissioned by Dutch trumpeter Marco Blaauw, as well as the world premiere of a new work commissioned by the London Sinfonietta. In addition, Janulytės trio Let’s talk about shadows is performed. hcmf// presents also the UK premieres of Philip Venables’ new work for the French collective Lovemusic, as well as My Favourite Piece is the Goldberg Variations. The programme also features the UK premiere of Answer Machine Tape, 1987. This major new work focuses on New York artist David Wojnarowicz and the period leading up to the death of his close friend Peter Hujar. The text uses a transcription of Wojnarowicz’s answering machine in the days before Hujar’s death to explore not only his life, but that period in the New York art scene, queer history, and the AIDS crisis. The result is a powerful work that reflects on queer history and what it is to be a queer person. Additionally, the festival will feature world premieres by composers Chiyoko Szlavnics (Canada) and Naomi Pinnock (UK), as well as the work Chornobyldorf by Roman Grigoriv and Illia Razumeiko. The hcmf// 2022 festival is made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further information:
hcmf.co.uk

Dates

November 18 – 27, 2022
Various venues, Huddersfield