Portsmouth Sinfonia News
UK musical ensemble consisting of novice players
- Symphonic orchestra
- United Kingdom
Last update
2024-03-28
Refresh
2021-12-12 13:53:00
In the late 1960s artist Tom Philips was also known for his music activities. These included compositions performed by pianist John Tilbury, and he also played in the Portsmouth Sinfonia and Cornelius Cardew's Scratch Orchestra. The Portsmouth Sinfonia was inspired by Cardew's Scratch Orchestra. It was formed in 1970 by a mischievous Gavin Bryars from staff and students at Portsmouth College of Art as a one-off ensemble to participate in a talent competition. But the Sinfonia took on a life of its own as a reaction against what its members termed 'tuxedo fascism'. Ability and experience were not a criteria for playing in the Portsmouth Sinfonia, however attendance at rehearsals was mandatory and intentionally bad playing was not allowed. Early repertoire comprised classical warhorses such as The Blue Danube and Also Sprach Zarathustra. The Sinfonia went on to play at the Purcell Room, Festival Hall, and Albert Hall, and was rewarded with a recording […]
2016-01-16 15:01:14
[…] a recorded loop of a vagrant singing a musical fragment that the old man had improvised. On top of that loop, rich harmonies played by a live ensemble are built, always increasing in density, before the whole thing gradually fades out. A new recording of this work was made in the 1990s with Tom Waits singing along with the original recording of the vagrant during the final section. Bryars was a founding member of the Portsmouth Sinfonia, an orchestra whose membership consisted of performers who “embrace the full range of musical competence” — and who played popular classical works. Its members included Brian Eno, whose Obscure Records label would subsequently release works by Bryars. In one of the first three releases from the label, Brian Eno’s album Discreet Music, Bryars conducted and co-arranged the three pieces Three Variations on the Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel which constitute the […]
2014-12-12 23:40:15
The Portsmouth Sinfonia at the absolute height of their powers. Founded by a group of students at the Portsmouth School of Art in England, in 1970, the Sinfonia had an unusual entrance requirement, in that players had to either be non-musicians, or if a musician, play an instrument that was entirely new to them. Among the founding members was one of their teachers, English composer Gavin Bryars who was interested more in experimenting with the nature of music than forming a traditional orchestra. Instead of picking the most competent musicians he could find, he encouraged anyone to join, regardless of talent, ability and experience. The only rules were that everyone had to come for rehearsals and that people should try their best to get it right and not intentionally try to play badly. Brian Eno was interested enough to join the orchestra, playing clarinet, and subsequently produced their first two albums. […]
No more?
Every day soclassiq looks for new articles, videos, concerts and so on about classical music and opera, their artists, venues, orchestras...
Portsmouth Sinfonia ? We have not gathered a lot of content on this topic yet but we continue to search.
or
- Symphonic orchestras (Europe).
- Indexes (by alphabetical order): P...