Marvelous

British humour is celebrated for its satire, self-mockery, play on words, absurdism, and intellectualism. With a little imagination, you could say the same about the composers in this programme. In addition, they share a virtuoso and athletic mind with which they create scenes at breakneck speed that, while wildly difficult for the players, have a contagious naturalness and familiarity. Adès juggles with sound fragments from old masterpieces, and then blows new life into this material in a virtuosic way. Knussen gives shelter to wandering melodies of old dances in Ophelia’s Last Dance. And last but not least, there is no stopping to Ayres in his Three Small Pieces: his score is a sparkling cocktail of hyperactivity, baroque grandeur, and Straussian pastiche.