For this programme, 840 has collaborated with with the cellist and inter-disciplinary artist Anton Lukoszevieze. Anton has had a distinguished career, commissioning and performing a huge range of experimental, avant-garde and improvised music, both as a soloist and as the founder of the group Apartment House.

Anton performed new works for solo cello by Christian Wolff, Darya Zvezdina, James Luff and Michael Winter, as well as Laurence Crane’s gem from 1985 "Five Preludes" for cello and piano. The programme also featured recent music by Alex Nikiporenko, Anton’s own "What we really want to do is serve happiness" and Linda Catlin Smith’s beguiling "Ricercar".

Anton Lukoszevieze was joined by Alex Nikiporenko on the piano.

The concert took place on 21 September 2018 at St James' Church, Islington.

http://eightforty.co.uk/events/210918/

840: New Music for Cello and Piano

Nowe i popularne: Muzyka klasyczna

From Lehár's The Merry Widow recorded live in rehearsals at Opera North, Leeds, 2018. With Máire Flavin as Hanna and the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North, conducted by Martin André.

The Merry Widow: Vilja Song (Hanna & Chorus)

From Lehár's The Merry Widow recorded live in rehearsals at Opera North, Leeds, 2018. With Quirijn de Lang as Danilo, Máire Flavin as Hanna and Orchestra of Opera North, conducted by Martin André.

The Merry Widow: Waltz 'Let the music say it for us' (Danilo & Hanna)

From Lehár's The Merry Widow recorded live in rehearsals at Opera North, Leeds, 2018. With Quirijn de Lang as Danilo, Geoffrey Dolton as Baron Zeta, Nicholas Watts as Camille, Alex Otterburn as Cascada, Alex Banfield as St. Brioche, Dean Robinson as Kromov and the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North, conducted by Martin André.

The Merry Widow: 'Cherchez la femme' (male principals)

Written for and performed by Anton Lukoszevieze at 840 New Music for Cello and Piano, St. James Islington, 21.9.18 - http://eightforty.co.uk/events/210918/

line (solo cello, 2018)

a Re-interpretation of Tchajkovski's Violin Concerto in D-major. A one off show preformed in ' De Schouwburg' Deventer, the Netherlands, in co-operation with CLASSH , 'het Burgerweeshuis and ' het Orkest van het Oosten'. Special thanks to Ed Spanjaard!

Ion Ludwig Live Composition Interpretated On Tchajkovsky Concerto In D

Live @ CLASHH - Deventer Schouwburg 18 April 2018

"Raimondas Rumsas" was commissioned for Anton Lukoszevieze by the Ultima Festival in Oslo and first performed at the 2002 festival. Earlier that year Anton purchased a curved bow, which allows him to play 3 or 4 strings at once. He set about commissioning composers to write new works to be played with a curved bow. I worked closely with him to learn what was possible to do with the bow; we worked in his studio, which at that time was an old railway signal box parked in his garden. The piece lasts nearly six minutes and has been recorded by both Anton (on Another Timbre) and Oliver Coates (on Prah Recordings).

https://soundcloud.com/laurence-crane

"Raimondas Rumsas" was performed by Anton Lukoszevieze at 840: New Music for Cello and Piano on the 21 September 2018 at St James' Islington.

Laurence Crane - Raimondas Rumsas

Written for Mark Knoop, in memory of Michael Harrison.

The title is taken from a text written by the artist Agnes Martin, which is basically a series of Taoist musings on what is important in life. The piano spells out each rhythmic iteration of the sentence, slowly and with a 'hidden' evolving harmonic system.

http://www.antonlukoszevieze.co.uk/

"What we really want to do is serve happiness" was performed by Alex Nikiporenko at 840: New Music for Cello and Piano on the 21 September 2018 at St James' Islington.

Anton Lukoszevieze - What we really want to do is serve happiness

"I love the sound of the Baroque cello, so I was very excited to write a piece for Elinor Frey, (commissioned by Daniel Cooper). I think of this piece as a melody in search of its harmony. The first part of the work explores a dance-like line; later the melody is lost into a place of utter spareness and stillness – almost like coming to terms with one’s innermost qualities – and later again there is the appearance of a melodic chain of rich chords. My thanks go to Elinor Frey for suggesting the title (the word “Ricercar” means “to search out”), and for her beautiful interpretation of my music."

http://www.catlinsmith.com/

"Ricercar" was performed by Anton Lukoszevieze at 840: New Music for Cello and Piano on the 21 September 2018 at St James' Islington.

Linda Catlin Smith - Ricercar

"These are dedicated to Anton Lukoszevieze, in friendship and admiration for his playing and organizing the first-rate performing of new work.

There are five pieces. In the first, second and fifth there are phrase sequences with free pauses between them. There are also notations for just dynamics (sounds free), and for just rhythms (free sounds). The third and fourth pieces are on grids of 6 x 6 and 8 x 8 bars, allowing continuities to be chosen in variously free ways."

"Small Pieces for Cellist" were premiered by Anton Lukoszevieze at 840: New Music for Cello and Piano on the 21 September 2018 at St James' Islington.