City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - CBSO Sounds New (2023) Hi-Res

When the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra marked its Centenary in 2020, there was never any question that new music would be at the heart of the celebrations. The orchestra marked its 100th year by commissioning 20 emerging composers to write short orchestral works to be played throughout the 2020 season – but then Covid-19 intervened.

Instead all 20 works were brought together in a single concert in January 2023, when the audience at Symphony Hall, Birmingham were treated to a bumper celebration of new music by rising-star composers. The concert was conducted by Clark Rundell and recorded for release by NMC, ensuring that these new works are available to be heard globally and in perpetuity.

The featured composers range widely in experience; for some this was their first ever opportunity to write for full symphony orchestra, whereas others have recordings already released by NMC. The only restriction given was that the piece was around four minutes in duration. The resulting music is hugely varied in style and sound, making this new release, Sounds New, an impressive showcase of the range and breadth of contemporary orchestral writing happening in the UK today.

Some of the works take existing music as their source, such as Laurence Osborn's surreal, angular The Biggest Thing I've Ever Squashed, and Bethan Morgan-Williams’ Parti Di-ffiniau which warps motifs from Gustav Holst's Jupiter guided by numbers associated with the city of Birmingham. Several of the works feature vocalists, including Millicent B James' gospel-inspired Come show them the River, and Héloïse Werner's playfully gestural crossings. The haunting darkness of Joel Järventausta's Bourrée and Ben Nobuto's unsettling Egress, contrast with Ryan Latimer's luminous Bellwether and
the fireworks of Aileen Sweeney's Glisk.