Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (hcmf//) has launched its full programme. Christian Marclay will be composer in residence, while other living composers in the programme are Rebecca Saunders, Jennifer Walshe and James Dillon.
Marclay – a Swiss-American known for both his visual and musical output – will premiere new piece Investigations, which features 20 pianos (18 November). Other works by Marclay at hcmf// are To Be Continued (16 November, UK premiere); The Wind-Up Guitar (20 November, UK premiere); and Zoom Zoom (20 November). Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore will debut The Wind-Up Guitar.
The festival also focuses on the work of Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino. Italian ensemble Divertimento will offer three UK premieres of his pieces on 23 November, while the Arditti Quartet perform his Quartet No 7 on 25 November.
Elsewhere James Dillon’s String Quartet No 9 receives its world premiere, also performed by the Arditti Quartet (25 November); Rebecca Saunders’ Yes gets its UK premiere (16 November); Jennifer Walshe’s A History of the Voice – Self Care II is performed by HYOID vocal collective (22 November); and Christopher Fox’s latest piano piece has its world premiere (17 November).
Aside from premieres, hcmf// has other new elements for 2018. A partnership with Dutch Performing Arts brings electric guitarist Aart Strootman and chamber metal band TEMKO to the festival, while its annual mixtape session is this year reimagined as a performance playlist featuring the Ligeti, Arditti and Bozzini quartets.
The full programme is available now through the hcmf// website. It runs from 16-25 November.
