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Aurora Orchestra Gives the World Premiere of Richard Ayres's No. 52 at the Proms

Sep. 18, 2020

On September 10, the Aurora Orchestra, under the baton of Nicholas Collon, gave the world premiere of Richard Ayre's No. 52  (Three pieces about Ludwig van Beethoven, dreaming, hearing loss, and saying goodbye) at the Proms, and paired that work with a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, performed from memory. The concert can be streamed on the BBC's website here.

No. 52 is a deeply personal new work that was inspired both by Beethoven’s journey into deafness and Ayres's own experience of hearing loss. Richard Ayers explains:

"In No. 52, I concentrate on one specific subject; Ludwig van Beethoven’s hearing loss and its effect on him (also my own but using Beethoven as a focus). I made a piece in three movements: The first is a melody played by a solo cello but gradually amplified by strings and distorted as a sort of tinnitus, it appears like a fog. The second starts out with piano and orchestra, but the piano slowly distorts. The last movement is in four short sections, each followed by the same music played on a record player. I want the audience to hear the difference between the live orchestra and what Beethoven might have heard."

Listen to a recording of Richard Ayres's No. 42 (In the Alps) here:
(No 42. In the Alps by Richard Ayres/Nederlands Blazers Ensemble/Richard Ayres, conductor/
Barbara Hannigan, soprano)


To learn more about Richard Ayres, visit schott-music.com.

Richard Ayres
No. 52 (2019)
(Three pieces about Ludwig van Beethoven, dreaming, hearing loss, and saying goodbye) 
pic.1.2.1(EbCl).cbcl.1.cbsn-2.2.1.cimbasso.0-timp.perc-sampler.piano(keybd)-str(12.8.8.4.2 min) plus record player prop


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