BBC Proms: Crippled Symmetry
Hypnotic. Shifting. Time slips through your fingers.
Who’s on stage
Dinis Sousa - Music Director of Royal Northern Sinfonia - swaps his baton for the keys, joining Helena Gourd (flute) and Jude Carlton (percussion) for an up-close, stripped-back performance.
What they’re playing
Morton Feldman’s Crippled Symmetry, in celebration of his 100th birthday year. It unfolds across ninety mesmerising minutes, never rushing, never pinned down.
BBC Proms in the North East is delivered in partnership with North East Combined Authority and Tees Valley Combined Authority.
Need to know
Timings: 1 hour 30 minutes, no interval .
Age: under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.
Venue: The Glasshouse, Gateshead.
Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
What you'll hear
Morton Feldman Crippled Symmetry
Who's playing it
Dinis Sousa piano/celesta
Helena Gourd flute/bass flute
Jude Carlton percussion
What's happening in the music?
This is music that hovers.
Flute, percussion, piano/celesta (that soft, glassy sound) weave together. Patterns form, fade, then quietly return. Inspired by the intricate patterns in Turkish rugs - where designs live in memory rather than on paper - the music circles around itself without ever quite settling. Calm, but not sleepy. Precise, but never rigid.
Give it your attention and it opens up. Or just let it wash over you.
Either way works.
