Two giant musical voices of the late twentieth century meet in this relaxed concert. The Solem Quartet perform Steve Reich’s iconic Different Trains, and are joined by celebrated vocalist Alice Zawadzki for songs by Kate Bush, newly arranged for string quartet and voice.

Written in 1988, Steve Reich’s Different Trains is a work that looks forward in its musical language, and looks back with its subject matter. Perhaps the composer’s most emotional work, Different Trains stands as a monument to the war generation.

Composed for string quartet + tape, the work utilises recorded speech as a source for the melodic material.

Excerpts from interviews with people from the United States and Europe, including survivors of the Holocaust, detail personal experiences of those differing continents before, during and after the war.

Like Reich, Kate Bush is a visionary artist, pushing the boundaries of genre, form and style. Alice Zawadzki (“a genuine original” The Guardian) joins the Solem Quartet for a set of some of Kate Bush’s most loved songs – including Running Up That Hill, This Woman’s Work, And Dream of Sheep and more – in new arrangements by Solem Quartet violinist, William Newell.

PERFORMERS
Solem Quartet
Alice Zawadzki, Soprano

PROGRAMME
Steve Reich Different Trains
Kate Bush arr. William Newell Selection of songs

Photo Credit: Bertie Watson