20 October - 6 November
2016 saw the sad loss of Pierre Boulez and Peter Maxwell Davies, the latter a significant figure in British post WWII music, and the former a game changer and influence on an entire generation of composers.
soundfestival 2016 paid tribute to these two giants. The festival launch concert paid tribute to Max, with pianist Rolf Hind who performed his complete piano works along with four new short pieces in his memory, by composers he new and worked with.
A day dedicated to Boulez celebrated his work through discussions with our own Aberdeen-based expert Dr Edward Campbell and pianist Peter O'Hagan. There were also showings of film on Boulez and performances of a selection of his work including Anthèmes II and Dialogue de l'Ombre Double.
As well as these tributes, the string quartet featured heavily in the programme, with four days of workshops and performances including premieres od sound-commissioned works by Graham Fitkin and French composers David Hudry and François Sarhan.
A major project with a distinctly European flavour brought together Norway's Song Circus, Belgium's I Solisti del Vento and our own Associate ensemble Red Note. They gave the world premiere of The F Scale by John de Simone alongside Louis Andriessen's seminal work De Staat and Mauricio Kagel's Der Tribun with actor Simon Callow playing the dictator. The performance in Aberdeen was followed by a tour to Belgium and the Netherlands.
Of course there was much more - family events, Discovery Day at Aberdeen Science Centre, regular late-night sessions, and the usual variety of concerts allowing the audience to go to something they know and like as well as discover something new.
