The Best of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells I, II & III
Cadogan Hall
Monday 19th January 2026, 19:30
A13

I did the usual early arrival at the venue and was surprised to find the doors already open. Some light rain was forecast and I feared I would be waiting outside!

A glass of red and a bit of crowd watching ensued but I didn't get a second glass...

I had some expectations but sadly the performance was not what I had hoped for. In the interval I wrote:- "Strangely one dimensional... take theme, build it to crescendo, switch to another theme and repeat! The switches between instruments seemed banal on occasions!"

On reflection later I realised that it sounded like a collage with individual instruments being added on in the allotted spaces. There seemed little dialogue between the musicians even when the two guitarists were hamming up their parallel solos.

I have no doubt that the individual players were completely competent but the performance did not gel. There was one occasion when for a few bars it seemed as if something was completely out of tune. I was not able to identify what happened and did not see any particular issue or response among the players.

Towards the ends of both sets the lighting crew started ramping things up shining lights at the audience which I felt was inappropriate and did not reflect on an actual audience reaction.

And then... the voice over from the original recording of Tubular Bells sounded completely portentous in the concert setting. That was almost funny in hindsight!

Oh well, there will be other concerts to attend in the not too distant future but I was somewhat relieved that I had not spotted Sunday evenings performance at King's Place of Morton Feldman's 4 1/2 hour long piece 'For Philip Guston'!

Colin Currie Quartet
King's Place
Saturday 31st January 2026, 19:30
E10

I arrived to find the foyer area quite busy but this was due to a performance in Hall 2 which started at 7:00pm.

The first set culminated with the 'premiere' piece which was notable for the use of bows rather than mallets to sound some of the notes.

The second set started with the quartet on marimbas which was followed by the final piece, Drumming Part One by Steve Reich.

It was a stunning performance throughout and I was pleased to have seen Drumming, Part 1 again, possibly for the third time!

Set List

Andy Akiho - Pillar I
Andy Akiho - Pillar IV
Joe Duddell - This Place, These People (World Premiere, Kings Place commission)
Kevin Volans - Four Marimbas
Steve Reich - Drumming, Part I

Phaedra Ensemble
King's Place
Friday 20th March 2026, 19:30
E9

Steve Reich
WTC 9/11 (2010)
Anna Thorvaldsdottir
Enigma (2018)
Interval
Steve Reich
Violin Phase (1967)
Steve Reich
Triple Quartet (1988)
John Coltrane
Africa (1961)
(arranged Jamie Hamilton)

I approached King's Place early as usual and sat in the main bar/restaurant for a glass of red... Then I was first into the auditorium!

It was a great performance moving from Steve Reich works that I am familiar with to some extent then including two works I have not heard previously. There were a number of immediate impressions, not least the magical continuity of the string quartet instruments. They often provided a singularity of sound from the lowest to the highest values... a veritable 'plane' of sound.

The use of pre-recorded elements is something that Steve Reich performances often include and they illustrate neatly the fullness of the 'live' instruments.

'Colour' and 'depth' are hard put to describe the difference but it is there!

I shall re-listen to the recordings that I have of Violin Phase (1967) and Triple Quartet (1988) because there was an intensity in this evening's performance that I had maybe not fully recognised previously. The emotive directness of WTC 9/11 (2010) is something that I understood almost from first listening!

Colin Currie Group, Music of the Steve Martland Band
King's Place
Friday 17th April 2026, 19:30
E9

Horses of Instruction
Starry Night
Kick
Beat the Retreat
Eternal Delight

I'll hope to find the details of the 'players' eventually!

The playlist included four pieces that I had heard a couple of times from the recently purchased Martland: Horses Of Instruction; Beat The Retreat; Eternal Delight etc. The real surprise was Starry Night and I have subsequently found a video recording from the Purbeck International Chamber Music Festival "Recorded live on the 5th September 2021 at St James' Church, Kingston".

The idea of going to a concert where the music was not at all familiar paid dividends on this occasion. It was a wonderful evening's entertainment!

The performers were totally proficient and the sound levels seemed just perfect!

On listening back to Starry Night I was basically amazed to find that it was over twenty minutes long!

Having followed through and booked Colin Currie performances I shall do the same with Phaedra Ensemble and Laura Jurd. I will also be on the lookout for GBSR Duo who are musicians in residense at King's Place currently.

They feature in my next concert booking in June!

From a 2014 review:- "The 2008 Van Gogh-inspired Starry Night, for marimba and amplified string quartet, in which Currie was partnered by members of the Aurora Orchestra is effectively a huge, minimalist toccata, in which strings and marimba vie for attention before combining forces for the thrilling climax."

Julian Lage
Royal Festival Hall
Friday 15th May, 7:30pm RR13

Travelled the long way round via Stratford and planned to go back via the Circle Line from Embankment to Liverpool Street.

There was a support act by Bryony Jarman-Pinto which didn't really register with me!

Julian Lage and band took to the stage at about 8:20pm.

Julian Lage (guitar)
John Medeski (keys)
Jorge Roeder (bass)
Kenny Wollesen (drums)

This show featured Lage's new quartet and pieces from the 2026 recording on Blue Note, Scenes from Above.

My note from Friday evening was a bit shrill but in a sense had a valid point:- 'Julian Lage was a bit too carefully/comfortably bracketed by his band for my liking! The harsh tone of a ‘Hammond style’ organ played with too much attention to 'conventional/ubiquitous/cliche' phrases didn't help!'
The musicians were playing on an equal basis not just providing a backing for Julian Lage.

Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)
St Giles' Cripplegate
Monday 22nd Jun 2026, 19:30,
Unreserved seating

Tyshawn Sorey, conductor & composer
Davóne Tines, bass-baritone
Ruth Gibson, viola
BBC Singers,
GBSR Duo

Pat Metheny Side-Eye III+
The Barbican
Sunday 19 July 2026, 5:30pm B49

Pat Metheny (guitar)
Chris Fishman (piano and keyboards)
Jermaine Paul (bass)
Joe Dyson (drums)

Phaedra Ensemble: The Music of Meredith Monk
Kings Place
Thursday 17 September 2026 19:30 E10

Steve Reich at 90: Triple Quartet
Purcell Room + After Dark
Saturday 26th September, 8pm A-23

Steve Reich at 90: Music for 18 Musicians
Colin Currie Group
Newcastle Glasshouse
Saturday 3rd October 2026 7:30pm O-15

Colin Currie Group: Steve Reich Celebration
Barbican
Wednesday 28th October 2026 Level G Door 7 Row: A Seat: 44

The Barbican
Friday 13th November 2026, 7:30pm A17

Joe Lovano, saxaphone
Melissa Aldana, saxaphone
Nduduzo Makhathini, piano
Linda May Han Oh, bass
Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, drums

Kronos Quartet
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Friday 20th November 2026, 8:30pm D32

David Harrington, violin
Gabriela Díaz, violin
Ayane Kozasa, viola
Paul Wiancko, cello

Manchester Collective: Black Gold
Purcell Room
Sunday 6 December 2026 6:00pm C-14