UK conductor-composer Jack Sheen makes his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a free evening concert at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios, with new works from younger composers concerned with the environment. Finnish composer Ville Raasakka’s Black cloud, under ground recreates field recordings made in an abandoned coal mine underneath a town in Pennsylvania, where in 1962 a fire broke out in an abandoned coal mine. Toxic smokes slowly began to seep into the homes of the residents, and people were relocated in 1984. The fire will continue to burn for an estimated 200-250 years. Jack Sheen’s own Lung is about our lungs.

Jack Sheen conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra

BBC Maida Vale Studios

A technicolor whirlwind, Alex Paxton’s music hits like a Haribo kebab. Riot Ensemble were hooked in 2022, when they co-commissioned Shrimp BIT Babyface and they haven’t blinked since. Forget about good taste and revel in the mess of the moment. The same might also be said about the music of Anna Meredith, whose Brisk Widow was written for Riot’s percussionist (and Anna’s bandmate) Sam Wilson.

Eden Lonsdale

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