New Blood: 130701

Showcasing FatCat Records’ post-classical imprint 130701, the special Festival concert featured three new artists. Opener Dmitry Evgrafov’s first half of solo piano was a little meandering but hit his stride when a backing keyboardist arrived, lending the soundworld a touch of the ethereal romance of This Mortal Coil. Although let down once or twice by fluffed piano accompaminent parts, Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch’s four string players played some rich, lustrous vibrato and perfectly rended her atmospheric, cool compositions.

The biggest success of the evening was certainly Resina (aka Karolina Rec) however, whose looping cello performance featured spectral, even squeaky gliding that was carefully constructed and musically gorgeous. She utilised tapping the cello and also used various bowing techniques to draw out a fun, percussive backing herself. A pizzicato finale was the compositional highlight of the showcase, beautifully melodic in a Joanna Newsom kind of way, and a fine soprano voice was a lovely surprise.

The Spire, 10 May 2016

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