Press Release
MICHAEL NYMAN HILLSBOROUGH MEMORIAL OPENS LIVERPOOL BIENNIAL
Liverpool Biennial, in partnership with Liverpool Philharmonic and Liverpool Cathedral, will present a new, specially composed work by Michael Nyman, which will be performed at Liverpool Cathedral on Saturday 5 July, the opening weekend of Liverpool Biennial 2014. The workis supported by Liverpool City Council as one of the major new arts commissions for theLiverpool International Festival for Business.
Michael Nyman's Symphony No. 11: Hillsborough Memorial will be performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with Liverpool-born mezzo soprano Kathryn Rudge and Liverpool Philharmonic Youth and Training Choirs, conducted by Josep Vicent,
Symphony No. 11:Hillsborough Memorial represents the culmination of Michael Nyman's thinking around the tragedies connected with Liverpool Football Club.25 years after the Hillsborough disaster, he says that he hopes it will make a small but significant contribution to the healing process still necessary for the families of the lost fans.
Symphony No. 11 also restores the work known asHillsborough Memorialto its original 1985 context(having subsequently become well-known in The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover). In this new version for voice and orchestra, Kathryn Rudge will singthe names of the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives, accompanied bymusic Nyman was recording on the afternoon of the Hillsborough tragedy.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “We will never forget those who lost their lives at Hillsborough, or the impact it had on their bereaved families.The anger, pain and sorrow they have felt for the past 25 years is shared by everyone in Liverpool, and by thousands of others across Merseyside, across the country and around the world.
“Memorials are a symbol of our solidarity and support for the families, and Nyman’s specially commissioned piece of music will be a moving and unforgettable tribute. It is certain to be a highlight of this year’s Biennial and a fantastic example of art being used to help shine a light on the dignity and bravery of those who have strived for justice for the 96.”
Dean of Liverpool, the Very Revd. Dr. Pete Wilcox, said “One of my first encounters with Liverpool Cathedral was on the day of the Hillsborough Panel Report a few days before I took up my role in September 2012. I was proud that our cathedral was able to provide a place of comfort and support on that difficult day and I believe that our building will be an equally fitting venue for Michael’s symphony. My hope is that the magnificent acoustic and a sense of God's presence will enable this world renowned composer’s piece to offer us all space to reflect and find a further measure of healing, as the 96, the survivors and their families are remembered. It is poignant that the performance will have the fresh inquests as a backdrop.”
Full details of ticket booking will be published on the Liverpool Biennial website on Friday 9 May. A recording of the piece will be available for the duration of Liverpool Biennial 2014.
As a separate project for the Liverpool Biennial 2014, Michael Nyman will create a new film installation entitled Aztecs in Liverpool. This is a two-screen video installation featuring still and moving images, including footage collected by Nyman over the past 20 years in his newly-adopted home, Mexico.The title refers to, and the work derives from, the presence in the World Museum in Liverpool of one of the finest Aztec codices, the Codex Fejervary-Mayer. This will be displayed in The Walker Art Gallery.
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About Michael Nyman
One of Britain’s most innovative and celebrated composers, Michael Nyman’s work encompasses operas and string quartets, film soundtracks and orchestral concertos. In addition to his work as a composer, he’s also a performer, conductor, bandleader, pianist, author, musicologist, photographer and filmmaker.
Nyman first made his mark on the musical world in the late 1960s when he invented the term ‘minimalism’ and, still in his mid-twenties, earned one of his earliest commissions to write the libretto for Birtwistle’s 1969 opera, Down By The Greenwood Side. In 1976, he formed his own ensemble, the Michael Nyman Band, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2014. For over three decades, the group has been the laboratory for much of his inventive and experimental compositional work.
His most notable scores include a dozen Peter Greenaway films, such as The Draughtsman’s Contract and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover; Neil Jordan’s The End Of The Affair; several Michael Winterbottom features including Wonderland and A Cock and Bull Story; the Hollywood blockbuster Gattaca, and Jane Campion’s 1993 film, The Piano, the soundtrack of which has sold more than three million copies. Most recently, his music was used in the 2009 BAFTA award-winning and Oscar-nominated film, Man on Wire.
Nyman’s visual work has been exhibited in various public institutions, such as the Tate Modern in London, the Reina Sophia Museum in Madrid, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 2014, his most recent 11 screen installation NYman with a Movie Camera will travel to Zona Maco Art Fair in Mexico City and to Tufts University in Boston. 2014 is also the year of Nyman’s 70th birthday celebrations, which will include a visual art commission for the 2014 Liverpool Biennial as well as a music and film commission for Paris’ Cité de la Musique as part of the First World War commemorations.
2014 is also the year of Michael Nyman's 70th birthday, and the occasion will be markedwith a series of special events, ending at London’s Royal Festival Hall on 30th April, wherehe will feature two of his concertos (Violin Concerto No 1 andthe Concertofor soprano saxophone'Where the Bee Dances’)and present the UK Premiere performance of the first of a series of symphonies -Symphony No.2-with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.The performance will be conducted by JosepVicent, who has worked extensively with Michael Nyman on several projects in recent years, including the recording of Symphony No.2.
Prior to this date, Nyman will present with The Michael Nyman Band four shows, coinciding with the band’s 40th anniversary, with special dates in Gateshead (22nd April), Edinburgh (23rd April), Liverpool (25th April) and Bristol (28th April).
Further information on Michael Nyman can be found by visiting www.michaelnyman.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MichaelNymanMusic
About Liverpool Biennial
Liverpool Biennial, an ongoing platform for research, commissioning and presenting international art, education and debate, is the UK Biennial of Contemporary Art. In 2012, it attracted over half a million visitors over its ten weeks run and since its founding in 1999, has shown the work of over 350 artists from 72 countries. Since 2004, Liverpool Biennial has contributed over £98.9 million to Liverpool’s economy.
Liverpool today offers the richest visual arts environment anywhere in the UK outside London. It has more galleries and museums, and commissions more new art than any other city except the capital and was European Capital of Culture in 2008. Liverpool Biennial festival takes place in a wide range of locations across the city, from established museums and galleries to unusual and unexpected places.
Liverpool Cathedral
The awesome and intimate space of Liverpool Cathedral has helped establish it as a venue for an eclectic mix of events adding a spiritual dimension that creates unforgettable occasions. Famously described by Sir John Betjeman as “one of the great buildings of the world” we have added to our iconic image a reputation for a warm welcome and creative, imaginative risk taking whilst remain true to our Christian values. Bound be a mission to be a “safe place to do risky things in Christ’s service” we have been at the centre of a number of key cultural moments.
The broad programme of events in 2008’s Capital of Culture year earned them the accolade of region’s best visitor attraction. This commitment remains solid with the award winning Tracey Emin installation For You and recent exhibitions such as Icons in Transformation by Ludmila Pawlowska. Musically the cathedral has hosted an eclectic range of performers from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir to headlining acts for Liverpool Sound City. The Cathedral has a long-standing association with the Biennial. An association which includes hosting Tony Cragg’s installations in 2010 and the successful opener to the 2012 Liverpool Biennial – Rhys Chatham’s epic A Crimson Grail for 100 guitars and eight electric basses.
Liverpool Biennial is funded and supported by:
Founding Supporter
James Moores
Hillsborough Memorial is also funded and supported by: