
holding, breathing, beating: Rufus Isabel Elliot
LSO Discovery Jerwood Composer+ Showcase
LSO St Luke's
The Concert
Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke’s
Pre-concert, playing in the hall
Marja Ahti Coastal Inversion
Liza Lim Amulet
Tansy Davies Dark Ground
Brian Ferneyhough Cassandra’s Dream Song
Cassandra Miller for mira
Interval – 20 minutes
James Weeks winterærc (world premiere)
Rufus Isabel Elliot new work (world premiere)
Mira Benjamin violin
Chihiro Ono viola
Daniel Shao flute
Sam Walton percussion
The concert will finish at approximately 8.45pm
Tickets
£8 (£6 concessions, £6 under-18s)
+ £1.50 booking fee per online/phone transaction
An evening of contemporary chamber music conjured through holding, caressing, pulling, beating and hitting.
This small, wordless musical medium is uniquely placed to tell stories about our bodies and their violations. The abstraction of chamber music opens up difficult and co-existent points of view and challenging emotional states. The pieces gathered here hold differing relationships to the body – mine, yours, the performers’. Entering the room, Coastal Inversions by Swedish-Finnish sound artist Marja Ahti immediately takes us to another place, a sonic scene vibrating all around us, widening our sense of what’s inside and what’s out.
Old stories are retold – ancient rituals are beaten out with modern rhythms in Tansy Davies’ Dark Ground, Ferneyhough makes Cassandra stammer again through her story, and Liza Lim’s Amulet traverses the fingerboard of the viola, building a folkloric vision of holding and touching. Kurt Cobain sings us a dark vision of sexuality, torn apart and reformed by Cassandra Miller specifically for Mira Benjamin to play. Two world premieres follow – a vision of escape from Rufus Isabel Elliot, and James Weeks’ exploration of mutuality and privacy.
This programme seeks out ways music can grapple with touch and desire, be it intimate or violent. In particular, the programme concerns a grey area of intimacy, moulded by fear. Within, you will find music for protection, music to entrap, music to run away, music to speak, and music when you can’t speak.
LSO Jerwood Composer+ is generously supported by the Jerwood Developing Artists Fund
Header Image © Rufus Isabel Elliot
Dive Deeper
Booking and Discounts
Booking Your Tickets
Online at lso.co.uk
By phone on +44 20 7870 2500 (Monday to Friday 12–5.30pm)
In person at the Barbican Centre
£1.50 booking fee per transaction when booking online or by phone
Refunds and Exchanges
If you can no longer use your tickets, you can exchange them for another LSO St Luke’s concert or Barbican credit voucher (valid for six months). Please ensure that you inform the Box Office at least 24 hours before the performance (two weeks for group bookings). A per-ticket administration fee applies for all exchange services.
Questions About Your Booking?
Contact the Box Office at tickets@barbican.org.uk.
Visit the Barbican website for conditions of sale and further information.
The LSO reserves the right to change artists or programmes if necessary. If the event is cancelled, all bookers will receive a refund. All discounts are subject to availability and may not be combined. Box office calls may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance or training purposes
Concessions
£6 tickets for over-60s, full-time students and unwaged/unemployed people.
Under-18s
£5 tickets for under-18s.
Access Members
Members of the Barbican’s Access Scheme can book wheelchair places priced at the lowest price for that event and book a free companion seat. Join the Barbican Access Scheme.
Your Visit and Access

Getting to LSO St Luke's
The main entrance to LSO St Luke’s is through the gates from Old Street. Please check the doors open time for your chosen concert.

What to Expect
From the concert experience to venue facilities and The Crypt café and bar, find out what to expect at LSO St Luke’s.

Accessibility
LSO St Luke’s is a fully accessible venue. Barbican Access Scheme members can book free companion tickets.