Wigmore Hall, London
The new music ensemble was at the top of its game with seven premieres that included melancholy hymns from Linda Catlin Smith, Paul Paccione’s scrunchy modal harmonies and fragile beauty from Ramūnas Motiekaitis
New music group Apartment House celebrates its 30th birthday this year, but this is no cue for nostalgic introspection. With four world premieres and a trio of UK first performances, this was a concert rich in discoveries by an ensemble at the top of its game.
The programme was bookended by two UK premieres from Canadian composer Linda Catlin Smith, perhaps the most familiar name on the bill. Flowers of Emptiness opened proceedings, a melancholy, gently discordant hymn for string trio, its phrases hovering in the ether like the faintest of sighs. At the other end of the evening, Waterlily, her fifth string quartet, breathed slowly in and out, its drifting chords conveying a quiet beauty.
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