Classical music in a rock and roll setting
As the nights grow long and the days grisly and dour, Limelight is back to warm your cockles for its final performance of 2012. On Wednesday 24 October, we are delighted to have world renowned violinist and director Pekka Kuusisto joining us for a dazzling set of Rautavaara, Bartok and more - with a few of his good friends in tow.
A strong advocate of new music, the Finnish violinist regularly collaborates with contemporary composers, including Sebastian Fagerlund and Nico Muhly. In February, he embarked on an international tour performing the Adès Violin Concerto with the Britten Sinfonia, conducted by the composer.
Supporting Kuusisto we have two mesmerising and brilliantly original artists, both performing at Limelight for the first time: clarinetist Matt Hunt and pianist Alasdair Beatson.
"Pekka Kuusisto's rare gift is to become rather than perform the music he plays. His playing was marked by the kind of luminous and infectious beauty that comes only from a true marriage of mastery and love." (The Guardian)
About Limelight:
Limelight is the longest running classical club night in central London, and has gained rave reviews from artists, audience members and critics alike. Since July 2009 it has presented classical music in London’s legendary jazz bar, the 100 Club, believed to be the oldest live music venue in the city and once frequented by the likes of Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday.
* Classic FM presenter John Suchet: "It was an amazing evening, rather like the salons of old brought up to date.” * BBC Music Magazine editor Oliver Condy: “Limelight's idea of presenting classical music in a jazz club setting has proved an inspired one, showing that you don't need the austerity of a concert hall for brilliant music making and rapt audiences.”
* Times journalist Giles Coren: "Limelight avoids the tedium of a restaurant, the horror of a ‘gig’ and the pole-up-your-arse stiffness of most classical venues, and provides something genuinely original, fun and really rather classy."
* Richard Shayler, Muso magazine critic: “On visiting a club like this I would usually expect a night of beer and pretending that I’m comfortable with the mood lighting and a sweaty experience on the dance floor. However, upon entering, I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautifully laid out stage boasting an authentic harpsichord and Fazioli baby grand, café tables with matching candles, chairs surrounding the stage and an atmosphere brimming with anticipation.”
* Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes: “I loved it. It is wonderful that places like this exist in London, but more places are needed. Such an intimate environment is perfect for the music, and is not so different from how people listened to Chopin in Paris in the 1830s – and with a similar amount of alcohol, probably.”
* Violinist Nicola Benedetti: "I loved the atmosphere and the connection with the audience. To me, it wasn't about making music fun, it was about providing depth of performance in a space that doesn't necessarily expect it."
* Pianist Joanna MacGregor: “I loved it. This venue is wonderful for me, with its air of history and jazz history. I have been looking at all the pictures and marvelling at the company I’m keeping. And what an ideal crowd – so appreciative and interesting.”