‘Pierrot Portraits’ (Onyx ONYX4246), a striking new album from Ensemble 360 and soprano Claire Booth, conceived to mark the 150th anniversary of Arnold Schönberg’s birth, is to be released this month.
‘Pierrot Portraits’ takes Arnold Schönberg’s monumental Pierrot Lunaire, op. 21 as its starting point, expanding its vision of the commedia dell’arte character Pierrot through an eclectic programme of works inspired by this iconic figure.
The album includes works by Schönberg’s contemporaries Joseph Marx, Max Kowalski, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Amy Beach and Régine Poldowski, as well as character pieces by Schumann and Debussy. Thea Musgrave’s 1985 Pierrot receives a fresh interpretation on this disc.
‘Pierrot Portraits’ will be released on 27 September in physical and digital form. Three of four planned advance singles from the album are now available to stream:
Marx ‘Pierrot Dandy’ – Claire Booth (Voice) and Tim Horton (Piano)
Korngold ‘Tanzlied des Pierrot’ from Die tote Stadt, op. 12 – Gemma Rosefield (Cello) and Tim Horton (Piano), of Ensemble 360
Schönberg ‘Parodie’ from Pierrot Lunaire – Claire Booth and Ensemble 360 (Juliette Bausor, Robert Plane, Benjamin Nabarro, Gemma Rosefield, Tim Horton)
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Ensemble 360 can be heard performing live with Claire Booth across the UK this autumn, including a programme that includes many of the works on ‘Pierrot Portraits’ as part of the Oxford International Song Festival. ‘Pierrot Lunaire’ features on further engagements at Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival and at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and in December they join forces to perform Alban Berg’s Seven Last Songs and Schönberg’s String Quartet no. 2, op. 10 for Music in the Round in Sheffield. Full details of each performance may be found via the links below.
Ensemble 360 | 13 October 2024 | 5:00pm | Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival
Ensemble 360 | 18 October 2024 | 9:45 pm – 10:45 pm | Oxford International Song Festival
Ensemble 360 | 21 November 2024 | 7.15pm | Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Ensemble 360 | 7 December 2024 | 7:00 pm | Crucible Playhouse
Known for their bold programming, Ensemble 360 and Claire Booth (IMG Artists) are pleased to continue to offer ‘Pierrot Portraits’ to concert promoters over the coming seasons – more details may be found here and they can be booked through Tashmina Artists or IMG.