I've finally got around to listening to the London Sinfonietta performance of this 'new' work. It combines very successfully a sequence of chamber-like pieces he has written for them over the years. The 'lessons' are pairs of instruments, and the linking passages are played by all (I think!).
I have often thought that the defect of the freedom of Birtwistle's non-tonal and sometimes rhythmically very complex music was, in common with much atonal/non-tonal music, an inability to have wit, humour, and playfulness. Proved wrong again! This piece is delightfully playful and witty. As well as melodic. The paired instruments echo each other and play off each other in all sorts of ways. The last pair, trombone and horn (was it?) end with a lovely sense of light-hearted completion and fulfilment.
I have often thought that the defect of the freedom of Birtwistle's non-tonal and sometimes rhythmically very complex music was, in common with much atonal/non-tonal music, an inability to have wit, humour, and playfulness. Proved wrong again! This piece is delightfully playful and witty. As well as melodic. The paired instruments echo each other and play off each other in all sorts of ways. The last pair, trombone and horn (was it?) end with a lovely sense of light-hearted completion and fulfilment.