Jonathan Harvey, now in his 60s, is one of Britain's most successful composers. His works are frequently performed throughout the rest of Europe and the US, but he is not accorded the same recognition in the UK. In fact, Pierre-André Valade's programme with the BBC Symphony Orchestra was the UK's first all-Harvey orchestral concert.
It's astonishing that one of Harvey's most important works, Timepieces, has waited 14 years for its UK premiere. Three movements explore complex relationships between different layers of music. The piece needs two conductors for its dazzling, shifting effects. The first timepiece projects fragments of violent music over a serene foundation of string harmonics. The second builds from a delicate tapestry of percussion to a rhythmic explosion for full orchestra. It's the strongest possible contrast with the final movement, which creates slow swells of sound in an ebb and flow of interweaving crescendos.
Yet for all its impressive technical armoury, Timepieces is no abstract exercise. Harvey's writing, with its oppositions of textures and time-scales, is sensuous stuff, and in Valade and Matthew Rowe's performance, each layer was keenly characterised and expertly balanced.
Two other works focused on spiritual states, reflecting Harvey's long-standing interest in Buddhism and eastern belief systems. Tranquil Abiding was a haunting meditation on a single musical idea. A simple, rocking melody was overlaid with opulent flashes of woodwind writing. White as Jasmine for soprano and orchestra (another British premiere) sets texts inspired by 12th-century Indian saint Mahadevi. Her vivid poetic imagery was matched by the volatile energy of Harvey's music and the conviction of soprano Anu Komsi's performance.
But there's more to Harvey than otherworldly contemplation. The Dutch Het Trio gave an utterly compelling performance of his 1994 piece The Riot, where spirituality is replaced by earthy abandon, in a playful mix of tortuous rhythms and harmonies. A fascinating insight into the richness and range of Harvey's output.
·This concert is broadcast on November 10, 10pm, on Radio 3.
