Press Release
MICHAEL NYMAN HILLSBOROUGH MEMORIAL OPENS
LIVERPOOL BIENNIAL
Liverpool Biennial, in partnership with Liverpool Philharmonic and Liverpool Cathedral,
will present a new, specially composed work by Michael Nyman, which will be
performed at Liverpool Cathedral on Saturday 5 July, the opening weekend of
Liverpool Biennial 2014. The work is supported by Liverpool City Council as one of the
major new arts commissions for the Liverpool International Festival for Business.
Michael Nyman's Symphony No. 11: Hillsborough Memorial will be performed by the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with Liverpool-born mezzo soprano Kathryn
Rudge and Liverpool Philharmonic Youth and Training Choirs, conducted by Josep
Vicent,
Symphony No. 11: Hillsborough Memorial represents the culmination of Michael
Nyman's thinking around the tragedies connected with Liverpool Football Club. 25
years after the Hillsborough disaster, he says that he hopes it will make a small but
significant contribution to the healing process still necessary for the families of the lost
fans.
Symphony No. 11 also restores the work known as Hillsborough Memorial to its original
1985 context (having subsequently become well-known in The Cook, The Thief, His
Wife And Her Lover). In this new version for voice and orchestra, Kathryn Rudge will
sing the names of the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives, accompanied by music
Nyman was recording on the afternoon of the Hillsborough tragedy.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “We will never forget those who lost their lives
at Hillsborough, or the impact it had on their bereaved families. The anger, pain and
sorrow they have felt for the past 25 years is shared by everyone in Liverpool, and by
thousands of others across Merseyside, across the country and around the world.
“Memorials are a symbol of our solidarity and support for the families, and Nyman’s
specially commissioned piece of music will be a moving and unforgettable tribute. It is
certain to be a highlight of this year’s Biennial and a fantastic example of art being used
to help shine a light on the dignity and bravery of those who have strived for justice for
the 96.”
Dean of Liverpool, the Very Revd. Dr. Pete Wilcox, said “One of my first encounters
with Liverpool Cathedral was on the day of the Hillsborough Panel Report a few days
before I took up my role in September 2012. I was proud that our cathedral was able to
provide a place of comfort and support on that difficult day and I believe that our
building will be an equally fitting venue for Michael’s symphony. My hope is that the
magnificent acoustic and a sense of God's presence will enable this world renowned
composer’s piece to offer us all space to reflect and find a further measure of healing,
as the 96, the survivors and their families are remembered. It is poignant that the
performance will have the fresh inquests as a backdrop.”
Full details of ticket booking will be published on the Liverpool Biennial website on
Friday 9 May. A recording of the piece will be available for the duration of Liverpool
Biennial 2014.
As a separate project for the Liverpool Biennial 2014, Michael Nyman will create a new
film installation entitled Aztecs in Liverpool. This is a two-screen video installation
featuring still and moving images, including footage collected by Nyman over the past
20 years in his newly-adopted home, Mexico. The title refers to, and the work derives
from, the presence in the World Museum in Liverpool of one of the finest Aztec codices,
the Codex Fejervary-Mayer. This will be displayed in The Walker Art Gallery.
Media Enquiries:
Liverpool Biennial Press Office Contact Details (regional):
Carousel PR: Jen, Fran, Rebecca & Emma
Tel:
0161 686 5520
Mob: 07837 817499
Email: jen@carouselpr.com / fran@carouselpr.com / rebecca@carouselpr.com /
emma@carouselpr.com
Notes to Editors:
About Michael Nyman
One of Britain’s most innovative and celebrated composers, Michael Nyman’s work
encompasses operas and string quartets, film soundtracks and orchestral concertos. In
addition to his work as a composer, he’s also a performer, conductor, bandleader,
pianist, author, musicologist, photographer and filmmaker.
Nyman first made his mark on the musical world in the late 1960s when he invented the
term ‘minimalism’ and, still in his mid-twenties, earned one of his earliest commissions
to write the libretto for Birtwistle’s 1969 opera, Down By The Greenwood Side. In 1976,
he formed his own ensemble, the Michael Nyman Band, which celebrates its 40th
anniversary in 2014. For over three decades, the group has been the laboratory for
much of his inventive and experimental compositional work.
His most notable scores include a dozen Peter Greenaway films, such as The
Draughtsman’s Contract and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover; Neil Jordan’s
The End Of The Affair; several Michael Winterbottom features including Wonderland
and A Cock and Bull Story; the Hollywood blockbuster Gattaca, and Jane Campion’s
1993 film, The Piano, the soundtrack of which has sold more than three million copies.
Most recently, his music was used in the 2009 BAFTA award-winning and Oscarnominated film, Man on Wire.
Nyman’s visual work has been exhibited in various public institutions, such as the Tate
Modern in London, the Reina Sophia Museum in Madrid, and the Museum of Modern
Art in New York. In 2014, his most recent 11 screen installation NYman with a Movie
Camera will travel to Zona Maco Art Fair in Mexico City and to Tufts University in
Boston. 2014 is also the year of Nyman’s 70th birthday celebrations, which will include a
visual art commission for the 2014 Liverpool Biennial as well as a music and film
commission for Paris’ Cité de la Musique as part of the First World War
commemorations.
2014 is also the year of Michael Nyman's 70th birthday, and the occasion will be
marked with a series of special events, ending at London’s Royal Festival Hall on 30th
April, where he will feature two of his concertos (Violin Concerto No 1 and the
Concerto for soprano saxophone 'Where the Bee Dances’) and present the UK
Premiere performance of the first of a series of symphonies -Symphony No.2- with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The performance will be conducted by Josep Vicent,
who has worked extensively with Michael Nyman on several projects in recent years,
including the recording of Symphony No.2.
Prior to this date, Nyman will present with The Michael Nyman Band four shows,
coinciding with the band’s 40th anniversary, with special dates in Gateshead (22nd April),
Edinburgh (23rd April), Liverpool (25th April) and Bristol (28th April).
Further information on Michael Nyman can be found by visiting
www.michaelnyman.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MichaelNymanMusic
About Liverpool Biennial
Liverpool Biennial, an ongoing platform for research, commissioning and presenting
international art, education and debate, is the UK Biennial of Contemporary Art. In
2012, it attracted over half a million visitors over its ten weeks run and since its founding
in 1999, has shown the work of over 350 artists from 72 countries. Since 2004,
Liverpool Biennial has contributed over £98.9 million to Liverpool’s economy.
Liverpool today offers the richest visual arts environment anywhere in the UK outside
London. It has more galleries and museums, and commissions more new art than any
other city except the capital and was European Capital of Culture in 2008. Liverpool
Biennial festival takes place in a wide range of locations across the city, from
established museums and galleries to unusual and unexpected places.
Liverpool Cathedral
The awesome and intimate space of Liverpool Cathedral has helped establish it as a
venue for an eclectic mix of events adding a spiritual dimension that creates
unforgettable occasions. Famously described by Sir John Betjeman as “one of the great
buildings of the world” we have added to our iconic image a reputation for a warm
welcome and creative, imaginative risk taking whilst remain true to our Christian values.
Bound be a mission to be a “safe place to do risky things in Christ’s service” we have
been at the centre of a number of key cultural moments.
The broad programme of events in 2008’s Capital of Culture year earned them the
accolade of region’s best visitor attraction. This commitment remains solid with the
award winning Tracey Emin installation For You and recent exhibitions such as Icons in
Transformation by Ludmila Pawlowska. Musically the cathedral has hosted an eclectic
range of performers from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir to headlining
acts for Liverpool Sound City. The Cathedral has a long-standing association with the
Biennial. An association which includes hosting Tony Cragg’s installations in 2010 and
the successful opener to the 2012 Liverpool Biennial – Rhys Chatham’s epic A Crimson
Grail for 100 guitars and eight electric basses.
Liverpool Biennial is funded and supported by:
Founding Supporter
James Moores
Hillsborough Memorial is also funded and supported by: