A comprehensive article by UYMP composer Thomas Simaku, on the composition process of his cycle of nine Soliloquies for solo instruments, has been published by Cambridge University Press, in the July edition of TEMPO.  

The Abstract reads: "Beginning with Soliloquy I for solo violin in 1998, the author has been engaged in creating a series of highly virtuosic solo pieces for various instruments. Each piece presents a different character, yet all are framed by a single protagonist who narrates in different languages. This article focuses particularly on analyses of Soliloquies II, VI, VII, VIII and IX, but also offers a discussion of the genesis of and processes involved in the whole cycle, which now embraces instruments from every section of the orchestra; the most recent, Soliloquy IX, for solo trumpet, was written in 2022. The suitability of the title Soliloquy is also considered; this article in turn could itself be considered a soliloquy."

Ed Hughes’s opera States of Innocence based on Milton’s Paradise Lost with a libretto by Peter Cant, premiered at this year’s Brighton Festival, will be screened in a special showing at the Depot Cinema, Lewes, on Tuesday 17 September. Sir John Tomlinson, pictured here as Milton, will be in discussion with Ed Hughes and John Hancorn.

A new CD featuring Robert Saxton's Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh and The Resurrection of the Soldiers (performed by the ESO, cond. Kenneth Woods), was released on Nimbus on Friday 5th July. The Guardian's music review section has already featured a number of auspicious comments regarding the works included on the recording:

• "A superbly played album featuring two major works by this month’s featured Contemporary Composer, Robert Saxton" - Gramophone Editor’s Choice (Aug 2024).
• "Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh (2022) … the musical language is broadly tonal and appealingly descriptive, its succession of vigorous sections and threnodies, and a finale worthy of Tippett at his best … it is a haunting work" - Gramophone Review (Aug 2024).
• 'The Resurrection of the Soldiers (2016) is a searing, intense work for string orchestra, one that should by rights take its place among the finest English works for string orchestra … Yet another thoroughly gripping, intriguing album, strongly recommended" - Gramophone Review (Aug 2024).