Birdsong in Music

A panel discussion considering the influence of birdsong on twentieth-century composers

Pianist and writer Peter Hill considers the influence of birdsong on twentieth-century composers, demonstrating how birdsong was used to not only present a mirror to human emotion, but also how the actual songs birds sing were often closely woven into pieces. Peter will play a selection of solo piano pieces, including Oiseaux tristes by Ravel and La Colombe, La chouette hulotte and L’Alouette lulu by Messiaen, plus there will be a rare chance to hear some of the field recordings that Messiaen made of birdsong prior to creating his piano transcriptions of these uplifting sounds.

Peter will be joined by conservationist, naturalist, composer and author Laurence Rose (RSPB), and BBC Radio 3's Tom McKinney, who is not only Music in the Round's Programme Manager but also a lifelong obsessive with all things ornithological.

Performers

Peter Hill (Piano and Speaker), Laurence Rose (Speaker) and Tom McKinney (Speaker)