Philip Venables

Experience politically engaged contemporary music exploring themes of government, LGBT rights and the rituals of music and art performance. This anarchic 'party political broadcast' takes an unforgiving view of modern society, featuring footage of avant-garde performance artist David Hoyle.

The interplay between music and the cut-up video snippets of Hoyle's searing and topical polemic is reflected in the erratic, boisterous and aggressive nature of the composition.

Philip Venables’ music is often concerned with violence, politics and speech within concert music and opera. Performance artist David Hoyle often focuses on themes in the LGBT community attacking what he sees as dominant trends in ‘bourgeois Britain’.

The piece is written for an ensemble of nine musicians and is an extended and further developed version of Philip Venables’ existing composition which was part of the London Sinfonietta’s Notes to the New Government in May 2015.

Presented in association with the PRS Foundation.

Illusions is part of PRS for Music Foundation’s New Music Biennial which is run in partnership with Hull UK City of Culture, BBC Radio 3, Southbank Centre and supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales, Creative Scotland, The John S Cohen Foundation, the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, The Finzi Trust, RVW Trust, The Bliss Trust and NMC Recordings