Returning to a full-fledged 10-day format for the first time since 2019, hcmf// 2022 continues to lead the way for contemporary music and new sounds in the UK this November. Featuring World and UK Premieres in abundance and honing in on composers whose works are simultaneously unsettling, imaginative and politically expressive, the hcmf// 2022 programme is a timely celebration and exploration of sound.
Opening this year’s festival is hard-hitting multimedia opera Chornobyldorf, presented as part of the UK/Ukraine Season of Culture supported by the British Council and the Ukrainian Institute. Created by Ukrainian composers Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko and combining folk and classical singing with theatre, dance, video and unique musical instruments, the award-winning show examines the impact of nuclear power on our world. Chornobyldorf boldly traverses the political fallout that follows disaster to reflect on humanity’s role in climate catastrophes and present a piece of fictional future archaeology that parallels reality as we know it.
This 45th edition of hcmf// carries on the festival’s long-standing tradition of spotlighting the most original and outstanding compositional voices pushing music forward. Swedish composer Lisa Streich is featured as this year’s hcmf// Composer in Residence, with perhaps the most comprehensive survey of her work thus far. She is renowned for cultivating poetic sound worlds that are both delicate and disturbing, juxtaposing silences with that which shatters them. Performances will include two World Premieres, given by Ensemble intercontemporain and Quatuor Diotima.
Summarising the spirit of this year’s edition, hcmf// Artistic Director Graham McKenzie states ‘This year’s programme reflects the world we currently live in; asks questions around identity and the changing relevance of borders; exploring who we are now, as a species on a planet in crisis.’
Also featured at hcmf// 2022 are composers Philip Venables, from Britain, and Justė Janulytė, from Lithuania. Playing piano accompanied by live video and electronics, Zubin Kanga delivers a new work from Venables, whose additional UK Premieres are presented by Danish/Norwegian accordionist Andreas Borregaard and French collective lovemusic. Janulytė, meanwhile, features in programmes by London Sinfonietta and The Monochrome Project, marking the first year in an ongoing partnership with the Lithuanian Culture Institute and Lithuanian Music Information Centre.
Other occasions to toast include the festival’s new partnership with Culture Ireland, manifesting in the form of a visit from Dublin’s characterful Crash Ensemble and a commission from harpist Úna Monaghan. Australian Art Orchestra, Speak Percussion and chamber group Decibel arrive as part of the UK/Australia Season, EXAUDI celebrate their 20th anniversary and the festival premieres new works from Diné (Navajo Nation) composer and Pulitzer Prize-winner Raven Chacon and singer-songwriter/composer Julia Holter – who scores cult classic The Passion of Joan of Arc with the Chorus of Opera North in tow.
Improvisations come by way of maverick solo pianist Pat Thomas, String Air Synthesis duo and soloists from Australian Art Orchestra. Archival footage of late painter and musician Alan Davie brings an audiovisual element to the programme, Mark Fell presents a new work with Explore Ensemble and the festival’s exhibitions & installations programme, free performances and Learning & Participation events all make a return. hcmf// 2022 will also play host to The Oram Awards, building on the legacy of BBC Radiophonic Workshop member and sound innovator Daphne Oram.
Join us in the concert halls, studios, mills, churches, theatres and other spaces here in Huddersfield for 10 thrilling days this November to encounter music at its most experimental, impressive and exciting.
We’re pleased to be announcing this year’s festival programme online, and as part of our commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility we are striving to reduce the amount of print that we produce and distribute. This change is driven by environmental concerns, but also reflects our audiences’ choices to increasingly access information, engage and purchase tickets via our online platforms.
We do, however, recognise that at a busy festival like hcmf//, with multiple concerts across a single day, the experience for our audience is enhanced by having the printed programme to hand as they navigate their way around the festival. With this in mind, we will publish a printed programme, albeit in reduced numbers, which will be available at venues throughout the festival. If you’d like to receive a copy in advance you can request one via our mailing list.