On May 16 there is the opportunity to hear the world premiere of Doubles by composer Brian Elias. The work was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and will be performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jiří Bělohlávek at the Barbican Centre in London. Doubles is a continuous piece made up of six movements, the first three of which are ‘doubled’ in the same order by the remaining three. It is the forms of each of the first three movements that are doubled by the remaining three, rather than any melodic or harmonic elements, and it is this aspect of the piece that was the driving principle in its composition. There is also a further play on the meaning of the title in that each double shows a different aspect of the ideas and character of its original, changing its nature, direction and personality.
