Toshi Ichiyanagi Time Sequence (1976)
Richard Beaudoin Chopin Desséché (2009)
Ruth Crawford Seeger Piano Study in Mixed Accents (1930)
Martin Iddon: new work (2023)
Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre: Suite No. 3 in A minor (1687)
Frank Zappa The Black Page (1976)
Conlon Nancarrow (arr. Ben Smith): Study No. 11 for Player Piano (1965-1969)
Nicholas A. Huber Darabukka (1976)
Olivier Messiaen Ile de feu II (1949)
Ryuichi Sakamoto hibari (2009)
Iannis Xenaki Evryali (1973)

In this concert for MUSICON, pianist Ben Smith explores the intricacies of rhythm and repetition in a programme that includes dance forms of the French baroque, middle-eastern drum patterns, phasing, and microtimings of rubato and swing and investigates what happens when rhythms become grooves.

Presenting old and new work with radically different formulations of rhythm, the programme is bookended by two ultra-virtuosic works from the 1970s avant-garde: Ichiyanagi’s very rarely performed Time Sequence, and Xenakis’ monumental Evryali.