Wacław Zimpel + Park Jiha

Fri 31 Jan 2020, 19:30,LSO St Luke's

ticket: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2020/event/waclaw-zimpel-park-jiha

Two instrumentalists from different sides of the globe present atmospheric approaches to traditional sounds in contemporary contexts in this double-bill line-up.

While his main instrument is the clarinet, Zimpel also employs the use of organs and the khaen (a proto-harmonica from Laos), creating a knotty bed of interlocking notes over which his clarinet soars. The result is a distinct offering of contemporary minimalism, with echoes of Moondog, Terry Riley and John Coltrane.

It’s a sonic environment not a million miles away from the one created by South Korean composer and instrumentalist Park Jiha. She breathes new life into ancient instruments, performing on piri (a cousin of the oboe), yanggeum (hammered dulcimer), and saenghwang (mouth organ). With them, she combines Korean traditional music, jazz and contemporary classical to create hypnotic and occasionally frenzied compositions.