Sir George Benjamin in conversation with Jonathan Kelly (18 min.)

Following John Adams, George Benjamin is the second composer to be named composer in residence by the Berliner Philharmoniker. As the prelude to a series of joint projects in the 2018/2019 season, Benjamin himself conducted one of his own works alongside compositions by Ravel, Ligeti and Boulez. In this interview, the artist talks about the future of contemporary music, goosebump moments in György Ligeti’s Clocks and Clouds, the variable tempo design in Cummings ist der Dichter by Pierre Boulez, the exciting genesis of Maurice Ravel’s piano concerto for the left hand as well as the term used in the title of his composition Palimpsests. Benjamin is interviewed by the Philharmoniker’s principal oboe Jonathan Kelly.