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Nonclassical at 20 review – synths, screams and bubble wrap as record label celebrates with the LSO
Gabriel Prokofiev’s avant garde record label marked its 20th birthday with an engaging and energetic scaled up showcase
She’s at the front of the stage, miked up, rhythmically rubbing and rustling various sizes of plastic packaging while the string section of the London Symphony Orchestra play a suitably squeaky and discordant accompaniment. His Nonclassical sessions took place in unprepossessing pubs such as the Shacklewell Arms in Dalston or the Macbeth in Hoxton, where you’d nurse a pint of Guinness while string quartets played computer game music or Guildhall students made space-age sonatas on theremins. Part of Nonclassical’s ethos has been to remove the distinctions between high and low art, but there’s an irony that this big-budget celebration only emphasises notions of privilege, as orchestras are incredibly expensive, hierarchical institutions.
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