Summary: In 2007 US music critic Alex Ross published his first book The Rest Is Noise. Subtitled Listening to the Twentieth Century, Ross’s book tells the story of 20th-century music within its historical context, exploring how the events and ideas of the 20th century shaped the art that was created, and vice versa. Why did musicians write what they did? Why did the world react the way it did? Why, in some cases, were they silenced? Throughout 2013, the London Philharmonic Orchestra appears as the major orchestral partner in Southbank Centre’s year-long, multi-art-form festival The Rest Is Noise. Inspired by Ross’s book, The Rest Is Noise festival looks at the key works of the 20th century through a wide lens, taking in the political happenings, social movements, cultural climates and personal stories that gave rise to these inspiring and sometimes controversial pieces of music. The LPO opens the festival on 19 January with a concert of Richard Strauss, and the Orchestra's Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski explains what makes Strauss's music the starting point for the yearlong musical journey. And two members of the Orchestra tell us why this concert is one of their highlights of The Rest Is Noise. Visit therestisnoise.lpo.org.uk for full information about the festival.
