12 ENSEMBLE
2025/26
London's revolutionary string ensemble continue to be an influential leading light, thrilling audiences worldwide and collaborating with major international artists in innovative and powerful new programmes for the future.
The 12 Ensemble’s world-class performances and distinct approach to collaboration & programming sets them apart as a revolutionary classical ensemble for the 21st century. In demand internationally, recent engagements have seen them in residence at the Wigmore Hall, as well as performances at the Royal Albert Hall, Paris Philharmonie and De Doelen, Rotterdam. This year, their latest album METAMORPHOSIS reached No.4 in the US Billboard charts.
Characteristically bold and innovative, these exciting new programmes continue to push the concept of 12 Ensemble as an endlessly innovative force, fearlessly flexible in size and programmatic output, bringing together core-classical masterpieces with contemporary greats and important new works commissioned by the ensemble...
2025/26 PROGRAMMES
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FRANZ WAXMAN Sinfonietta
KORNGOLD Lento Religioso
WALTON Henry V
STRAVINSKY Concerto for Strings
BERNARD HERMANN Psycho
BARBER Adagio for Strings
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HOLLYWOOD
12 Ensemble returns to the Golden Age of Hollywood and the composers that became its celebrities
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Stravinsky's first work as a US citizen after settling in Hollywood is heard next to Bernard Hermann's iconic score for 'Psycho', whilst Waxman and Korngold's works drip with the silverscreen glamour, noir and romance of Los Angeles in the 50s. The programme ends with Barber's tragic Adagio for Strings, the theme for Oliver Stone's classic 'Platoon'
MESSIAEN Trois petites liturgies de la Présence Divine
OLIVER LEITH New Comission
POULENC Organ Concerto​
CONDUCTED BY THOMAS ADÈS
CHOIR OF WOMEN'S VOICES +
ONDE MARTENOT +
PERCUSSION +
STRING ORCHESTRA​​
MESSIAEN, LEITH, POULENC​
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“What does a rose-window in a cathedral do? It teaches through imagery, through symbolism, through all the characters that inhabit it—but what most catches the eye are its thousand spots of color which ultimately dissolve into a single, pure shade...'
Messiaen saw colours whenever he listened to music. The score to Trois petites liturgies is speckled with indications that hint at what he experienced, brought to life thanks to a niche yet fantastical instrumentation that includes a choir of women's voices, ondes martenot, celesta, string orchestra and an arsenal of percussion.
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It's a gathering of forces that appealed to composer Oliver Leith, prompting a major new work from the acclaimed British composer.
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METAMORPHOSIS​
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FINNIS Hymn
VIVIER Zipangu
LEITH Non Voglio (from Last Days)​​
STRAUSS Metamorphosen for 23 strings
METAMORPHOSIS​
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​12 Ensemble perform their latest critically-acclaimed album in it's entirety for the first time in London, alongside otherwordly live holographic visuals created by choreographer Becky Namgauds and art director Ben Ditto.
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NICOLAS ALSTAEDT Guest director + soloist
12 ENSEMBLE
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BACH, LUTOSLAWSKI,
GELLIS*, TAVENER
* New commission
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THE PROTECTING VEIL
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The 12 Ensemble are guest-directed by cellist Nicolas Altstaed, one of today's most sought-after and versatile musicians.
Altstaed's consumate artistry and commitment to presenting contemporary music alongside works from the classical canon makes him a perfect partner for the ever-adventurous 12 Ensemble.
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Here they present a range of music for cello and strings, culminating in John Tavener's epic lament The Protecting Veil.
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