A brand new competition shall be enlivening the Metropolis of London in October. The quite awkwardly named Metropolis Pageant of Music, Invention & Data runs from 10 to 24 October 2024 with a collection of night occasions from classical and jazz musicians plus free, Earlier than They Are Well-known lunchtime recitals. Taking its inspiration from the present Lord Mayor of London, Michael Mainelli’s Ligurian heritage, the competition has an Italian theme with a link-up with the Municipality of Genoa (Comune di Genoa) to deliver the music of Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) into the Metropolis.

The competition’s opening live performance, on the Mansion Home, options British jazz pianist Julian Joseph and band in a programme mixing new items with improvised variations of scores by Bach and Paganini. There’s one other tackle Paganini at Milton Court docket when Elisa Tomellini and Alberto Casadei – AKA Eklectric Duo – current Electrical Paganini with variations of Paganini’s music alongside Vivaldi, Daft Punk and Coldplay.

Guitarist Josè Spanu will play an historic nineteenth Century instrument at St James Garlickhythe with sonatas by Paganini plus preparations of Verdi and Rossini. Nonetheless with the guitar, however shifting to the twenty first century, Max Baillie (violin), Francisco Correa (guitar) and pals will current a programme specializing in the music of Stephen Goss together with The Flower of Cities impressed by London landmarks.

The ultimate day of the competition contains Nigel Quick conducting Vivaldi’s Gloria with a collective of office choirs at St Lawrence Jewry, and within the night there’s music carried out by Tenebrae, conductor Nigel Quick, and violinist Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (chief of the London Symphony Orchestra) in Bach, Paganini and Dufay.

Alongside these occasions there complementary talks and workshops exploring music and the Metropolis itself. 

The competition is curated by Ian Ritchie, who was director of the Metropolis of London Pageant from 2005 till its demise in 2013, and  produced by Tessa Marchington of Music in Places of work. Full particulars from the competition web site.