George Barton (percussion) and Siwan Rhys (piano) - combines two of the UK's finest young contemporary chamber instrumentalists. The duo has built its reputation on a combination of exceptional interpretations of the existing piano-percussion repertoire, committed performances of ambitious new commissions, and inventive collaborations.
Known for their fearless, intense and boundary-crossing performances, GBSR's work ranges from the twentieth-century modernism of Stockhausen and Ustvolskaya to music by Brian Eno and Aphex Twin; from the exquisite delicacy of composers like Morton Feldman, Eva-Maria Houben and Barbara Monk Feldman to the experimental and cross-genre work of Oliver Leith, CHAINES and Angharad Davies
With a keen emphasis on commissioning and repertoire-building complemented by the respect and trust of composers, GBSR's recent world premieres include works from Eva-Maria Houben, CHAINES, Christopher Fox, Angharad Davies, Oliver Leith, Tim Parkinson, Laurence Osborn and many others, and European and UK premieres of works by Nicole Lizée, Barbara Monk Feldman, Lisa Illean, Eric Wubbels and others. Meanwhile their interest in cross-disciplinary work has led to ongoing collaborations with Angharad Davies, Dejan Mrdja, Cameron Graham and other artists.
Their recording of Stockhausen's KONTAKTE was released in October 2019 by all that dust. Hailed as “a landmark performance” by Tom Service on BBC Radio 3, it was made album of the week in The Guardian and named “the best spatial audio purchase I’ve made this year” by Seth Colter Walls in The New York Times in 2023.
Their recording of Oliver Leith's good day good day bad day bad day, a 45-minute piece written for the duo after long collaboration with the composer, was a Pick of the Week in the Guardian and was named a Highlight of 2020 by Radio 3 New Music Show. Their Barbara Monk Feldman portrait disc Verses and Eva Maria Houben disc together on the way were released on Another Timbre in 2021 and 2022 to widespread critical acclaim.
They feature most recently on Lisa Illean's portrait disc arcing, stilling, bending, gathering on NMC, and on the recording of Oliver Leith's opera Last Days on Platoon.
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