We are delighted to be back at the RNCM for a side-by-side performance in collaboration with BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist, Ethan David Loch.

This concert brings together diverse musical voices, showcasing how composers past and present express individuality, culture, and connection through their art.

We previously collaborated with Ethan David Loch for our Disruptors Concert back in May, which was recognised by Fiona Maddocks of The Guardian as one of her “Top 10 Concerts and Operas of 2024.”

Inspired by John Cage’s Alphabet Grid, Ethan’s Victory Quintet assigns each letter of the alphabet to a specific piano key, forming a distinct musical motif. As Ethan describes, ‘It was a way of me using the musical language to introduce myself to the world. …It is similar in English to me saying, ‘Hello everybody, this is Ethan. I’m very excited to be here; I can’t wait for you to hear what I have to say’‘.

Here’s what Ethan has to say about his piece:


The Victory Quintet

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts”
Attribution Uncertain.


About halfway through a module at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (2023), I was introduced to a thought experiment by John Cage showing how the letters of your name could provide inspiration for a composition. The notes of my name, “Ethan” are E, F, A, A, G. When played as a chord it is most of an F major 9th (one of my favourite chords) and there is within it a beautiful melody.


I allowed that melody to rattle around in my head (and sometimes out my fingers) for about a year until I decided to turn it into a full composition. I chose a string quintet to give the melody a family, and a support network to flesh out the details and possible connotations of the tune. I put the tune into various emotional situations and watched as the piano and cello and viola and both violins talked it over. I worked note by note with my wonderful transcriber Matthew Dickman to build all five instruments into the composition you will hear tonight.


Before everything starts you will hear the five notes of my name which started this whole journey.
This piece is in a somewhat sonata-form structure; a prologue, exposition, development, recapitulation, and coda. In my mind, this Melody exists. It is created, it is born and grows and lives.


In the Prologue, Melody is both figuring itself out and establishing itself. It takes the initial notes of my name and forms a melody that will be repeated throughout the piece. For me, it is about those nascent developmental stages where a being becomes aware of its own body. This section is where Melody becomes aware of its existence.
During the Exposition, Melody journeys through the world and tries to navigate the challenges and difficulties of daily life. Melody is growing, working hard and building up in stature so it can cope with daily life. Everything is new and exciting. Melody is taking risks and figuring out what it can and cannot do.


The Development section is where Melody first encounters the pain and suffering of life. The depression of realising that some needs cannot be met, and also the existential crisis that meaning cannot always be understood. As the busyness of that initial growth stops it becomes aware of its weakness and failings. Harsh self-reflection and an unforgivingly clear view threaten to overwhelm but it uses this pain to find hope and new purpose.


The Recapitulation is Melody getting back to its feet. It refuses to let pain overwhelm it and makes another attempt at navigating life after the great fall. Both the Exposition and Prologue return to showcase that this new start is built on the experiences previously encountered. Not just a new beginning but a new phase building on what has come before. The Recapitulation ends with a sharp fall into C# major to show that even though Melody has figured itself out, life is still filled with times of falling and failing.


The Coda brings the piece sharply back to F major, as a sign of acceptance. No matter how much Melody may think it has figured life out, it will always fall sometimes and true victory is in using those falls to push forward. This is where all the different forms of Melody come together, like all the experiences of life, combining into one simple lesson. It is not what we achieve but what we overcome that makes us Victorious.

Programme

Performed by


With thanks to The Ruth Sutton Trust for Music for their support of our Camerata 360° Fellows.

Musician Chair Supporters 

Kathy Arundale (Anthony Banks & Daniel Storer)

John Caine (Janet Fulton)

Penny & John Early (Caroline Pether)

Michael Grindrod & Kathleen Baker (Caroline Pether)

The Pantall family, on behalf of John (Naomi Atherton)

Gill Williamson (Sophie McQueen)

Ron and Jill Robinson (Hannah Roberts)

Realstrings (Alistair Vennart) 

Members of Camerata50 and all our other donors

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