Tuesday 13 October 2026
8pm
Milton Court Concert Hall

Xenia Pestova Bennett ‘Actinium’ from Glowing Radioactive Elements

Glowing Radioactive Elements started life as a semi-improvised piece with four movements. Radium is an element which glows pale blue, Plutonium glows deep red, Tritium is green and the gas Radon is yellow at its freezing point, and orange-red below. I added the fifth, obsessively-repetitive loop Actinium before a concert in Düsseldorf. This element is silvery-white, glowing blue. 

A recording is available from Diatribe Records https://diatribe.ie/product/atomic-legacies/

Eileen McLoughlin Waxing Gibbous

This is an atmospheric piece depicting the waxing gibbous phase of the moon above the ocean. The amount of light is growing, shimmering and reflecting on the oceans surface. This piece involves a combination of drone like hammered notes in the bass (representing the residual darkness) with some lighter, shimmering and floating notes using the magnetic resonance (representing the light).

Ollie Hawker It’s not something I ever thought would be the case

It’s not something I ever thought would be the case is an exploration of tension and release. When I first got the chance to hear and play the magnetic resonator piano, the sound of the dissonances slingshotting back into consonance really captured my attention, and so this what I chose to base the piece around.

Hal Henson Scintillations 

Scintillations was originally built off a demo for synth and melodica.  It explores sustaining and overlapping notes, listening to how they subtly interact and shimmer. This idea is explored in both instruments included – melodica and MRP.

Freya Wang Griffin 

Griffin is the name given to a stranger you might pass on the street. The piece explores a sense of familiarity that is difficult to place, unfolding through the shifting textures of the MRP.

Rob Marr When I Was A Boy

When I Was A Boy is a song written for my musical narrative drama, Book of Man. This version, adapted for the Magnetic Resonance Piano, explores disintegration of the song’s theme over multiple iterations through the unique sonic capabilities of the MRP.

Anne Marie Deacy Cosmic Stethoscope: Explorations in Celestial Resonance, Healing Vibrations & Natural Transmission 

An improvised score for collective performance, exploring resonance and recalibration. Magnetic Resonating Piano, Tuning Forks, Radios, Natural Transmission & Field Recordings. For five performers.

Nye Parry Lament for a Sentinel Species

Lament for a Sentinel Species is inspired by the tragic loss of many whales and other cetaceans due to the effects of human noise pollution in the oceans. This includes sounds of shipping, drilling and pile driving, military testing and sonar.

Whales are considered a sentinel species, whose health is indicative of wider environmental issues. The piece combines mimetic elements with a more traditional lament.

Lili Ou The Flow of Sand

The Flow of Sand – inspired by the science fiction Dune, the piece is written using a single Arabic maqam (scale) and aimed to bring out the warm, synth-like character of the Magnetic Resonator Piano.

Xenia Pestova Bennett GLOW

Xenia Pestova Bennett | music, concept, field recordings & texts 

Steven Lee | video art

Glow is about ghosts – a range of mysterious glowing phenomena that continue to enthral and terrify us. Three stories are told in three different languages: a strange electric light envelopes masts of a sailing ship; fairy flames beguile a traveller at night; a luminous presence enters a room. Live instruments weave through and colour the narratives. Each language acts as an instrument in its own right, explored for unique sonic qualities.

Inspired by the diaries of Georg Wilhelm Steller, the writings of Nan Shepherd and the stories of Xenia's great-grandmother.

Translation and narration by Erik Waldejer (Danish), Angharad Davies (Welsh) and Zeynep Bulut (Turkish).

Additional audio by Franziska Schroeder with mastering by Brian Robinson.

Glow is part of PRS Foundation and Southbank Centre’s New Music Biennial which is in partnership with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, BBC Radio 3, NMC Recordings and generously supported by Arts Council England. 

https://nmcrecs.lnk.to/Glow