Royal Festival Hall, London
Surrounded by a host of musicians in motion, and in his first ever solo show, Brian Eno’s 2016 album The Ship – about colossal human hubris – becomes an almighty sound installation
It’s quite rare – and conceptually curious – to find an artist as innovative and tech-forward as Brian Eno in the company of a large orchestra. The stage tonight is full of what more philistine tech bros might call “legacy” instruments – fussy cornets and sentimental cellos, blustery tubas and self-important timpani. This tour marks the first time this polymath, app designer and generative music specialist has performed with an orchestra; it is also, seemingly, his first ever solo tour of any kind – despite a career taking up a half century.
In the company of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, thanks to a commission by the Venice Biennale, Eno is staging a live recreation of his 2016 album The Ship twice in one night in London. Helpfully, this ensemble is not one overly in thrall to the strictures of the past: the BSP is a multinational ensemble that often memorises pieces so that the musicians can walk around. The stage tonight is replete with players, some fixed to the spot – the harp, the keyboards, the cellists and percussionist – but the rest in motion, often facing the audience head-on, beseeching or in challenge, or crouched down in the lulls.
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