P R E S S
reviews
The Strad
"... exquisite musical miniatures such as Sarah Lianne Lewis’s achingly poignant Apart we are not alone and Together Apart... Humphreys’s direct, deeply communicative playing, which has a focused, sometimes reedy tone and an easy sense of airy agility that frequently brings her repertoire vividly alive"
Fenella Humphreys
Fenella Humphreys: Prism
- Album Release
Together Apart / Apart we are not alone
Classical Explorer
"Apart we are not alone and Together Apart (which although separately tracked are referred to the composer as one, "Apart we are not alone / Together Apart” seem decidedly haunted themselves. They exist at low dynamic levels, shadows in sound. Lewis is a composer of great imagination, clearly."
Fenella Humphreys
Fenella Humphreys: Prism
- Album Release
Together Apart / Apart we are not alone
Marie-Céline
"The music of Welsh composer Sarah Lianne Lewis is full of beautiful imagery, transforming the orchestra into a noisy bestiary… Her score draws on the multitude of sounds that surround us in the world and which she reinvents in music to create a universe that is both unprecedented and familiar. In this educational musical tale for young and old, the piano serves as a landmark in the sonic exploration of misty seascapes and distant, threatened glaciers."
(“La musique de la compositrice galloise Sarah Lianne Lewis est imagée à souhait, puisant dans l’orchestre un tonitruant bestiaire… Sa partition se nourrit de la multitude des sons qui nous entourent dans le monde et qu’elle réinvente en musique pour créer un univers à la fois inouï et familier. Dans ce conte musical éducatif pour petits et grands, le piano sert de repère dans l’exploration sonore de paysages marins brumeux et de glaciers lointains et menacés.”)
Orchestre National Avignon-Provence
La Scala Provence, Avignon, FRANCE
L'Île des jamais trop tard (The Island of Never Too Late)
The Guardian
* * * *
"Similarly threaded with Celtic melancholy and inspired by Irish writer Kerry Hardie’s poem After My Father Died, the pain of bereavement is contrasted with a hyper-awareness of life. Lewis created ongoing tensions in her vividly contrasting textures, its resolution cathartic, if not consoling."
BBC National Orchestra of Wales (cond. Emilie Godden)
Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, UK
The sky didn't fall
ResMusica
"Lewis’ music never falls into the obvious literal illustrations; alternating tonality, atonality, polytonality, rhythmic passages and evanescent episodes, it creates graceful moments for Vanessa Wagner's piano, both alone and with the orchestra, without giving into the temptation of the traditional concerto style."
Orchestre national de Bretagne (Cond. Johannes Le Pennec), Vanessa Wagner (piano), Céline Milliat-Baumgartner (Narrator)
La Seine Musicale, Paris, FRANCE
L'Île des jamais trop tard
Seen and Heard International
"String techniques were cleverly and eclectically appropriated in an engaging and immediately attractive manner. One might actually observe that [...] it was positively catchy. The composer herself described her intention to provide a “joyous sprint through an off-kilter landscape”, and this delineation of purpose was amply achieved."
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, UK
Tourmaline
Buzz Mag
"[It] had the influence of dance/club music, giving the percussionists a workout in her Tourmaline. A type of stone may have influenced the music; certainly, it had charm and gusto."
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, UK
Tourmaline
The Guardian
* * * *
"The sonic explosions were akin to the sparks that start bush and forest fires"
UPROAR Ensemble
Arnolfini, Bristol, UK
we watch it burn
The Guardian
* * * *
"The pieces, though, were all new, themed to the venue and intended to draw in passing, unsuspecting audiences..."
Royal Opera House
St Pancras Station, London, UK
The Parting Place
The Telegraph
* * * *
"A marvellous day of opera at St Pancras that never once hit the buffas"
Royal Opera House
St Pancras Station, London, UK
The Parting Place
Broadway World
"The Royal Opera House celebrates International Women's Day with performance at St. Pancras International"
Royal Opera House
St Pancras Station, London, UK
The Parting Place
The Guardian
* * * *
"Her assurance in handling the textures was more than evident."
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, UK
Creatures of Dust and Dreams
Colin's Column
"... its exuberant and spiralling start turning into a subtle and varied web of sounds (including multiphonics) and expressions."
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, UK
Creatures of Dust and Dreams
Seen and Heard International
"... microtones are a dangerous tool in the hands of a composer... Here they became fully justified as an evocation of the ideas of dust and dreams, forming dimly glimpsed shapes which emerged from the textures only to dissolve again."
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, UK
Creatures of Dust and Dreams
Zibeline
“Its dazzling start [with] its menacing percussion and double bass ostinato… The last notes exploit unexpected timbres to evoke with arresting realism…”
Ensemble Télémaque
PIC, Marseille, FRANCE
A soul is more than a body is more than a number is more than
Buzz Mag
* * * * *
"Lewis' instrumental compositions served as a sonic backdrop... Atop a hill we listened via headphones, akin to a silent disco - the intimacy added to the performance's gravity and grandeur."
Daniel Morden, Hugh Lupton & Sarah Lianne Lewis
Beyond the Border Storytelling Festival, Dinefwr, UK
Stars and their Consolations
interviews and articles
Ty Cerdd
Shortlist for ISCM World New Music Days 2025
Tŷ Cerdd is pleased to announce the composers and works chosen by the Welsh section of the ISCM (International Society for Contemporary Music) to represent Wales at its World New Music Days 2025 in Portugal. The panel selected a shortlist of six composers’ works/proposals as the official submission to the international jury:
Sortir a Paris
The Island of Never Too Late: The symphonic tale that tells children about the climate emergency
On Sunday March 12, La Seine Musicale presents a show for young audiences, accessible to the youngest. Embark on this underwater odyssey, in the middle of the North Atlantic and discover the fauna and flora of the oceans.
Paris Mômes
L’île Des Jamais Trop Tard
Parce qu’il n’est jamais trop tard (ni trop tôt !) pour découvrir et apprécier la musique classique, La Seine Musicale poursuit sa programmation familiale dans le cadre du Classique du Dimanche, sa série de concerts dédiés aux jeunes publics. Le concert du mois de mars fait la part belle à l’écologie, avec le premier conte symphonique environnemental.
(Because it's never too late (nor too early!) to discover and appreciate classical music, La Seine Musicale is continuing its family program as part of the Classique du Dimanche, its series of concerts dedicated to young audiences. The March concert gives pride of place to ecology, with the first environmental symphonic tale.)
Orchestre National de Bretagne
L’Île des Jamais Trop Tard: Un conte symphonique environnemental. (The Island of Never Too Late: An environmental symphonic tale)
Cette œuvre, écrite pour une récitante, un orchestre et un piano est un conte musical qui souhaite sensibiliser les spectateurs à la protection des océans.
(This work, written for a narrator, an orchestra and a piano, is a musical tale that aims to raise awareness among audience members about the protection of the oceans.)
Morning Star Online
2022 Contemporary Music highlights with Ben Lunn
Among numerous newly commissioned works, one particular composer stood out: Sarah Lianne Lewis. She is currently associated with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW). Her work, Ocean of Stars, is simply astounding. It is scored for cello and a fascinating instrument called the digital harp.
Adverse Camber
Mapping together 3 stunning elements for an extraordinary experience
The creative team behind the immersive re-imagining of The Stars and Their Consolations spent two days at Ffwrnes Theatre earlier this month playing creatively with ancient stories, beautiful projected animations of the night sky, lighting and Sarah Lianne Lewis’s spine-tingling electro acoustic soundscape, complementing the poetry and depth of Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton’s award winning storytelling.
Colin's Column
A Prom Full of Firsts for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Ryan Bancroft will make his debut as BBC NOW Principal Conductor at the first ever Prom performed from BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, on 8th September at 7.30pm. Ivor Novello Award winner, Gavin Higgins, to be announced as new Composer in Association and Sarah Lianne Lewis as new Composer Affiliate.