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LETTER of the MONTH
Full speed ahead
A notable omission from Julia Winterson’s feature (March) is Michael Nyman’s pulse-pumping , specially commissioned for the launch of the Paris-Lille high-speed TGV line and premiered in 1993. The sensation of speeding at up to 200mph, with the countryside flashing past, can be heard right from the start, as the Michael Nyman Band sets up a steady, pounding rhythm before the orchestra makes its entrance. The work’s rhythmic drive waxes and wanes before reaching an almighty percussive apotheosis in the final section. I first heard the work in a live performance at the Royal Festival Hall and it always came to mind when we took the TGV from London to Paris., at which he expressed considerable admiration as he thought they were especially difficult.
