Catch

Scored for the same instrumentation as Messiaen's Quatuor Pour la Fin du Temps, Thomas Adès' dazzlingly precocious Catch from 1991 has a theatrical element written into its very DNA: a pianist, a cellist and a violinist, seated on stage, fend off the attempts of a wandering clarinettist to join them… All the efforts are repelled, until the work's wistful yet quizzical ending. Bursting with rhythmic energy, this vivid nine-minute work showcases a young Adès' remarkable ingenuity and sense of musical drama.

'His music is arrestingly original… … He has an engaging voice and audacious imagination.' The New York Times (Anthony Tommasini), 27 February 1999