Verity Sharp introduces a concert given earlierthis month in Symphony Hall,
Birmingham, the first of two programmes featuring that most colourful contemporary composer Mauricio Kagel , who celebrates his 69th birthday on Christmas Eve. Music includes one of Kagel's latest works,
Entfuhrungim Konzertsaal (Kidnapping in the Concert Hall) in which the performance of Kagel's cantata on texts by Georg Christoph
Lichtenberg has been thrown into confusion by the kidnapping of many of the musicians, including all the vocal soloists. Also in the programme is Mitternachtsstuk, based on writings by Robert Schumann. The performers include the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the Schoenberg Ensemble conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw with tenor Christoph Homberger.