Jonathan’s piece ‘Speakings’ is discussed in a recent blog, ‘Are virtual concert halls the future of classical music?’, about the growing movement towards creating virtual concert halls in which audiences can experience classical music “up front and personal”.

The blog considers that “Ilan Volkov’s… recording of Jonathan Harvey’s Speakings with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is one of the best classical album for headphone listening” and goes on to describe how “Speakings, which is scored for large orchestra and electronics, uses pre-recorded spoken sequences that are digitally modified and synchronised with the orchestral sound in real time and broadcast around the auditorium through an eight channel surround sound system.”

The CD of the performance is available on the Aeon label. Jonathan’s piece is described as “a seminal work in contemporary music which replaces the legacy constraints of brick and mortar concert halls with the infinite opportunities offered by new technology” and, through this recording: “Jonathan Harvey controls the spatial element, and listening to it on headphones produces a frisson that is absent with speakers.”