Maria Schneider: Live at The Barbican

Tonight’s performance in the main hall at London’s Barbican Centre confirmed Maria Schneider’s position as one of the finest composers of our generation. Working with the sublime Oslo Jazz Ensemble (formerly Denada), Schneider presented a selection of tunes from her ‘Data Lords’ double album from 2020 and the result was simply extraordinary.

Photo credit @Hilary Seabrook

With a host of Grammy awards and a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Data Lords, Schneider has proved her right to stand on the Barbican stage in front of one of the finest ensembles in the world. Her music allows every member to shine, individually and collectively. Sax players who double on clarinet, bass clarinet, flute and alto flute, trumpets and flugelhorns, an accordion and multiple percussion pieces wielded by the drummer collectively provide a range of timbres, textures and dynamics that thrilled this audience.

The Data Lords compositions celebrate everything that is wonderful about nature, as well as all that is deeply worrying about our modern reliance on the internet. It is the composer’s skill that paints pictures of the world around us and the disturbing online world that surrounds us.

I feel honoured to have heard Data Lords as soon as it came out in 2020 and now to have heard it performed live with the composer at the baton. Particular moments in the live experience that were breathtaking included Don't Be Evil - particularly the section where the guitar solo is accompanied by saxes and brass playing so quietly (presumably ppp or sub voce) that they were almost inaudible. One of the finest crescendos I've ever experienced. Then the baritone sax feature Sputnik (I know, I'm biased towards that particular instrument), Schnieder's plea for us all to Look Up and the powerful CQ CQ, Is Anybody There? added moments that left the audience palpably stunned.

Apart from a distrust of those who control our online existence and the power of nature, Schneider's inspiration has also come from the poetry of Ted Kooser, and two particular tunes were introduced by the composer's recital of those poems.  Next time you're tempted to 'doom scroll' on the internet, try reading some of these poems instead. It'll be worth it.

If you don’t already have a ticket to see Schneider on stage with some of the finest musicians in the world, then I highly recommend you look out for an opportunity to do so near you. The composer/conductor clearly knows the musicians she is working with, as she introduced them to the audience with little recourse to notes. Her respect for their skill is palpable and there has been considerable study and practice of the music to achieve the supreme level of performance by every person on the stage. 

Listen to my interview with Maria Schneider for an early episode of Harmonious World in 2020.

Meanwhile, the bar has been set extremely high for live music in 2025.