Music: Robert Glasper Experiment: Black Radio

Following sell-out shows at the 2011 London Jazz Festival and a date at the Barbican Hall, Glasper comes to Leeds to mark the launch of Black Radio, a landmark album that boldly stakes out his new musical territory in jazz, hip hop, R&B and rock.

Pianist extraordinaire Robert Glasper is reshaping the vocabulary of jazz. He has one foot planted firmly in jazz and the other in hip hop and funk. His unique sound blends his innate sense of melody and swing with the dance floor beats of the late great hip hop producer J Dilla.

‘It’s a short list of jazz pianists who have the wherewithal to drop a J Dilla reference into a Thelonious Monk cover, but not many jazz pianists are Robert Glasper.’ Los Angeles Times

‘The music is top drawer, playfully experimental and oozing confidence.’ Financial Times

Music: Cropper Welsh Roscoe Trio

Beethoven Trio in B flat Op.97 Archduke
Haydn Trio in C HobXV/27
Shostakovich Trio No 2 in E minor Op.67

Beethoven’s Archduke is one of the pinnacles of trio writing. Obsessive in its exploration of the possible combinations of the instruments – solos, duets, piano left hand, piano right hand, and of course the entire ensemble together, it is a breathtaking tour de force.

The Cropper Welsh Roscoe Trio comprises three of Britain’s finest chamber musicians: violinist Peter Cropper (ex-leader of The Lindsays), Moray Welsh (former Principal Cellist of the London Symphony Orchestra) and Martin Roscoe (pianist).

This programme shows the trio’s versatility, technical brilliance and passion for music, that have made them one of the most sought after piano trios in the country.

‘...playing with a torrential passion that was an immediate reminder of the virtues of

seasoned musicianship. Three more experienced and insightful players it would be hard to find....’ The Sunday Times

Words: Babur: Poet, Warrior, Lover

First Mughal emperor, merciless warrior, passionate poet, shameless self-publicist.

Nima Poovaya-Smith and Aamer Hussein, Pakistani writer and critic, discuss the ‘real’ Babur.

An event designed to contextualise the opera, Babur in London.

‘Culture does not come in neat, isolated packages. Culture is messy and blurred. It overflows boundaries.’  Nima Poovaya-Smith

Performance: Babur in London

A new opera by Edward Rushton and Jeet Thayil

Following the success of the award-winning production Into the Little Hill, internationally renowned company, The Opera Group, return to the Howard Assembly Room with their new opera, Babur in London.

Babur in London tells a haunting story of four young people in today’s society grappling with their beliefs, the consequences of their actions, and their feelings for each other.

In a London suburb four young men and women are preparing a terrorist act. As their mission draws closer, they are disturbed by the ghost of Babur, first Mughal Emperor - poet and warrior, who died 500 years ago. Challenging their convictions he calls them ‘children playing at battle, in love with death’, but what are his motives for interfering?

The piece combines the contemporary poetry of Jeet Thayil with original music by esteemed composer Edward Rushton, described by The Guardian as "a brilliant young composer." Directed by John Fulljames.

There will be a post performance talk on Thursday 14 June.

The Opera Group Production, Co-Produced with Anvil Arts, Basingstoke and Opera North. The Opera Group previously won The Evening Standard Award for Best Musical for Street Scene in 2008.

Suggested age suitability 14+

‘Corrosively lyrical, jaggedly theatrical’ The Times on composer Edward Rushton

This production is supported by the Opera North Future Fund

Music: Warsaw Village Band

In this exclusive UK date, Poland’s Warsaw Village Band bring their thrilling hardcore folk to Leeds in time for a summer party.

Traditional Slavic melodies, drone harmonies and klezmer influences are thrown together with wild rhythms bordering on reggae, to create a unique sound that redefines Polish village music. Played on the szuka (knee-violin), cello, dulcimer, hurdygurdy and bababan drum, the band refers to their raw yet accomplished sound as radical roots style and roots music from the ancient to the future.

Winners of the BBC World Music Award and nominated for a Grammy, this show marks the release of their hotly tipped Scandinavian influenced new album Nord.

‘one of the most important bands of world music’ The New York Times