Hania Rani | Non Fiction - Piano Concerto in Four Movements

Non Fiction is Rani's first piano concerto and symphonic piece composed partially in response to the discovery in 2020 of the compositions of a young music prodigy, Josima Feldschuh, written during the horrors of World War II in the Warsaw Ghetto. Moved by the girl's story she choose to examine it through the lens of modern horrors: the invasion of Ukraine and genocide in Gaza, and how closely we can 'observe' and 'hear' them through modern media. In doing this Rani examines the constant coexistence of harmony and disorder creating a sonic metaphor for the survival of the human spirit when faced by the violence and uses the emotional value of sound to make these somehow distant conflicts more relatable to us on a human level. 

Drawing on Rani's classical background, and her admiration for experimental and improvised music, symbolically juxtaposing precisely scored music with the beauty of momentum Non Fiction is a modern masterwork: revelatory, powerful, emotional and profound. 

In this world premier Rani is joined by the Manchester Collective assembled as a 45-piece orchestra, led by violinist Rakhi Singh and guest performances saxophonist Jack Wyllie (Portico Quartet) and drummer Valentina Magaletti and conducted by Hugh Brunt (London Contemporary Orchestra). 

For the opening set Rani will present a selection of her contemporary instrumental music for film and theatre alongside new music arranged for a small ensemble.