Interlinked

A shining light in contemporary classical music, Melbourne pianist/composer Luke Howard was tapped to score the ambitious ballet Interlinked, created by Brazilian choreographer Juliano Nunes and commissioned by the Commonwealth Games. The work has since been performed at Glastonbury Festival, and Howard’s score stands strong on its own, too, radiating a sense of possibility like much of his other work. Performed by Birmingham’s Royal Ballet Sinfonia and conducted by Paul Murphy, the music glides through swelling crescendos (“Unity”), more subdued stretches (“Reflection”), and sprightly flights and flourishes (“Communication”) before adding thrilling stabs of drama and suspense (“Realisation”) and finishing with a well-earned comedown (“Growth”). Bookending the ballet score is the gradual build of Howard’s solo piano composition “Conception” and then “Solidarity,” a ghostly epilogue featuring harpist Lara Somogyi and vocal ensemble Shards.