# Hannah Kendall’s kettle-infused orchestral work explores struggle and silence

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/lso-pappano-review-kendalls-engaging-new-work-has-a-tea-kettle-tremolo-and-slam-dunks-of-timpani/
- Published: 2026-10-30T14:50:07+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-30T16:17:34+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/30/lso-pappano-review-hannah-kendall-barbican
- Topics: Culture, UK, World

## Key points

- Kendall’s new work made the tea kettle part of the orchestra.
- Its sounds conveyed struggle and difficulty speaking.
- Pappano led polished, exuberant performances of Liadov and Tchaikovsky.

## Summary

Hannah Kendall’s world-premiere commission for the London Symphony Orchestra used unusual sounds and a tea kettle to create an absorbing work about struggle and the difficulty of speaking. The concert, conducted by Antonio Pappano, paired it with very different music by Liadov and Tchaikovsky.

Kendall’s piece featured scratches, whistles, piano tremolo, forceful timpani and double bass, alongside music boxes and woodwind reeds played outside their instruments. Mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron sang words by Guyanese poet Martin Carter through her hands, a harmonica and the kettle; the sounds made some lyrics hard to hear. The review also praised the LSO’s polished, high-energy performances of Liadov’s The Enchanted Lake and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.