This process of liberation is as vital to me as breathing, and must be just as free, as unlegislated.

Opinions have no bearing: the knots don’t care. Obviously I can’t write for a particular type of person: that’s futile. I’m most interested in timelessness, not in the temporary and ephemeral. In doing this I aim for truth, to find and lead out the essence of what is there. I have to perform this translation in the best, most specific way possible in order to set the piece free. By undoing these knots, I release a living thing. While they are in the way, I can’t breathe. They consist of everything, every sound, all at once, compacted into an instant. There are obstacles in my way, dense solid knots, like ganglia they block my path, infinitely heavy, and I have to disentangle them to move forward. There is an image in my head which to me is completely real. Why do we need composers? It’s a compulsion. Many themes grapple, twining around each other like otters, towards a decisive conclusion. The final dance begins with an energetic elfin theme, and grows into a writhing dance. The third movement, A Skylark for Jane, is an outpouring of birdsong, each individual orchestra member freely echoing the soloist to create an “exaltation” of skylarks.

A hushed movement follows, the chant-like tune presented as a round. The first movement is a fantasy on the folk song Two Magicians, immortalised by Steeleye Span, about the immemorial generative dance of the sexes. Tell us about your Proms piece … I composed these four Märchentänze (“dances from fairytale”) in 2020, originally for violin and piano, then a year later made this orchestral version. The Site of an Investigation has its London premiere on 28 July (Prom 17) ‘I undo dense, solid knots – and release a living thing’ Thomas Adès Ultimately, we enter into a union, whether with the work, the artist, or something else – whether we are welcomed or confused, we know we’re not alone. That’s not to say art has to be “about” anything: it just needs to be honest, whether that’s talking about death or immersing us in a shade of red so specific it seems to open up a portal to another dimension. Why do we need composers? I believe art is a way of being present in the world, and will continue to be for as long as the Earth is circling the Sun.

Murray lightburn chords