Paul Rissmann: Wonderland: The Alice Sound London Symphony Orchestra & Lee Reynolds

• 1 Wonderland Suite: I. The Golden Afternoon 01:06
• 2 Wonderland Suite: II. The White Rabbit 01:42
• 3 Wonderland Suite: III. Down the Rabbit-Hole 02:50
• 4 Wonderland Suite: IV. DRINK ME! 01:45
• 5 Wonderland Suite: V. The Duchess 02:04
• 6 Wonderland Suite: VI. The Cheshire Cat 01:39
• 7 Wonderland Suite: VII. The Hatter's Tea Party 01:54
• 8 Wonderland Suite: VIII. EAT ME! 01:46
• 9 Wonderland Suite: IX. The Queen of Hearts and Finale 05:14
• 10 Through the Looking-Glass: I. The Looking-Glass House 03:05
• 11 Through the Looking-Glass: II. The Garden of Live Flowers 01:57
• 12 Through the Looking-Glass: III. The Red Queen 03:06
• 13 Through the Looking-Glass: IV. Tweedledum and Tweedledee 03:35
• 14 Through the Looking-Glass: V. The White Queen 04:14
• 15 Through the Looking-Glass: VI. Humpty Dumpty 03:47
• 16 Through the Looking-Glass: VII. An Exam to be Queen 02:31
• 17 Through the Looking-Glass: VIII. Queen Alice 02:37
• 18 Through the Looking-Glass: IX. Return Through the Looking-Glass 03:54
• Total Runtime 48:46

Info for Paul Rissmann: Wonderland: The Alice Sound

The London Symphony Orchestra and Queen Mary University of London launch collection of learning resources exploring the sound world of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

Today, the London Symphony Orchestra and Queen Mary University of London launch The Alice Sound – a collection of cross-curricular learning resources for young people, schools and teachers, opening up and exploring the sound world of the iconic books by Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The resources are compiled on a dedicated website, thealicesound.com.

The music at the heart of this website is the result of a collaboration between composer Paul Rissmann, researcher Kiera Vaclavik from Queen Mary University of London and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Kathryn McDowell, Managing Director of the LSO said; ‘In order to deliver our engagement programme to schools and colleges during the pandemic and to satisfy the demand for educational material from some of our overseas partnerships during this time, we stepped up the development and distribution of our digital learning resources. The success and demand for this work post-pandemic is undiminished and so the LSO is now committed to continuing this valuable addition to our offering for the classroom and beyond. I am delighted that this special project has come to fruition giving users unique access to a multidisciplinary creative process brought together by a peerless team of musicians, singers and creative artists, all leaders in their fields of music, literature, composition and animation.’

Inspired by the Lewis Carroll books and by early musical adaptations of them, composer Paul Rissmann wrote two musical suites which were premiered live at the Barbican by the LSO in 2015 (Alice in Wonderland) and 2022 (Through the Looking Glass) as part of the LSO Family Concert Series. The success of these concerts and enthusiastic response to the material precipitated the extension of the partnership between the LSO and Queen Mary University of London to develop further interactive learning content.

Kiera Vaclavik, Professor of Children’s Literature & Childhood Culture at Queen Mary University of London, and Project Director added, ‘This website makes this wonderful music freely available to more audiences, in fact to anyone, anywhere in the world, and deepens engagement with the music and the books thanks to a range of learning resources and other materials. The range of resources and activities inspired by Lewis Carroll’s books and Paul Rissmann’s music are particularly designed for use in schools by pupils and their teachers. There are music and drama projects, art and design activities, and writing worksheets and prompts which help you to explore the books and get creative!’

Emily Dickens, soprano
Joanna Harries, alto
Richard Pinkstone, tenor
Neil Balfour, bass
London Symphony Orchestra
Lee Reynolds, conductor

Lee Reynolds
is a British conductor specialising in operatic and orchestral repertoire.

2018 engagements include performances and recordings with the LSO, a performance of Britten and Wagner in the new Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House, a new production of Dido and Aeneas with Blackheath Halls Opera, along with performances of Ravel and Mussorgsky with the NYO, Copland and Schubert with the Orchestra of Opera North, Saint-Saëns with the RSNO, Tchaikovsky with the Southbank Sinfonia, Elgar and Penderecki with the Beethoven Academy Orchestra in Kraków, and the Verdi Requiem at the Dartington International Festival. Previous engagements include performances of Stravinsky and Britten with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, a recording of Barber, Sarasate and Saint-Saëns with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Abbey Road, conducting the soundtracks for film and video game releases, and assisting on the Teatro Real’s new production of Kurt Weill Street Scene in Madrid.

At Glyndebourne, Lee has conducted four world premières in studio productions, on the mainstage and on the Glyndebourne Tour, and will return to work on a fifth world première in 2019. He worked as Assistant Conductor for the 2014 Festival production of Don Giovanni, and was part of the team that won the RPS Award for Learning and Participation for Imago by Orlando Gough. As Music Director of Glyndebourne Youth Opera, Lee worked as Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master for their 2016 production of another new commission: Nothing, by David Bruce.

With the LSO, Lee has conducted performances at the Barbican, the Berlin Philharmonie and LSO St Luke’s, and his 2015 recording of Chopin Piano Concerto No 2 with Adolfo Barabino has been lauded in the international press. His recording with Joshua Bell of Theodora, a new work by American composer J Ralph, has recently been released.

As an Assistant and Cover Conductor, collaborations include work with Valery Gergiev, Daniel Harding, Michael Tilson Thomas, Andres Orozco-Estrada, Sian Edwards, Tim Murray, Kirill Karabits and Lawrence Foster.

Lee's orchestrations and editions have been recorded at Abbey Road, and performed at venues around the world by the LSO, the LPO, the NYO, the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, and the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, by conductors including Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Jurowski, Kristjan Järvi and Daniel Harding. Lee’s sleeve notes appear in the LSO Live release of Fauré Requiem.

Booklet for Paul Rissmann: Wonderland: The Alice Sound