Alexander Papp / Ink Still Wet 2025
«May we introduce you …?»Published: 21 August 2025
Get to know Alexander Papp one of the five participants from this year's Ink Still Wet workshop, which Composer in Residence Fabián Panisello will lead.
«The opportunity to conduct a large professional orchestra is rare, nothing can replace the hands on experience of being in front of an orchestra and having the sound produced in front of you. By having this experience, learning from the video analysis and reflections about the differences of our perception to the musicians perceptions, communicating with others and particularly being guided by Fabian, I would gain extremely useful knowledge and conducting experience by participating in this course which will massively benefit me in the future.»
Alexander Papp's Selection
«This playlist brings together a wide range of music that has deeply influenced me, both in the past and in my current work as a composer. Playing Dvořák in an orchestra as a young violinist was an important experience - his music, along with Brahms, sparked my fascination with narrative in music and inspired me to begin composing. As I developed my compositional voice, I was particularly drawn to the scale and intensity of Unsuk Chin's work, the cello concerto being a piece I’ve long looked up to. Pieces by Anders Hillborg, Xenakis, and Saariaho were also crucial early influences, expanding how I thought about drama and texture in sound. I have a strong love for writing and listening to electro-acoustic music - Aphex Twin and Alexander Panos being artists I return to regularly. To relax, read or on a long bus journey home I find Chopin’s nocturnes incredible serene. The playlist ends with Hubert Parry’s ‘Songs of Farewell’ - my guilty pleasure. As a choral scholar I have a love for luscious harmonies and the Parry is a piece that stayed with me for a long time.»
«Your Call Has Been Put On Hold.» for orchestra (2025)
World premiere«Your Call Has Been Put On Hold» is a piece born out of pure, simmering frustration. I was trying to cancel a subscription to a very well-established newspaper, only to find it could only be done over the phone. What followed was a long, infuriating wait on hold—stuck in a queue, listening to the same overly cheerful bossa nova loop on repeat. I wrote this piece to capture that feeling: the relentlessness of being trapped in a system, anger bubbling under the surface, constantly interrupted by that maddeningly smooth music. But there’s also a light-heartedness to it, making the absurdity of the whole situation even more pronounced. It’s frustration wrapped in a fake smile. One important detail is that the conductor has to play the egg shaker during the piece. It’s a small but crucial nod to that on-hold music - and a reminder that even the person in charge isn’t free from the system.
Biography
Alexander Papp is a 24 year old UK based composer whose works have been performed in prestigious venues such as the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, St John’s Smith Square and the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre. He has worked with artists such as Flow Unit 3, the Carice Singers, Ensemble 10/10, the London Chamber Orchestra and has had his music broadcasted on BBC Radio 3’s New Music Show.
Alex’s works have also been performed internationally, in Solsona, Catalonia with cellist Gerard Flotats Boix and in Piacenza, Italy at the Conservatorio Nicolini. He has also collaborated with the Brandenburgishes Staatsorchester Frankfurt Oder and conductor Howard Griffiths, where his orchestral music has been used and recorded for educational projects. As a participant in the Riot Ensemble Art Mentorship Scheme, his new double concerto is to be recorded at Deutschlandfunk Köln in 2025.
Ink Still Wet
Closing ConcertTonkunstler Orchestra · Participants of the composer conductor workshop Ink Still Wet · Alexander Moore · Fabián Panisello
PANISELLO / PARTICIPANTS OF THE COMPOSER CONDUCTOR WORKSHOP