Winter finding

We see, we hear. The transmutation of the visual, or our response to it, into the aural has been a recurring preoccupation of Ian Wilson’s large-scale instrumental works. It is tempting, therefore, to read much into “Man-o’-War” – a descriptive title referring both to the historical battleship and the poisonous jellyfish. With its martial percussion and dominant brass, it is not hard to imagine a militaristic aspect. During the work’s composition Wilson even considered the alternative title “White City”, after Belgrade, his war-torn home in the late 1990s. But drawing such conclusions would be a mistake even as irony and Wilson has never claimed a deeper association.