Living Toys
Living Toys, Op. 9, is a composition for chamber ensemble by the English composer Thomas Adès. It was written in 1993 as a part of his MPhil portfolio in Composition at Cambridge University and premiered at the Barbican Hall in London under Oliver Knussen. Instrumentation. The work is scored for a chamber ensemble of 14 players, which consists of: flute (doubling piccolo), oboe (doubling cor anglais and sopranino recorder), clarinet (doubling E-flat clarinet and bass clarinet), bassoon (doubling contrabassoon), French horn (doubling whip), trumpet (doubling piccolo trumpet), trombone, percussion, piano, violin I & II, viola, cello and double  bass. Ades makes use of a wide variety of timbral colours available. Often this involves players using extended techniques, such as the double bass player and pianist hitting the back of their instruments. Structure. The work is divided into five main sections, with three additional parts whose names are anagrams of each other. Recordings. London Sinfonietta with Markus Stenz: (From Amazon.com) External links. Information on Living Toys at Faber Music can be found here