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Zadie Smith is one of Britain’s most notable living novelists. Her first work White Teeth, completed while the author was still a student, became an instant hit when it was published in 2000. Soon enough, Smith came to define what it was to live in Britain – and particularly London – at the turn of the new millennium.

Music has always coursed through Smith’s works. At university she worked as a jazz singer while her 2016 novel Swing Time, long listed for the Booker Prize, explores her love of music and dance. In the latest of our collaborations with great writers, Smith joins the orchestra for this entertaining evening featuring readings from a number of her novels and essays including White Teeth and Swing Time, alongside a wide range of music echoing some of the themes linked to Smith’s work. And there's even the opportunity to hear Zadie sing!

PROGRAMME
JOHN ADAMS Short Ride in a Fast Machine – fanfare for orchestra  
Reading: from ‘Swing Time’
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker – Dance of the Mirlitons (Act 2)  
Reading: from ‘NW’
HAROLD ARLEN, arr. SIMON NATHAN Stormy Weather (orchestral version)
Reading: from ‘Contempt as a Virus’
ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed
GITY RAZAZ Mother 
Reading: ‘Joy’ from ‘Feel Free’
LEONARD BERNSTEIN Candide – overture 
Reading: from ‘Lazy River’
FRANK ZAPPA The Yellow Shark – Outrage at Valdez
Reading: from ‘White Teeth’
RICHARD RODGERS, arr. SIMON NATHAN Pal Joey – ‘I Could Write a Book’ 

This performance can also be streamed via the Barbican website and available for 48 hrs after the performance.