The starting point was the collected letters of Vincent van Gogh. In spite of the tragedies for which van Gogh is best known, his letters are filled with joyous exuberance for the practical considerations of his work: what he will paint next and, most importantly, what colours he will use. For Julian Anderson, it seems the painter relishes ‘the sheer stuff of which his art is made’. In Van Gogh Blue, Anderson relishes the sheer stuff of which his own art is made. It’s a very physical, highly contrasted work about the joy of sound. Instrumental colour plays a large role, and Anderson’s use of two mobile clarinetists allows extra colour as their sound moves through the acoustic space of the hall.