Composer premieres reflection on hospitalisation to raise funds for hospital gardens

Tales from The 15th Floor, a work by British composer Michael Stimpson, is set to receive its first full performance in the UK on Friday as part of a concert raising money for hospital charity Horatio’s Garden. The three-movement work is inspired by Stimpson’s own experience of being hospitalised for months at the age of 29.

The piece will performed at London’s Sinfonia Smith Square on 2 May as part of a programme including works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn. The concert is presented with the aim of raising funds for Horatio’s Garden, a charity which builds and maintains gardens in at NHS spinal injury centres to boost patient wellbeing.

Stimpson said: ‘The long-lasting effects of this illness has played a fundamental role in my musical career and left me with a profound admiration for the NHS. I have a deep understanding of the benefit of Horatio’s Garden for others experiencing life-changing spinal injury and facing months in hospital.’

Stimpson’s three-movement work for cello and piano reflects on his experience of contracting the rare neurological condition Guillain-Barré Syndrome which left him unconscious and paralysed in intensive care for four and a half months at Charing Cross Hospital and registered blind ever since. The piece draws inspiration from Stimpson’s vivid hallucinations and his frustration of only being able to communicate by blinking at a spoken alphabet.

Horatio’s Garden founder Dr Olivia Chapple OBE said: ‘Michael’s remarkable story of resilience, hope and motivation as he faced life changing illness is incredibly powerful. We are so grateful that this concert will benefit Horatio’s Garden to help others experiencing paralysis to find hope again in our beautiful, restorative gardens in the heart of NHS hospitals.’