The first thing you sense is a quiet shimmer in the air. And then, like some vast mountain rising from the clouds, the opening melody of Bruckner鈥檚 Seventh Symphony soars majestically towards the heavens. Bruckner said it came to him in a dream, played by an angel 鈥� but when Ilan Volkov brings his searching musical intelligence and emotional insight to bear on this monumental 鈥渃athedral in sound鈥�, the results might well be revelatory. Two contrasting - but equally inventive - masterpieces set the scene: an ebullient little symphony from JS Bach鈥檚 son Carl Phillip Emmanuel, and the witty, electrically-charged Violin Concerto that Stravinsky intended to be unplayable. No fear on that score from our soloist Carolin Widmann.
Pre-concert talk (in the main auditorium):
Ilan Volkov, the 大象传媒 SSO's Principal Guest Conductor, discusses some of the works in tonight's concert, in conversation with 大象传媒 SSO violinist Alex Gascoine.
The concert will be recorded for future broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio 3.
Image of Ilan Volkov 漏 James Mollison