Nielsen鈥檚 Fourth Symphony, in his own words, expresses 鈥渢he spirit of life or manifestations of life, that is: everything that moves, that wants to live 鈥� just life and motion鈥︹��. This incendiary work makes for a fitting conclusion to this programme, conducted by John Storg氓rds, which seeks to define the human spirit. Copland鈥檚 Fanfare for the Common Man, arising from conflict seeks to celebrate an unshakeable sense of optimism. These two pieces bookend two more introspective UK premieres, Michigan-born composer James Lee III鈥檚 Shades of Unbroken Dreams with pianist Alexandra Dariescu 鈥� a piano concerto marking the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King鈥檚 historic 鈥業 Have a Dream鈥� speech 鈥� and Helena鈥檚 Song arranged for violin and orchestra from Sebastian Fagerlund鈥檚 unnerving operatic family drama Autumn Sonata, performed tonight by our Chief Conductor play-directing from the podium.
Pre-concert entertainment
Stalls Caf茅 Bar, 6.30pm
Ahead of the concert, Royal Northern College of Music student Jiale Bao (piano), will be performing in the Stalls Caf茅 Bar.
Pre-concert programme
Debussy: Estampes
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110
J S Bach (arr. Ferruccio Busoni): Chaconne in D minor
Post-concert activities
Stalls Caf茅 Bar
Hosted by 大象传媒 Radio 3 Presenter Tom McKinney, after our concert this evening, join us in the Stalls Caf茅 Bar for discussion and a little music with our Chief Conductor John Storg氓rds, soloist Alexandra Dariescu and composers James Lee III and Sebastian Fagerlund.