大象传媒

Presented by Catherine Bott.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski give the first concert in their festival 'Schnittke: Between Two Worlds'. The programme reflects the festival's title, whether in the battle between paganism and Christianity of Wagner's Parsifal or in Faust's dilemma as he contemplates selling his soul to the devil in the UK premiere of Schnittke's The History of D Johann Faustus.

Haydn's Symphony No 2 was nicknamed The Philosopher because of the dialogue that seems to take place in the first two movements. The concert concludes with Schnittke's work, which was conceived as a hugely amibitions opera, and one that the composer never completed. It is an imaginative and dramatic work scored for chorus, orchestra, electric guitars, crumhorn, zither and lute.

Mephistophila ...... Anna Larsson (contralto)
Mephistophiles ...... Andrew Watts (countertenor)
Narrator ...... Markus Brutscher (tenor)
Dr Faustus ...... Stephen Richardson (bass)
Moscow Conservatory Chamber Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)

Haydn: Symphony No 22 (The Philosopher)
Wagner: Prelude and Good Friday Spell (Parsifal)
Schnittke: The History of D Johann Faustus (excerpts) - UK premiere

Followed by the second focus on the British Composer Awards, as Catherine is joined by Jez Nelson to look at the category for Contemporary Jazz Composition, which is new for the 2009 awards.

John Surman: Rain on the Window
John Surman (saxophone)
Howard Moody (organ)