| Knussen, Oliver (1952-2018) | Cleveland Pictures | |
| Britten, Benjamin (1913-1976) | Double Concerto for violin, viola and orchestra | |
| Vaughan Williams, Ralph (1872-1958) | Symphony no. 1 "A Sea Symphony" |
| Silja Aalto | Soprano |
| Morgan Pearse | Baritone |
| Vilde Frang | Violin |
| Lawrence Power | Viola |
| Sakari Oramo | Conductor |
| BBC Symphony Chorus | |
| BBC Symphony Orchestra |
Full sail for new shores: Sakari Oramo conducts Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony, Britten’s Double Concerto and the London premiere of Oliver Knussen’s exquisite Cleveland Pictures.
“Behold, the sea itself!” With a ringing fanfare, and a mighty choral shout Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony takes the poetry of Walt Whitman and opens the floodgates to a spring tide of inspiration. BBC Symphony Orchestra chief conductor Sakari Oramo has a special affinity for British music, and tonight he ends the season under full sail.
It’s all about new horizons, after all: so what better way to open than with the first London performance of a magical work by the much-missed Oliver Knussen. Cleveland Pictures is Knussen at the top of his game: jewel-like in its colour, precision and sense of wonder. It’ll cast its spell over this performance of Britten’s atmospheric, rarely heard Double Concerto – with two uniquely sensitive soloists, Vilde Frang and Lawrence Power, supplying their own special poetry.