| Berg, Alban (1885-1935) | Lulu: Suite | |
| Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827) | Symphony no. 9 in D minor "Choral", Op.125 |
| Iwona Sobotka | Soprano |
| Anna Stéphany | Mezzo-soprano |
| Robert Murray | Tenor |
| Florian Boesch | Baritone |
| London Symphony Chorus | |
| Simon Halsey | Choirmaster / chorus director |
| London Symphony Orchestra | |
| Sir Simon Rattle | Conductor |
Soprano Marlis Peterson takes centre-stage for a powerful account of Berg’s Lulu Suite in a programme also featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
A haunting portrait of the darker aspects of human nature, Berg’s Suite condenses the story of his opera Lulu. In Paris, the fatally charming Lulu rises through society as a dancer and artists’ muse in Paris before travelling to London, where she meets her demise at the hands of Jack the Ripper.
Beethoven’s final Symphony spans a journey from turmoil to transcendence, an inescapable classic not just because of its historical resonance, but because it sounds so terrifically good. In its closing moments, the traditional finale of a Classical symphony is supplanted by a musical miscellany reaching back to genres from across history, culminating with a choral fantasia based on the words of Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy.
