Closing Night: BBC Singers, Bruckner, Wigglesworth

The air shimmers, and a horn calls softly in the distance. Is there a more magical beginning to any symphony than the vista that opens Bruckner’s Fourth? No wonder he called it “Romantic”.

Bruckner imagined a story of knights, forests and castles, but he preferred to let the music speak for itself, and in this closing concert to the BBC SSO’s 2025/26 season Ryan Wigglesworth will let it do exactly that. It’s a world away from the spiritual intimacy of Bruckner’s sacred music – sung tonight by the BBC Singers – and the bridge is a new version of Wigglesworth’s own powerful Magnificat, sung by its dedicatee Sophie Bevan. Bachtrack admired its “Heaven-meets-earth choral harmonies” – but hear for yourself today.