Southbank Centre: Royal Festival HallBelvedere Road, London, Greater London, SE1 8XX, United Kingdom
Dates/times in London time zone
Programme
| Wagner, Richard (1813-1883) | Tannhäuser: Overture | |
| Iyer, Vijay (b. 1971) | Human Archipelago (world première) | |
| Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847) | Symphony no. 5 in D major, "Reformation", Op.107 |
Performers
| London Philharmonic Orchestra | |
| Edward Gardner | Conductor |
| Inbal Segev | Cello |
Only the young Felix Mendelssohn could have taken a subject like the Reformation and turned it into music as radiant and as stirring as his Fifth Symphony. And perhaps only Vijay Iyer – described by The New York Times as ‘social conscience, multimedia collaborator, rhapsodist and multicultural gateway’ – could take the refugee testimonies of Human Archipelago and transform them into a cello concerto like no other. Music can do that, and Edward Gardner begins with the Overture to Wagner’s Tannhäuser: an opera whose sensuality shocked 19th-century audiences, by a composer who was forced into exile for his political ideals.