The Glasshouse International Centre for Music: Sage OneSt Mary's Square
Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, North-East, NE8 2JR, United Kingdom
Dates/times in London time zone
Programme
| MacMillan, Sir James (b. 1959) | Seven Last Words from the Cross | |
| Mahler, Gustav (1860-1911) | Blumine (arr. Britten) | |
| Shostakovich, Dmitri (1906-1975) | Symphony no. 9 in E flat major, Op.70 |
Performers
| Royal Northern Sinfonia | |
| Nicholas Collon | Conductor |
| Northern Sinfonia Chorus |
When Soviet forces prevailed on the
Eastern Front in 1945, the
authorities expected a celebratory
work from Shostakovich full of
nobility, pride and power. Instead
he delivered one of his most curious
and comic creations, a symphony
that lurches brilliantly from
circus-like humour into suggestions
of darkness and angst. Before it, in
utter contrast, comes the intense
spiritual power and depth of James
MacMillan’s meditation on the
crucifixion.
Eastern Front in 1945, the
authorities expected a celebratory
work from Shostakovich full of
nobility, pride and power. Instead
he delivered one of his most curious
and comic creations, a symphony
that lurches brilliantly from
circus-like humour into suggestions
of darkness and angst. Before it, in
utter contrast, comes the intense
spiritual power and depth of James
MacMillan’s meditation on the
crucifixion.
