| Debussy, Claude (1862-1918) | Nocturnes, L 91 | |
| Ravel, Maurice (1875-1937) | Piano Concerto in D major for the left hand | |
| Scriabin, Alexander (1872-1915) | Le Poème de l'extase (The Poem of Ecstasy), Op.54 |
| Susanna Mälkki | Conductor | |
| Kirill Gerstein | Piano | |
| London Symphony Chorus | Sopranos & Altos | |
| London Symphony Orchestra |
Drift amid music of seductive illusion, by three turn-of-the-century composers.
The Programme
‘It is pure music, conceived beyond the limits of reality, in the world of dreams,’ wrote a contemporary reviewer about Debussy’s Nocturnes. The first Nocturne conjures grey thunderclouds above the Seine, as a passing boat sounds its horn. The second is illuminated by a dazzling procession, and the third echoes with the voices of sirens, heard amid the moonlit waves of the sea.
In Ravel’s dark, swaggering magic trick of a Piano Concerto, one hand playing comes to sound like two. And in Scriabin’s swirling, yearning symphonic poem, we move through fantasy to ecstasy.
The Performers
Kirill Gerstein, a Spotlight Artist with the LSO in 2023/24, performs a remarkable feat of sleight-of-hand, while Susanna Mälkki and the LSO reveal the shining threads that tie these three works together. The London Symphony Chorus supplies enchanting song.
‘All fire and air. The first time I heard it I played it over and over… For weeks I went about in a trance. Something had happened to me.’ – Writer Henry Miller on Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy