| Tilson Thomas, Michael | Agnegram | |
| Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich (1840-1893) | Violin Concerto in D major, Op.35 | |
| Prokofiev, Sergei (1891-1953) | Symphony no. 5 in B flat major, Op.100 |
| Nicola Benedetti | Violin |
| London Symphony Orchestra | |
| Michael Tilson Thomas | Conductor |
The LSO’s Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas celebrates an incredible 50 years of conducting the Orchestra, with Russian masterpieces and a heartfelt original composition.
By turns elegant, jazzy and cacophonous, Tilson Thomas’ own Agnegram is a playful but heartfelt tribute to a friend, premiered by San Francisco Symphony in 1998. The Orchestra is joined by Nicola Benedetti for Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, a work that brims with melodies – from its gorgeous opening to its explosive folk-dance finale.
Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony was premiered in Moscow in 1945 and, stating his intent to the Soviet authorities, the composer said that the Fifth would be ‘a work about the spirit of man’. Prokofiev’s fine, glassy textures swell to brilliant climaxes in arcs across the Symphony. The music is also imbued with Prokofiev’s signature humour, heard in the sarcastic wind solos and martial percussion of the Scherzo.
