| Anu Komsi | Soprano |
| Anssi Karttunen | Cello |
| Sakari Oramo | Conductor |
| BBC Symphony Orchestra | |
| BBC Singers |
“All day and night, music…” The ancient Arabic poetry that inspired Kaija Saariaho’s Circle Map, a hyrbrid painting of Arabic script and musical notation that will be projected on screen, could serve as a motto for this Total Immersion day. Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in four orchestral works dating from 1989 to 2020 – including the UK premiere of the orchestral Saarikoski Songs, performed by their dedicatee soprano Anu Komsi.
"It's always the inner space that interests me" says Saariaho, but when her creative imagination ignites, the human mind can accommodate the entire cosmos. From the ravishing cello concerto Notes on Light to the early landmark Du Cristal, this is music that uses every colour on the spectrum, and invents some new ones too – a spectacular conclusion to this day of total immersion in her expanding sonic universe.
This day of events will now take place on Sunday 7 May, previously scheduled for Saturday 6 May, in respect of His Majesty King Charles III's Coronation.