Music of the Imagination

As both composer and conductor, Thomas Adès is one of the most brilliant figures in British music, creating rich, deeply expressive works that inspire the intellect and stir the soul.

He leads the SCO in a concert discovering unexpected threads running through wide-ranging music, from Haydn’s convention-challenging Symphony No 64 to Beethoven’s only ballet score. Belgian soprano Emma Posman is the soloist in Mozart’s delicate concert aria ‘Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio’, while John Woolrich offers a colourful orchestral tribute to that earlier composer.

Adès also unveils a new orchestral version of his own rapturous The Origin of the Harp, weaving together threads of Celtic music and more contemporary sounds.