Oeuvre: Cello Concerto

A young conductor and a venerable orchestra unite in Berlin for three 20th-century works, covering vastly different soundscapes. 

The London Philharmonic Orchestra certainly pulled out all the stops with a Rest is Noise programme that, in theory, should have scared the horses half to death. A concert of three large orchestral works from height of the 1960/70s avant garde, and featuring composers from behind the Iron Curtain to boot, is a very rare beast indeed.

Thankfully, when it comes to classical music, programmes around the theme of death tend to make highly energetic evenings. The eighth Prom of this year was no exception, as Thomas Adès led the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the world première of his new work Totentanz, but not after performances of two similarly themed works: Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem and Lutoslawski’s Cello Concerto.