Work: Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, for orchestra

Sir Simon Rattle conducts 80+ members of the LSO in the monumental Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale in a site-specific performance inside – and outside – St Paul’s Cathedral.

All life is a preparation for death, as revealed in Messiaen's Et exspecto and Bruckner's Ninth Symphony. Zubin Mehta and the Berlin Philharmonic administer the exequies.

The London Philharmonic strikes a somber note as Edward Gardner explores themes of resurrection and transfiguration in the Royal Festival Hall. 

A programme of new music and 20th-century classics reflects on loss, war, inhumanity and redemption. 

Two fine concerts from Riccardo Chailly’s Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra filled part of the space between end-of-season Proms from the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics. They brought Mendelssohn of refinement and poise to Prom 67 and dark, fateful thrust in Messiaen and Mahler for Prom 69.