RNCM Symphony Orchestra by Britten, Perry, J. A., Abe, Keiko, Walton, No (2024/2024), Diriģents Baldur Brönnimann, Jakub Przybycień, RNCM, Manchester, United Kingdom

An exhilarating journey awaits this Spring as our Symphony Orchestra returns to the stage. When dark human emotions and music are at crossroads, the most powerful listening experiences are created. This is perhaps why Britten’s Sea Interludes continue to be so enduring. Originally written for scene changes in Peter Grimes, Britten reworked four of the six pieces into stand-alone orchestral works – each portraying a different time of day at sea enveloped in a cloud of doom and foreboding. Julia Perry’s A Short Piece for Orchestra acts as its own interlude in this programme, changing direction by adding vibrancy and energy. Learn more about how we are celebrating the American composer and her work in our In Focus series. Her piece is the perfect foil to Britten and a complimentary segue into Keiko Abe’s show stopping concerto for marimba. Of course Walton’s symphonic masterpiece is truly the climax of this event. With a desire to ‘knock Bax off the map’ William Walton set out to write his first symphonic work. Four years later, his turbulent personal life became firmly etched in what can only be described as a symphonic eruption of sorrow. Bore out of a devastating emotional wound, his four movement work is the embodiment of the breakdown of his relationship with Imma von Doernberg.