BBC NOW 2017-18 Season Elgar & Rachmaninov by Takemitsu, Elgar, Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, Da (2017/2017), Direttore d'orchestra Tadaaki Otaka, St David's Hall, Cardiff, Regno Unito

BBC NOW welcomes back Conductor Laureate Tadaaki Otaka as he marks his 30th year with the orchestra. Takemitsu’s luminous poem weaves a small idea into a rich ‘twill’ of sound that borrows from the ethereal worlds of Debussy and Messiaen. Similarly, Rachmaninov’s second symphony evolves from a small winding stream into tidal surges. Elgar’s cello concerto offers a different romanticism, tinged with both melancholy and subdued rage as the composer laments a nation lost to the ravages of war. Who better to capture this intensity than Steven Isserlis in the solo role?