BBC Philharmonic | 14 October by Haydn, Mozart, Thorvaldsdottir, Debussy, Sat 14 Oct 2023, From (2023/2023), Conductor Eva Ollikainen, The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, United Kingdom

Re-emerging after its hugely successful world premiere at the 2022 BBC Proms with Eva Ollikainen, Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s ARCHORA portrays abstractions – musical spectra and clashing extremes drawn out through her focus on primordial energy and parallel realms. Its broad, gestural nature contradicts and complements the sweeping symphonic intricacies of Debussy’s La mer. Prefacing such powerfully dramatic pieces, a traditional bout of Haydn’s Sturm und Drang-driven drama in the overture to ‘L’isola disabitata’ (The Deserted Island) and a pre-emptive respite as Richard Goode treats us to one of Mozart’s most imaginative concertos, his Eighteenth.