BBC Symphony Orchestra/Wigglesworth by Wigglesworth, Mahler, Παρ 20 Ιαν 2023, Aπό (2023/2023), αγωγός Ryan Wigglesworth, Barbican Centre, London, United Kingdom

Tragedy, triumph, and a whole life lived in between: Ryan Wigglesworth conducts Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, as well as his own song-cycle Till Dawning. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony begins with a funeral march – but that’s only the start of this particular story, with its tragedies, triumphs and distant horn-calls - plus, of course, the famous Adagietto, possibly the sweetest love-letter ever written in sound. Ryan Wigglesworth brings a composer’s insight to Mahler’s huge vision – and conducts his own song-cycle Till Dawning. 'Can there be any day but this / Though many suns to shine endeavour?' Like Mahler’s symphony, Till Dawning tells a story of suffering, struggle and triumphant reawakening, and this new orchestral version only heightens its emotional intensity. Wigglesworth himself conducts, and it’s sung by Sophie Bevan – the 'magnetic' (Classical Source) British soprano who gave the world premiere of these four evocative settings of George Herbert, back in 2018.