Prom 46: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra by Howell, D., Elgar, Knussen, Weinberg, De la (2019/2019), Dirijor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom

The CBSO and Music Director Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla celebrate the centenary of Mieczysław Weinberg the man Shostakovich hailed as ‘one of the most outstanding composers’ of his day – with a rare performance of his Symphony No. 3, a work that combines folk melodies and dances with confessional urgency. That intensity is shared by Elgar’s passionate Cello Concerto, performed here by 2016 BBC Young Musician winner Sheku Kanneh-Mason. The concert opens with Dorothy Howell’s radiant tone-poem Lamia (first performed, like Elgar’s concerto, 100 years ago) and also includes The Way to Castle Yonder, a suite from the much-missed Oliver Knussen’s opera Higglety Pigglety Pop!