Britten Sinfonia I: Cello Symphony

Lisa Illean’s Chansons looks back to songs written in the 15th-century by Gilles Binchois: as the composer puts it, the songs are translated or recollected rather than simply arranged for string ensemble. The result is a singularly beautiful collage of sounds. A new work by Illean for recorder, pre-recorded sounds and strings will also feature in the programme, as will occasional, atmospheric recorder solos from Genevieve Lacey. Steve Stelios Adam’s et døgn (“one day”) for recorder with electro-acoustics is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of sound.

Brett Dean’s Carlo is a kind of psychological portrait of the 16th-century composer Carlo Gesualdo, famous both for his strange, sliding harmonies and for murdering his wife and her lover. In Dean’s work, Gesualdo’s music becomes drawn into a fragmentary, frightening space: the composer’s personal and professional life collide, often to chilling effect.

The cellist Rostropovich brought something out in Britten. The famously reserved composer responded to the cellist’s ebullience and demonstrative nature across a series of full-blooded works. Discussing whether Britten would write him a concerto, Rostropovich declared “Write for the cello everything that your heart tells you, never mind how difficult it is; my love for you will help me to master every note, even the most impossible ones”. Britten followed these instructions to the letter: difficult, at times, but full of heart, the Symphony for Cello is a bold, brave and sometimes boisterous encounter between cello and orchestra.

Britten Sinfonia
Genevieve Lacey recorder
Laura van der Heijden cello
Gemma New conductor