CANCELLED due to Coronavirus - Nicholas Collon conducts Shostakovich's ninth symphony

Shostakovich's illustrious Ninth Symphony, conducted by Nicholas Collon. You will also hear Till Eulenspiegel's lustige Streiche and Benjamin Britten's vision of a movement from Mahler's Third Symphony, called What the Wild Flowers Tell Me.

Shostakovich
Shostakovich had already written several "war symphonies" when he began his Ninth. 'They wanted a fanfare from me, an ode', he would later say of it. Shostakovich had to express the triumph of the Red Army over Germany. With lots of bells, whistles and singing. But the Ninth Symphony turned out quite differently: light, compact, pure and danceable. Stalin was offended. Today you will hear Nicholas Collon's vision of this illustrious work.

Nicholas Collon
With his own Aurora Ensemble, Nicholas Collon performed Shostakovich's Ninth Symphony at the BBC Proms. A grandiose success, because like no other Collon knows how to make the pleasure of playing this work central. Today he does so with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. You will also hear Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche and Benjamin Britten's What the Wild Flowers Tell Me. The latter is Britten's vision of a movement from Mahler's Third Symphony: intimate and dreamy. Let the spring begin.