BBC Philharmonic | The Spirit of Life

Join the BBC Philharmonic at The Bridgewater Hall on Saturday 25 November

John Storgårds conductor/violin
Alexandra Dariescu piano

Copland Fanfare for the Common Man
James Lee III ‘Shades of Unbroken Dreams’ (BBC commission: UK Premiere)
Sebastian Fagerlund Helena’s Song (BBC commission: UK Premiere)
Nielsen Symphony No. 4, ‘The Inextinguishable’

Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony, in his own words, expresses “the spirit of life or manifestations of life, that is: everything that moves, that wants to live … just life and motion…”. This incendiary work makes for a fitting conclusion to this programme, conducted by John Storgårds, which seeks to define the human spirit. Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, arising from conflict seeks to celebrate an unshakeable sense of optimism. These two pieces bookend two more introspective UK premieres, Michigan-born composer James Lee III’s Shades of Unbroken Dreams with pianist Alexandra Dariescu – a piano concerto marking the 60^th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s historic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech – and Helena’s Song arranged for violin and orchestra from Sebastian Fagerlund’s unnerving operatic family drama Autumn Sonata, performed tonight by our Chief Conductor play-directing from the podium.

Images credit Mark McNulty

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