BBC Philharmonic - Cathedral in Sound

John Storgårds conductor
Elizabeth Atherton soprano

Beethoven Egmont – overture
Saariaho Leino Songs
Bruckner Symphony No. 3 in D minor

First, a call to arms. Composed during the Napoleonic Wars, revolution was spreading across Europe, and you can hear it in Beethoven’s Egmont overture with its growling basses, stormy strings, and heraldic brass. Injustice, heroism, and rebellion against oppression, are condensed into this minidrama of an overture. The might of Beethoven later inspired Bruckner, but his music takes us to a place of contemplation rather than controversy. His symphonies are written to the glory of God, with an architecture to match. John Storgårds has already taken his vision of Bruckner to Vienna and Berlin, and now Manchester, in the first of three instalments in this season. We also pay homage to the late Finnish composer Saariaho, widely regarded as one of the finest of recent years. In Leino Songs, filigree textures and bold colours are influenced by her birthplace Finland, and France, her adopted home. Her highly individual style is transcendental and lingers long in the memory.