BBC Philharmonic - Romeo & Juliet

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Ludovic Morlot conductor
Lawrence Power viola

Berg Lulu Suite: I. Rondo
Cassandra Miller I Cannot Love Without Trembling
Prokofiev Suite from Romeo and Juliet

‘Human existence is so fragile a thing and exposed to such dangers that I cannot love without trembling’ – Simone Weil

Violist Lawrence Power returns to perform Cassandra Miller’s acclaimed Viola Concerto, a piece heralded on its 2022 premiere as an instant classic. Miller weaves her personal attachments into music, creating a work that is delicate, emotionally charged, and deeply human.

Love, in Alban Berg’s Lulu, is a fleeting thing, as the irresistible Lulu moves quickly through a succession of suitors. The Rondo from Berg’s Suite is decadent and luxurious, with a hint of anxiety.

Sergei Prokofiev would find a personal fragility through love, as the promise of a new ballet — what eventually turned out to be the tale of the star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet — drew him back to a tumultuous Soviet Russia. In doing so, he created one of ballet’s most beloved scores. (And yes, it’s also the music from The Apprentice.)