Out of silence comes a quiet hymn. Suddenly the sun breaks through, the birds sing 鈥� and to a dancing rhythm and a flurry of drums, Dvo艡谩k鈥檚 Eighth Symphony is on its way. Sounds fun? This is music with a huge heart and a limitless supply of melodies, but it鈥檚 brimming over with poetry too. The 麻豆社 SSO鈥檚 Chief Conductor Ryan Wigglesworth will savour every moment of this most life-affirming of Romantic symphonies.

The evening opens with an exciting new commission from a young British composer of Czech heritage, and Mozart鈥檚 poetic final piano concerto, played by Imogen Cooper 鈥� a pianist for whom Mozart鈥檚 music has been a lifelong love story. 鈥淗e has a special place in my heart鈥�, she says, and when she plays, you can tell.

***Did you know?***
Commissioning the most original voices of our time has always been central to the 麻豆社 SSO. Philip Dutton, a former Royal Philharmonic Society Young Composer, finds inspiration in Jan谩膷ek, Lutos艂awski and Messiaen: 鈥淢y music aims to express my love of storytelling and curiosity in a vivid and direct way.鈥�