This afternoon, a selection of music that showcases and exemplifies the exciting breadth of the Â鶹Éç Philharmonic Orchestra's work, Chief Conductor John StorgaÌŠrds takes to the podium at MediaCityUK.
The Â鶹Éç Philharmonic Orchestra and StorgaÌŠrds have recorded many of Shostakovich’s works together and today, a rare opportunity to hear one of Shostakovich’s earliest pieces, written when he was a teenager - his delightful Scherzo Op.1.
We also journey to StorgaÌŠrds’ native Finland. Outi Tarkiainen’s Midnight Sun Variations had its world premiere in 2019 when StorgaÌŠrds conducted the Â鶹Éç Philharmonic Orchestra at the Â鶹Éç Proms, and Sebastian Fagerlund's essay for violin and orchestra, Helena's Song, was a co-commission for the Â鶹Éç Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Lotta Wennäkoski pays tribute to fellow Finnish composer Sibelius in Verdigris, a highly original work. Today’s performance of Verdigris is the second of two for the Â鶹Éç Philharmonic Orchestra this spring, following one in April at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
Also on the programme are two British composers, Grace-Evangeline Mason and Piers Hellawell.
Mason earned the prestigious Â鶹Éç Young Composer of the Year award in 2013. Just ten years later, her lush, painterly work ABLAZE THE MOON, premiered at the 2023 Proms with the Â鶹Éç Philharmonic Orchestra.
Critics have described Hellawell as an ‘original and thought-provoking musical mind.’ A Professor of Composition for many years at Queen's University in Belfast, Hellawell composed his Symphonies in Chains in 2019. It’s a reflection on the historical symphonic tradition, and an accomplished showcase for the orchestra.
Programme
Fagerlund - Helena's Song
Shostakovich - Scherzo Op. 1
Hellawell - Symphonies in Chains
Mason - ABLAZE THE MOON
Tarkiainen - Midnight Sun Variations
Wennäkoski - Verdigris
John Storgårds - conductor
