Barbican Concerts

DEBUSSY Three Nocturnes
SZYMANOWSKI Violin Concerto No 1
SCRIABIN Symphony No 4 (‘Poem of Ecstasy’)

Peter Eötvös conductor
Christian Tetzlaff violin
Ladies of the London Symphony Chorus
London Symphony Orchestra

Inspired by the Nocturnes of Impressionist painter James Whistler, Debussy wrote that his Three Nocturnes should be understood in terms of ‘all the various impressions and the special effects of light that the word suggests’. Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No 1 draws inspiration from the Polish poem, Noc Majowa (Night Gathering) which reads: ‘And now we stand by the lake in crimson blossom / in flowing tears of joy, with rapture and fear’. Novelist and painter Henry Miller described listening to Scrabin’s Symphony No 4 as ‘like a bath of ice, cocaine and rainbows … Like an étude gliding off a glacier’.

Change of conductor
Due to an eye condition, Pierre Boulez has had to withdraw from his concerts with the LSO in April/May 2012. The LSO is deeply grateful to Peter Eötvös, a long-time associate of Pierre Boulez, for agreeing to step in to conduct the two programmes, which remain unchanged. (Notification posted 23/03/12, existing tickets holders will be contacted with further details on Mon 26 Mar)

Tickets: £10 £15 £19.50 £27 £35

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Event Download

Sunday 29 April 2012