Debussy, Berg and Rachmaninoff

The Concert

Two of Debussy’s restless, impressionistic Nocturnes, Berg’s anguished Violin Concerto; plus Rachmaninoff’s sweeping early symphony, full of youthful energy. 

The Music

Debussy’s Nocturnes feature dazzling soundscapes, from the drifting clouds of Nuages to the dazzling light effects of Fêtes.  

Composed just a few years later, Rachmaninoff’s youthful First Symphony is regarded today as one of the composer’s most brilliant works. 

Berg welds modern musical techniques and cinematic romanticism in his 1935 Violin Concerto that also quotes folksong and Bach. Written after the death of a friend’s daughter, the music is grief-stricken, yet utterly sublime. 

The Performers

The LSO and Gianandrea Noseda bring colour and drama to two 19th-century works, while the Berg spotlights violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja in her Artist Portrait series, whose playing exudes a genuine sense of theatre. 

Patricia Kopatchinskaja captured this heartbreaking music with just the right mixture of tenderness and transcendence. 
The Guardian on a live 2017 performance of Berg’s Violin Concerto