Details

A programme of intoxicating orchestral works mark the climax of Southbank Centre's celebration of composer George Benjamin. Hear the composer/conductor lead the Philharmonia Orchestra in performances of his works alongside those by Ligeti. The concert opens with Jubilation. Originally commissioned by the ILEA (Inner London Education Authority) in 1985 for young performers, tonight the energy and vitality of the work is brought to life by a specially formed youth ensemble and choir made up of local young people. Also featured is the more recent Palimpsests, a landscape where orchestral patterns constantly change and the listener encounters a rich canvas of floating musical shapes. Ringed by the flat horizon, concludes the second half - the piece that initially propelled a 20-year-old Benjamin to fame in 1980 when it was performed at the Proms. Dedicated to his former teacher, Messiaen, it describes vividly a storm brewing over a desolate New Mexico desert. Ligeti's mesmerising Lontano and Double Concerto for flute and oboe complete a concert full of dazzling textural works and orchestral colour. Philharmonia Orchestra - Jubilation: The Music of George Benjamin website.

Creatives/Company

Conductor: George Benjamin