BBC SO/de Souza

Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique

,Barbican Hall
Photo of conductor Jordan De Souza

Much talked-about Canadian conductor Jordan de Souza makes his UK concert debut in music devilishly enjoyable, wickedly entertaining and frantically unpredictable.

When Hector Berlioz saw a performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet featuring an Irish actress named Harriet Smithson as Ophelia, he fell head over heels in love and found his calling in life. In his Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz set out to prove that love while writing a manifesto for French music based on passion, humour, spirit and pride. But Berlioz’s captivating symphonic story would be remembered just as much for its compelling debauchery and torment.

Jordan de Souza brings with him a premonition of Berlioz’s own Witch’s Sabbath in the form of Edith Canat de Chizy’s new work Omen, and has both Noriko Ogawa and Kathryn Stott for company in Vaughan Williams’s rarely heard and consistently surprising Concerto for Two Pianos.

Tagged with: Classical music BBC Symphony Orchestra BBC Symphony Orchestra Multibuy - Jan-Jul 2022

The performance ends at approximately 9.30pm, with a 20-minute interval.

Produced by the BBC Symphony Orchestra

Programme

Edith Canat de Chizy Omen (UK premiere)
Ralph Vaughan Williams Concerto for Two Pianos
Hector Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique

Performers

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Jordan de Souza conductor
Noriko Ogawa piano
Kathryn Stott piano
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Digital Programme

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