Sinfonia of London/John Wilson

Embedding the intricacies of the patter song, Kenneth Hesketh’s orchestral show-stopper prefaces two compelling master works as John Wilson and his Sinfonia of London return.

Shostakovich’s quietly subversive Cello Concerto No 2 sits at the heart of a concert also showcasing Rachmaninov’s opus-numbered symphonic debut – a work teeming with colour, expansive melodies, and protean energy. First though, we button-up for the London premiere of Kenneth Hesketh’s reworking of music from his opera The Overcoat.

‘John Wilson is the most exciting British conductor since Simon Rattle’ declares the Sunday Times. And his Sinfonia of London just can’t help picking up awards. Sheku Kanneh-Mason is no stranger to glittering prizes himself. Having won the 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year with a performance of Shostakovich’s first Cello Concerto, he’s latterly championed its sequel; ‘throwing down ‘a challenging gauntlet that probes ever deeper the composer’s enigmatic and gritty late style’. (The Arts Desk).

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This concert will end at approximately 9.50pm with a 20 minute interval.

Produced by the Barbican

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