Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

When is a symphony not a symphony?

A programme of symphonies in name only performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers with Dalia Stasevska in her debut concert as principal guest conductor.

Composed in the shadow of the Second World War, Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem opens Dalia Stasevska’s first concert at the Barbican as the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s principal guest conductor, recorded in October last year. She herself put together this programme of 'symphonies' in name only. The BBC Symphony Orchestra is joined by the BBC Singers in Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms - a devout musical gesture, re-imagining religious rituals on a symphonic scale. And the orchestra conclude with one of the greatest tests of the conductor's art, Rachmaninov’s exhilarating Symphonic Dances; composed in America in 1940 just three years before his death, it pulses with rhythmic energy, embracing jazz, plainchant and the waltz.

2pm
Britten: Sinfonia da requiem, Op.20
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms
Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances
BBC Singers
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

1 hour, 30 minutes

Last on

Wed 13 May 2020 14:00
BBC Radio 3

More episodes

Previous

BBC Symphony Orchestra and Singers

Next

Opera matinee - The Devil on Earth

See all episodes from Afternoon Concert

Music Played

  • Benjamin Britten

    Sinfonia da Requiem

    Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Dalia Stasevska.

  • Igor Stravinsky

    Symphony of Psalms

    Choir: BBC Singers. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Dalia Stasevska.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Symphonic Dances Op.45

    Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Dalia Stasevska.

Broadcast

  • Wed 13 May 2020 14:00
    BBC Radio 3