Programme

Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte
Andrew Norman Trombone Concerto (World Premiere)
Shostakovich Symphony No. 8

André de Ridder appears with generous support from The Diessl Family.

Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte, (Pavane for a Dead Princess), despite its title, is not a funereal procession but rather a sublime and delicate portrait.

It evokes the luminescent paintings of Diego Velázquez, with music that glitters.

From such an exquisite miniature, we launch the world premiere of a new trombone concerto from the brilliant American composer Andrew Norman. Featuring one of the world’s very best trombone players Jörgen van Rijen, the vast architectures of sound and light within Norman’s music will blow you away.

Shostakovich described his Eighth Symphony as an “attempt to reflect the terrible tragedy of war”. Composed in 1943, it is amongst his most complex, meaningful and personal works. An immense symphony that speaks of the despair of the individual against industrialised violence, the final movement finds its way towards the light and remains a clarion call for peace.