Frustrated in getting his Romeo and Juliet ballet produced, Prokofiev decided to introduce some of its music as stand-alone orchestral suites which proved immediately popular and remain to this day among his most frequently programmed works. His unique style of melding classical with the modern found brilliant expression in the violent hostility between the Montagues and Capulets, and in the brutal darkness of the unenlightened medieval setting. The Violin Concerto belongs to the flood of compositions that poured from Beethoven’s pen during the most productive period of his life, unleashed by his spiritual crisis of 1802 and the realisation of his oncoming deafness. Despite this, it feels like a celebration, perhaps modest and reserved, but triumphant nonetheless. Extracted from her larger work Orion, Saariaho’s crystalline Winter Sky is an atmospheric and contemplative acoustic poem.

Please note this concert is being livestreamed and some shots will include wide angle views of the audience.