BSO: Glorious Heights

About

Distinctive and eclectic, Tippett’s works combine both traditional and modernist elements, often exploring themes of humanism, spirituality, and social justice. His orchestral concerto reflects the tumultuous period leading up to World War II and is marked by its expressive depth and intricate counterpoint, evoking a wide range of emotions. Vaughan Williams’ intensely beautiful and idyllic tableau of English life opens almost imperceptibly, out of which the ‘lark’ takes wing, rising, undulating, falling. The music avoids any tonal centre, written without bars allowing the soloist an almost improvisatory freedom to describe the ethereal minstrel. Originally composed for violin and piano, Thomas Adès reworked his four Dances from Fairytale for full orchestra to accompany the solo violin. Full of sonic inventiveness and tonal colour, they draw from English folk sources and are at once light and energetic, and then melancholy and thoughtful. Sibelius was going through a difficult time in his life, despite his success and popularity, when he wrote the Fifth Symphony. However, he created one of the great late-Romantic symphonies displaying his ability to gather the mysterious world around him. The gorgeous opening sunrise is best described by Sibelius himself: “God opens His door for a moment and His orchestra plays”. This was no boast!