91Èȱ¬

In the years around the First World War, Richard Strauss and Gustav Holst both pushed at the outer limits of what an orchestra could do – with results that still startle the ears. But there’s more to Death and Transfiguration than soaring heroics, and Holst’s The Planets begins with great tunes and glittering colours before wandering into other-worldly, distant regions. Ryan Wigglesworth brings a composer’s ear to two works that make a perfect frame for Matthew Kaner’s haunting new commission Pearl – in which an ancient lament (a medieval poem translated by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage) unlocks human emotions that cross centuries – and maybe travel even further than that. It’s specially tailored to the glowing voice and peerless communicative skill of British baritone Roderick Williams, and to the 91Èȱ¬ Symphony Chorus.

Image: Roderick Williams © Benjamin Ealovega