91Èȱ¬

Live at the 91Èȱ¬ Proms: Ryan Wigglesworth conducts the 91Èȱ¬ Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Strauss, Holst and Matthew Kaner's new choral work with baritone Roderick Williams.

Presented by Georgia Mann, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Richard Strauss: Death and Transfiguration
Matthew Kaner: Pearl [91Èȱ¬ commission: world premiere]

20.15 Interval:
In the interval Georgia Mann is joined by the poet Philip Gross, to hear about how poets and writers have used the imagery of the planets from the 17th century to the present day, including readings of Philip’s own works Sky Space, and Moon O.

20. 35
Gustav Holst: The Planets

Roderick Williams (baritone)
91Èȱ¬ Symphony Chorus
91Èȱ¬ Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)

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 with the 91Èȱ¬ Symphony Chorus.