A work by Polish composer Krzysztof
Penderecki gets its UK
premiere at the Bridgewater Hall on June 26, with 250 performers and the
composer himself as conductor.
It’s Penderecki’s seventh symphony, subtitled The Seven Gates Of Jerusalem, and calls for a very large orchestra, off-stage woodwind and brass, three choirs, five soloists and a narrator.
The performance is the highlight of the
end-of-year concert by the Royal Northern College of Music and crowns a week of
celebrations of the music of Poland
at the RNCM.
Commissioned for the third millennium
celebration of the city of Jerusalem,
The Seven Gates Of Jerusalem is rarely performed due to the sheer forces required,
but is one of Penderecki’s most powerful and dramatic pieces. His other music
includes film scores for The Shining and The Exorcist.
RNCM artistic director Michelle Castelletti,
says: “I’ve been gripped by Krzysztof Penderecki’s work ever since I heard his
Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima and his St Luke Passion. The intensity of
these creations and sheer emotive power they invoke are staggering.
“We are pulling out all the stops to
present this monumental work, and I am thrilled, not only because the RNCM will
be giving the UK
premiere, but because he will be here to conduct the performance himself.”
The complete festival, from June 23 to 26, celebrates Polish composers including
Lutosławski and Górecki, and new compositions by RNCM students. After the
concert, which features Lutosławski’s piano concerto with soloist Dominic
Degavino, Michelle Castelletti will present Krzysztof Penderecki with a
Fellowship of the RNCM.
Meanwhile in Alderley Edge (St Philip’s church), and Sandbach (St Mary’s church hall), Manchester-trained pianist Manny Vass, who lives in Stockport, is live in recital with his Sonic Waves programme, on June 26 and 27. It’s water-themed music, from Liszt, Schubert, Chopin and Handel – plus his own arrangements of sea shanties. Manny has already made a big impact with his album From Bach To Bond, including Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and themes from the Bond movies as they might have been arranged by Liszt.
His self-produced CD album of Sonic Waves is a hit with Classic FM audiences, reaching number 3 this week.
Great blog The performance is the highlight of the end-of-year concert by the Royal Northern College of Music and crowns a week of celebrations of the music of Poland at the RNCM Commissioned for the third millennium celebration of the city of Jerusalem, The Seven Gates Of Jerusalem is rarely performed due to the sheer forces required, but is one of Penderecki’s most powerful and dramatic pieces. His other music includes film scores for The Shining and The Exorcist.........
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