Philharmonia Orchestra

George Benjamin: Jubilation for orchestra & mixed children's group
Gyorgy Ligeti: Double Concerto for flute and oboe
George Benjamin: Palimpsests for orchestra
Interval
Gyorgy Ligeti: Lontano
George Benjamin: Ringed by the flat horizon for orchestra

An intoxicating programme of orchestral works marks the climax of Southbank Centre's celebration of composer George Benjamin. Hear Benjamin himself lead the Philharmonia Orchestra in performances of his works alongside those by Ligeti.

The highlight of the concert is the Philharmonia Orchestra's performance of Benjamin's invigorating work Jubilation, in which they combine with a specially formed youth choir and ensemble of local young musicians playing a vibrant mix of brass, percussion, recorders and steel pans. They bring to life the energy and vitality of this piece, originally commissioned by the ILEA (Inner London Education Authority) in 1985 for young performers.

Also featured is the more recent Palimpsests, a landscape where orchestral patterns constantly change and the listener encounters a rich canvas of floating musical shapes.

Ringed by the flat horizon concludes the second half - the piece that initially propelled a 20-year-old Benjamin to fame in 1980 when it was performed at the Proms. Dedicated to his former teacher, Messiaen, it describes vividly a storm brewing over a desolate New Mexico desert.

Ligeti's mesmerising Lontano and Double Concerto for flute and oboe complete a concert full of dazzling textural works and orchestral colour.

Philharmonia Orchestra
George Benjamin conductor
Samuel Coles flute
Gordon Hunt oboe