Basel Symphony Orchestra, Matt Haimovitz

Programme:

Arvo Pärt - These Words
Philip Glass - Cello Concerto No.2
John Adams - Harmonielehre

These Words is as haunting and ethereal as the timeless Gregorian chants that have inspired much of Pärt's work. Resonant and meditative, Glass's recently premiered Cello Concerto 2 is a condensation of his score for Godfrey Reggio's critically acclaimed 2002 film Naqoyqatsi. Requiring colossal orchestral resources, Adams' Harmonielehre is a unique, mesmerising, three-movement work that marries the developmental techniques of Minimalism with the harmonic and expressive world of fin de siècle late Romanticism, to breathtaking effect.

Their work is brought to life with consummate skill and passion by one of Europe's leading symphony orchestras, brilliantly conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, an acknowledged champion of modern classical music.