Ulster Orchestra: Flame of Genius

Brahms Piano Concerto No.1 

Bruckner Symphony No.1 

JAC VAN STEEN CONDUCTOR 

SIR STEPHEN HOUGH PIANO

“...for me the earlier work has a greater burst of pure, utter, natural genius. Its flame flares with such intensity, and with such promise of more to come... that I find myself overwhelmed by it”. Writing in The Guardian, Sir Stephen Hough’s reflections on Brahms’s First Piano Concerto conjure up the fire, intimacy, romance and drama of this phenomenal concerto, one that feels like it contains a whole cosmos in its three movements. It’s paired with a symphony by another composer whose works contain musical universes, Bruckner, as we explore his all-encompassing Symphony No. 1.