Aurora Orchestra

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No.40

Aurora Orchestra invites audiences to take a journey in musical memory.

Staged as part of Southbank Centre’s new festival Changing Minds 2016, this event is co-presented by Ed Cooke – a Grand Memory Master who can memorise the order of a deck of cards in less than a minute.

For this special collaborative concert Cooke applies his playful and imaginative ‘memory palace’ techniques – which he uses to improve memory retention – to Mozart’s 40th symphony. Illuminating the genius and drama of Mozart’s writing, he also invites audience members to astonish themselves with the power of their own memories.

Nicholas Collon and Aurora Orchestra provide musical illustration, culminating in a memorised performance of the complete symphony.

In an age in which we increasingly rely on external digital 'memories' rather than our own minds, this concert aims to rediscover the joys of memorisation, as well as offering a new way of engaging with symphonic music.

‘Music-making of physical, visceral directness.’ (Tom Service, The Guardian)

‘Refreshing the repertoire and broadening appeal are imperative these days. Nobody does it better than Aurora.’ (Barry Millington, Evening Standard)
Performers

Aurora Orchestra
Nicholas Collon conductor
Ed Cooke Grand Memory Master