The Hallé Orchestra

Wolfgang Rihm - new work (world premiere*)
Britten - The Prince of the Pagodas – Pas de Six; Our Hunting Fathers; Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell (The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra)

Is there a more joyous, thrilling moment in twentieth century music than the closing pages of Britten’s Purcell-inspired concerto for orchestra? The triumphal return of Purcell’s ancient but familiar theme at the conclusion to this riotously inventive, colourful tour de force simply takes the breath away.
Including the fifth and final Aldeburgh world premiere in the Royal Philharmonic Society/Britten–Pears Foundation commissions, this concert traces Britten’s music from the rarely heard exoticism of an orient-inspired ballet via his first major orchestral song cycle as a fitting celebration to end the centenary Festival. Sir Mark Elder brings his Hallé Orchestra to Snape Maltings less than twelve months after his unforgettable concerts with the Aldeburgh World Orchestra.