The programme includes Witold Lutosławski's Symphony No. 4 and the world premiere of Agata Zubel’s Piano Concerto, in addition to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.
The orchestra is conducted by Edward Gardner, and Dutch-Japanese pianist Tomoko Mukaiyama is the soloist for Zubel’s work.
Completed in the summer of 1992, Symphony No. 4 was Lutosławski’s last composition. It was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which gave the work's world premiere on February 5, 1993, with the Polish composer conducting.
Lutosławski died on February 7, 1994, at the age of 81.
Agata Zubel, meanwhile, is one of the most interesting figures in Polish contemporary music. Born in Wrocław in 1978, she graduated with honours from the southwestern Polish city’s Music Academy, where she studied composition and voice. She has won many prestigious competitions for both singing and composing.
Zubel’s Piano Concerto was commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. A Polish music critic has said that "this is eloquent proof of Zubel’s fast-growing international stature."
The London orchestra describes her on its website as “a composer for whom the most important element is exploration."
Following the main evening’s concert featuring her Piano Concerto, Zubel will appear as a singer at a late-night event in two of her own compositions, alongside Berio’s Folk Songs, with members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
(mk/gs)