Four years ago at the BBC Proms, Aurora became the first orchestra to perform a symphony from memory, without the aid of printed sheet music. Since then the orchestra has electrified audiences around the world with this direct and communicative performance style.
For this concert, which forms part of Cambridge Summer Music Festival, Principal Conductor Nicholas Collon again teams up with BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom Service to offer audiences a uniquely vivid musical introduction with live excerpts. They unpack the musical architecture of Shostakovich’s ninth symphony with its fleet-footed melodies and dance-filled rhythms, before Aurora musicians put it back together again in a full performance of the work. Completing the programme, pianist Denis Kozhukhin makes his debut at Saffron Hall as a soloist in Shostakovich’s much-loved second piano concerto.
This concert is due to finish at approximately 9.15pm and there will be a 20-minute interval.