Berlioz Symphonie fantastique

Chief guest conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, Anja Bihlmaier, joins the orchestra to present a programme which dares to look into dark corners as well as celebrate life-affirming moments.

"Big, Beautiful, Dark and Scary", by the orchestra's Pulitzer prize-winning Composer in Residence, is a bold description of her experience of the September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers in New York. She was two blocks away when the planes hit, and this is a gripping, multi-layered portrayal of the atmosphere witnessed by so many.

Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" explores the darkest parts of the composer's own mind; an opium-addled nightmare of supernatural forces, unrequited love and his own death portrayed in music. A composer with an unparalleled knowledge and passion for the potential of every instrument in the orchestra, he used this to maximum effect, and his music still terrifies and astounds with drama and direct communication.

Bomsori Kim joins the orchestra for Tchaikovsky's virtuoso Violin Concerto. Singable melody and infectious dance combine to create optimistic music, and a brief moment of homesickness - he wrote the music in Geneva, away from home - colours the glowing centre of the piece, but the music leaves us overwhelmingly positive.

Recorded at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on 25 April 2026 and presented by Mark Forrest.

Julia Wolfe: Big, Beautiful, Dark and Scary
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto

8.15

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Bomsori Kim (violin)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Anja Bihlmaier (conductor)

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