Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in D minor

Available for 29 days

Linton Stephens brings you an afternoon of exclusive music-making which includes a spotlight on the relationship between music and spirituality. To begin, Vaughan Williams' evocative Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, based on a 16th-century Anglican psalmody, is performed by the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, guitarist Thibaut Garcia plays Mangore's melancholic La Catedral, and later in the programme, Handel's Organ Concerto in F is performed by the WDR Symphony Orchestra. As a centrepiece, Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in D minor is played by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. As a devout Catholic, Bruckner dedicated this final, unfinished work "to the beloved God". There are also excerpts from a concert by the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in which Haydn’s Seven Last Words on the Cross is interspersed with Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, juxtaposing Christ’s suffering with human grief and suggesting that art and religion may confer spiritual meaning on life. Elsewhere in the programme, Linton introduces exclusive chamber music recorded at the Crucible, Sheffield as part of the city’s ‘Music In The Round’. Cellist Li-Wei Qin and pianist Jeremy Young join forces to play Brahms and the piano duo Ivana Gavric and Tim Horton play Debussy. Ralph Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Zurich Chamber Orchestra Duncan Ward (conductor) From Sheffield ‘Music In The Round’: Johannes Brahms Sonata in E minor Op. 38 Li-Wei Qin (cello) Jeremy Young (piano) Gustav Mahler Kindertotenlieder: Nun seh' ich wohl, warum Johan Reuter (bass-baritone) Lausanne Chamber Orchestra Hossein Pishkar, (conductor) Agustin Barrios Mangore La Catedral Thibaut Garcia (guitar) Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 9 in D minor NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra Herbert Blomstedt (conductor) From Sheffield ‘Music In The Round’: Claude Debussy En blanc et noir Ivana Gavric (piano) Tim Horton (piano) Joseph Haydn Seven Last Words on the Cross: 3. Sonata 2: Grave e cantabile Johan Reuter (bass-baritone) Lausanne Chamber Orchestra Hossein Pishkar (conductor) Joseph Haydn Seven Last Words on the Cross: 4. Sonata 3: Grave Johan Reuter (bass-baritone) Lausanne Chamber Orchestra Hossein Pishkar (conductor) George Frideric Handel Organ Concerto in F, op. 4/4, HWV 292. WDR Symphony Orchestra Marie Jacquot (conductor) To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".