An evening of cosmic music with the LPO

The first item of this concert was Brett Dean's Komarov's Fall. I thought it was entertaining - that the violins imitated the bleeping sounds inside the space capsule, and the "panic" in the control room, and the fateful fall. No doubt it's a good piece to introduce to young kids with astronomy / astrophysics aspirations. And this formed a not-too-demanding opener of this concert with Marin Alsop conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

This was followed by John Adams Doctor Atomic Symphony. Having seen the opera quite recently at the English National Opera, I was intrigued by how this might sound - and whether it conveys the full range of emotions. On balance it was an atmospheric work - and the famous aria sung by Oppenheimer was carried over as a trumpet solo. It worked I thought. And the LPO played beautifully under Marin Alsop's direction.

The final item was Gustav Holst's The Planet Suite. So often one hears bits of it on the radio. And one is inclined to think it is over-programmed. Yet asking around, I found my fellow concert goers hadn't listened to it live and in its totality for years. The orchestra played the work with conviction - and delivering the details. The sopranos and altos of the London Philharmonic Choir appeared right at the end of "Neptune" singing a fiendishly difficult passage portraying an other-worldly sound. All in all, it was a satisfying and enjoyable concert.

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Hearing the Berlin Philharmonic at the Philharmonie

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