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Gardiner's Schumann: Symphony No 1

London Symphony Orchestra/Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Photo of Gardiner conducting

Sir John Eliot Gardiner explores Schumann at his most urgent, dramatic and tender.

Desperate, heartfelt and elegant, the Manfred Overture opens with an urgent impetus that only increases through the work, displaying the intense strife which lies ahead for its protagonist. We then hear Beethoven's First Piano Concerto which the composer wrote for himself to premiere; as a prodigious soloist looking to make his name he gave the part grand and daring challenges.

From the dramatic first trumpet-call which awakens the frozen landscape, Schumann’s Symphony No 1 is a celebration of spring. Move through the season and the gruff folksong Scherzo until finally the season departs with a cheery farewell, a jubilant conclusion which dances into summer.

The performance is expected to finish around 9pm, including a 20 minute interval.

Barbican Hall