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A Meditation on Life

BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oramo

Sakari Oramo conductor

An evening-long meditation on life and the hereafter, devised by Sakari Oramo and featuring the UK premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s astonishing final masterpiece Hush

Hush…when the great Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho died in 2023, she left behind her a trumpet concerto unlike any other, crafted to showcase the remarkable, genre-crossing artistry of trumpeter Verneri Pohjola. He gives its UK premiere tonight. a final, profoundly moving testament from one of our century’s greatest creative spirits, as she took her own 'journey to silence'.

A jewel as rare as this demands a very special setting, and Sakari Oramo – a lifelong admirer of Saariaho’s music – has placed Hush at the centre of a concert that begins with Gustav Mahler gazing into the abyss, and ends with Vaughan Williams’s vision of beauty soaring clear and free. BBC SO leader Igor Yuzefovich plays The Lark Ascending, and the BBC Symphony Chorus sings Towards the Unknown Region: another timeless meditation on an eternal question. 

This performance will finish at approximately 9.45pm.

Produced by the BBC Symphony Orchestra

£10

Aged 14–25? Join Young Barbican for free.

Subject to availability

50% off tickets for under-18s.

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Please select the relevant preferences on the access registration page during your booking so we can provide you with the correct information and discounts.

Booking a wheelchair space: Select a seat displaying the wheelchair user icon and then select wheelchair user ticket type. The ticket will be priced at the lowest price for that event. If you need an essential companion, please select the click the E icon next to the wheelchair space you have selected. 

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20% discount for groups of 10+. Contact [email protected] to make a group booking.

Subject to availability.

*Excludes £4 booking fee

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