London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle Conductor
Krystian Zimerman Piano
Bernstein Symphony No 2 ‘The Age of Anxiety’
Dvořák Slavonic Dances
Janáček Sinfonietta
Sir Simon Rattle made his triumphant return to the UK in 2017 as Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra, following 15 astonishing years as Artistic Director of the Berlin Philharmonic.
Here Rattle and the LSO are joined by the remarkable Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman in the first of the Festival’s celebrations of Leonard Bernstein’s centenary, Symphony No 2 ‘The Age of Anxiety’, which casts its piano soloist as an everyman searching for spiritual meaning in the modern world.
They contrast Bernstein’s gripping explorations with the foot-tapping Slavonic Dances of Dvořák, and the blazing brass fanfares of Janáček’s vibrant, life-affirming Sinfonietta.