BBC - Symphony Orchestra

HANS WERNER HENZE Symphony No 9 (UK premiere)
Ingo Metzmacher conductor
Royal Albert Hall (Prom), 1 September 2000
Henze's music has been often premiered by the BBCSO: the first premiere goes back to Ode to the West Wind in 1957, and Henze has himself conducted many studio performances with the orchestra.

MARK-ANTHONY TURNAGE Another Set-To (BBC commission)
Leonard Slatkin conductor
Barbican Hall, 22 October 2000
Inaugurating a new era for the orchestra at the Barbican under Leonard Slatkin, this commission is from the orchestra's first-ever associate composer. Previous BBCSO premieres have included Your Rockaby and Fractured Lines in the 2000 Proms.

FRANCO DONATONI Prom (BBC commission: world premiere)
Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductor
Barbican Hall, 26 May 2001
The world premiere of one of Donatoni's last works, a humourous scherzo composed shortly before his death on 17 August 2000. Originally intended for the BBC Proms this work was finally played in the Royal Albert Hall by the BBC SO during the 2003 Proms.

PHILIP GLASS Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra (European premiere)
Marin Alsop conductor
Barbican Hall, 6 December 2001
Composer portraits, concerts which focus on the work of a single contemporary composer, are an impotant part of the BBC SO's season. This European premiere was given as part of a composer portrait of American composer Philip Glass.

KEVIN VOLANS Concerto for Double Orchestra (BBC commission: world premiere)
Joseph Swensen conductor
Barbican Hall, 9 February 2002
Best known for his African-based peices, this BBC commission from South African-born Kevin Volans came at the beginning of a new phase in his compositional style when he was experiementing with music that is 'full of empty spaces and that allows the listener time to move about in'.

KAIJA SAARIAHO L'amour du loin (UK premiere)
Robert Spano conductor
Barbican Hall, 21 November 2002
Building on the BBC SO's growing reputation for performing operas in concert, L'amour du loin was given its UK premiere in the year that the composer celebrated her 50th birthday. The opera was inspired by the vida breve, the story of the 12th Century troubadour Jaufre, Prince de Blaye.

PETER EOTVOS Jet Stream (BBC commission: world premiere)
Peter Eotvos conductor
Barbican Hall, 15 February 2003
The soloist for the world premiere of this work for trumpet and orchestra was Markus Stockhausen, with whose father Karlheinz, Peter Eotvos enjoyed a close relatinship first as a pupil and then as a colleague.