In a restless and angry world, music battles to make itself heard. And then, from amidst the turmoil and strife, a woman’s voice breaks through – singing not a hymn to joy, but a heartfelt and sorrowful blues. Michael Tippett had the idea for his Third Symphony while at the Edinburgh International Festival; written during the ‘Summer of Love’, it’s a masterpiece with an urgent message for the 21st century. And it’s a wonderfully appropriate counterpart to Elgar’s Sea Pictures. Songs of beauty, longing and despair from a composer who was anything but a stiff old Edwardian gent, sung here by the great Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill.
(approximate finish time: 9:30pm)
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room
Diana Burrell, composer and Tippett aficionado, talks about her own response to Tippett’s unique musical voice. Preludes take place in the Recital Room at City Halls and are free to ticket-holders (limited seating availability).
The concert will be broadcast live on Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3, presented by Andrew McGregor.