1: Total Immersion: Henri Dutilleux
While orchestras around the country celebrated Dutilleux’s centenary at the start of the year, the BBC Symphony have reserved their tribute for the last of this season’s Total Immersion days. There’s a programme of chamber music, and an evening of shimmering orchestral works conducted by Pascal Rophé.
2: Horns Strings And Harmony
Reliably unpredictable, Benedict Mason is the most enigmatic and elusive of contemporary Brit composers. The first performance of his latest, Horns Strings And Harmony, is the highlight of BCMG’s Mason portrait concert. Also on the bill is an earlier commission, Nodding Trilliums & Curve-Lined Angles.
3: Olli Mustonen
Mustonen first attracted attention as a teenage pianist and composer, and has since built a reputation for eccentricity. In this concert with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, he’s fulfilling those roles plus conducting. Here he presents Sibelius, Beethoven and his own concerto for three violins.
4: Ensemble Modern
The Royal Conservatoire’s annual new music festival, Plug, emphasises young composers – especially the institution’s own products – but there’s always music from farther afield, too. This year, the Frankfurt-based Ensemble Modern give two concerts – one of works by RCS students, the other of pieces from their own vast repertory.
Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland, Glasgow, Thu & Fri
5: Igor Levit
An exceptional young pianist, Levit’s appearances are always worth catching. Happily, he has become a regular at the Wigmore Hall, where he’s revealed his knack for imaginative programme building. The latest is typical: there are works by Bach, and Busoni’s homages to them, including the monumental Fantasia Contrappuntistica.
