London Philharmonic Orchestra

Passion and grace
Jurowski conducts Verdi’s Requiem

Stravinsky Requiem Canticles
Verdi Requiem

Vladimir Jurowski conductor
Maija Kovalevska soprano
Ildikó Komlósi mezzo soprano
Dmytro Popov tenor
Nikolay Didenko bass*
London Philharmonic Choir
Orféon Pamplonés
London Philharmonic Orchestra

For Giuseppe Verdi it was the deaths of his fellow composer Gioachino Rossini and the literary giant Alessandro Mazzoni. For Igor Stravinsky it was the death of the revered poet TS Eliot. Verdi’s musical commemoration came in the form of a highly charged Requiem that was so forthright and hard-hitting in its expression of grief, faith and judgment that many thought it too dramatic for performance in church. Stravinsky wrote his short Introitus for male voices in memory of Eliot, which led soon thereafter to a setting of Requiem verses that couldn’t be more different to Verdi’s. Stravinsky’s Requiem Canticles focused on ritual rather than expression; on calm detachment rather than overwhelming grief.

We are grateful to an anonymous donor for supporting the participation of Orféon Pamplonés in this concert.

This concert will be broadcast live by the BBC on Radio 3 Live In Concert – live concerts every day of the week.

*Please note a change to the artist as originally advertised.