London Philharmonic Orchestra: Raskatov’s Green Mass

Beethoven Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral)
Alexander Raskatov Green Mass (world premiere)*

Vladimir Jurowski conductor
Elena Vassilieva soprano
Iestyn Davies countertenor
Mark Padmore tenor
Nikolay Didenko bass
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge

‘I miss Russia, the land of forest and fields. I miss the space.’ So said Alexander Raskatov recently, referring to the work he was writing for Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, a setting of the Latin Mass, with added texts in five languages dedicated to the beauty of nature. At this concert Jurowski and the Orchestra present the world premiere of Raskatov’s Green Mass, alongside the symphony in which Beethoven’s relentless struggles with fate are temporarily set aside. Beethoven himself returns to nature in the ‘Pastoral’ Symphony, his glimpse of the cheerful feelings of childhood and a thanksgiving for the wonders of the earth.

*Commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.