Sakari Oramo directs scintillating forces in a divine setting by Britten of W.H. Auden’s poetry; its war-torn angst is dissolved in the triumphant resolution of Sibelius’ grand Fifth Symphony.

Tonight sees the first performance of our newly commissioned horn concerto from Brian Elias, born in India in the year of the first Aldeburgh Festival and a renowned composer of dramatic and colourful music. It is written for former YCAT artist Ben Goldscheider, a fabulous artist and champion of new music who has already premiered over 50 new works.

We also hear Helen Grime’s dreamy Night Songs – inspired by what she describes as the “melancholy yet fantastical” quality of Joseph Cornell’s self-contained miniature worlds, which also catalysed Pavel Kolesnikov’s unforgettable Celestial Navigation two Festivals ago.

The programme continues the thread from the opening weekend’s Nocturne and last Thursday evening’s Refugee: heartstopping musical settings of gripping poetry that speaks of conflict and darkness. Allan Clayton describes Our Hunting Fathers as “an incredible piece. It is daring and experimental in a way that is quite unusual in Britten’s music”. Setting moving words of W.H. Auden, it is generally interpreted as a plea for peace in the midst of gathering storm clouds in the late 1930s. It is equally powerful today, and the music is as dramatic and moving as any by Britten.

The release, the resolution, the inextinguishable hope at the end of this mighty programme is found in Sibelius’ wonderful Fifth Symphony, with its famous transcendent final movement.

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Allan Clayton tenor
Ben Goldscheider French horn
Sakari Oramo conductor