Published: 02 April 2012
Category: Artists

On 18 April, Colin Currie performs the world premiere of a new percussion concerto written for him by Finnish composer Kalevi Aho with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Osmo Vänskä. Commissioned by the LPO, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestras and the Finnish LuostoClassic Festival, the work’s first performance takes place in the Royal Festival Hall at London’s Southbank Centre, where Currie is Artist in Residence.

The world premiere is followed by performances by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at LuostoClassic in August 2012 conducted by John Storgårds and with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in 2012/13.

Speaking about the Percussion Concerto ahead of its premiere, Currie said: “I am immediately convinced it is a very great masterpiece of the genre and an extremely serious contribution to the symphonic literature. The use of the percussion instruments is very dramatic and at all times very lyrical, using a great variety of sounds on a cleverly selective set-up. The orchestra is put to full use also (this was one of the composer’s conceits, to have a percussion concerto which also has a vitally significant role for the orchestra) and there are two important orchestral percussion parts and one for the timpanist as well. I do feel that the work is also fundamentally one of the most communicative pieces in my repertoire and destined to connect powerfully with the audience as the music brims with flare, groove and colour.”

The concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

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