Glass and Adams with the Labèque Sisters
Booking for Friends of the Philharmonia opens at 10am on Thursday, 1 July. General booking opens Thursday, 8 July.
Artists
Lawrence Renes – conductor
Katia Labèque – piano
Marielle Labèque – piano
Programme
Philip Glass Prelude to Akhnaten
Philip Glass Les Enfants Terribles arranged for two pianos by Michael Riesman (UK Premiere)
— Interval —
Philip Glass Double Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra
John Adams Doctor Atomic Symphony
From royalty and ritual to the test of the first atomic bomb, power is the thread running through this evening’s concert.
The prelude to Philip Glass’s opera Akhnaten conjures up an ancient world ruled by mystical rites. John Adams’s symphony, based on his opera Dr Atomic, evokes not just a devastated post-nuclear landscape, but the fears and anxieties of those involved in early nuclear testing.
In between, the peerless Labèque sisters join the Philharmonia for Glass’s Double Concerto, a rhythmic and joyful work in which the interplay of the orchestra, the two soloists, and even each of their hands, is constantly shifting. And they give the first UK performance of a two-piano suite adapted by Glass’s long-term collaborator Michael Riesman from the chamber opera Les Enfants Terribles, a dark tale of the power of the human imagination.
Please note this performance replaces the Philharmonia’s screening of Koyaanisqatsi. Due to the pandemic, the Philip Glass Ensemble is regretfully unable to perform, and the screening has therefore been cancelled.
Tickets already purchased for Koyaanisqatsi are valid for this concert.
Need to know
Prices & Discounts
£13 – £65
Multi-buy offer available; under-18s and concessions discounts available (limited availability)
Running time:
1h 45 minutes
Recommended age
From 7+
Programme notes
Free printed programmes will be available at the venue. Read the digital programme notes here.
Box office
Philharmonia Box Office: 0800 652 6717
Insights talk
Find out more about this evening’s concert in a free talk in the Royal Festival Hall at 6pm. No need to book
Before the concert
Insights talk
Thursday 21 October 2021, 6pm, The Clore Ballroom
Kim Polman, founder of Reboot the Future, talks with sustainability campaigner and broadcaster Jonathon Porritt about the relationship between nature and music, his career, and the key issues we face as the world prepares for the start of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. Free, no ticket required. Presented in partnership with Reboot the Future.