There’s no denying the potent rhythmic urgency of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.

Its giddying, propulsive movement finds contrast in the mysterious stillness of Sibelius’s Tapiola, inspired by the spirit of Finland’s dusky forests, its wood-sprites and magic secrets.

Jón Leifs’s Organ Concerto harnesses the full power and scope of the Royal Albert Hall’s organ in its massive musical gestures, while Anders Hillborg’s Beast Sampler promises to strip away all we know of the symphony orchestra, transforming it into a ‘sound animal’.

Sibelius
Tapiola 18’

Leifs
Organ Concerto 20’

interval

Anders Hillborg
Beast Sampler 11’
UK premiere

Beethoven
Symphony No. 7 in A major 36’

Stephen Farr organ

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo conductor