Romeo and Juliet

The music

• Gabriela Lena Frank Contested Eden (UK premiere) (13’)
Walton Cello Concerto (30’) Listen
Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (excerpts) (37’) Listen

The performers

• Gemma New* conductor
• Nicolas Altstaedt cello

Three composers, three visions of paradise.

Sergei Prokofiev was the bad boy of Russian music; Romeo and Juliet is the greatest love story ever told. Not an obvious match – but somehow, they clicked, and Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet drives straight to the raw, tender heart of Shakespeare’s drama. Tonight, it’s one of three very different visions of paradise from guest conductor Gemma New. Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt plays the sun-kissed concerto that William Walton composed on a Mediterranean island. Meanwhile, with the UK premiere of Contested Eden, composer Gabriela Lena Frank joins our Harmony with Nature debate with a very personal response to California’s wildfires.

*Please note change of conductor. Elim Chan has had to withdraw from this concert due to illness, but we’re delighted that Gemma New has stepped in to replace her.