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Moments Remembered
For most of us, music is inextricably tied up with memory.
We’ve all experienced the flood of recollections and emotions that rushes in when a certain melody starts to play. But personal memories can play tricks, and public memory – the stories, beliefs and monuments with which we create and sustain a society – is slippier still. As Beethoven realised after dedicating his Third Symphony to Napoleon, today’s hero might be tomorrow’s villain. That’s the concept behind Moments Remembered.
Our 2024/25 season is punctuated by pieces that grapple with these ideas. Some were conceived as public memorials, some rather more intimate. The composers featured all have memories to share: sometimes fantastic, sometimes vivid, but always intensely personal. Music’s unique relationship with memory comes into play outside the concert hall too, as we join with organisations dealing with memory loss and dementia to work together on some special projects this season.
‘Each of us consists of multiple types of memories’ says the LPO’s Artistic Director Elena Dubinets. ‘We epitomise our times, our countries, our families and our personal situations. What interests me is the crossroads of our feelings. And that’s the beauty of our art form: emotionally, it might inspire very different reactions in any given moment.’ But one function of art is to help us ask questions. And in all its contradictory forms, memory – like music – is part of what makes us human.
The Chamber Sessions
Get closer to the action.
Get closer to the action in three special rush hour concerts from the London Philharmonic Orchestra at St John’s Church, Waterloo. This is chamber music, for sure – but there’s nothing small about the emotions.
All concerts start at 6.30pm and have no interval.
