Summary

There’s nothing like planning someone else’s party and tonight Britten Sinfonia is enjoying the celebrations for the 60th birthday of their close friend, collaborator, distinguished composer and programmer, John Woolrich. It’s a party befitting a key figure on the British music scene whose own take on Purcell and Wolf involves young soprano Sophie Bevan, who also brings a present of Mozart to the evening too. Woolrich himself is inspired by Monteverdi in his piece Ulysses Awakes for solo viola (Britten Sinfonia’s Clare Finnimore) and strings. There’s playful Stravinsky and finally, the main birthday present, the London premiere of Woolrich’s dynamic yet warmly lyrical Violin Concerto assured of a memorable performance by Britten Sinfonia’s own Thomas Gould.