10 August, 7.30pm
Usher Hall
Lothian Road
Edinburgh EH1 2EA
Tickets £16 - £49
Bernstein Symphony No 2 ‘The Age of Anxiety’
Dvořák Slavonic Dances
Janáček Sinfonietta
Sir Simon Rattle conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in the first of the Festival’s celebrations of Leonard Bernstein’s centenary. Simon Rattle and the LSO, joined by the Polish piano legend Krystian Zimerman, offer a real musical treat by bringing Berstein’s rarely performed Symphony No 2 to Edinburgh. The symphony, based on W. H. Auden’s 1947 poem The Age of Anxiety, explores the search for faith in a world overturned by war, a theme which Bernstein distils into the electrifying lead piano. Zimerman, hailing from the great Polish tradition of piano virtuosity stretching back to Chopin, has left a deep impression on critics and audiences with his rendition of the solo. The work incorporates elements of jazz, and Berstein’s immersion in dance and theatre are evident throughout.