Harrison Birtwistle Piano Concerto

London Philharmonic Orchestra, United Kingdom

The London Philharmonic Orchestra wishes to mark the eightieth birthday of British composer Harrison Birtwistle by commissioning and performing a new Piano Concerto specially created for virtuosic French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. The Piano Concerto, supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, will receive its UK premiere as part of the LPO's season at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall and will be conducted by the Orchestra's Principal Conductor, Vladimir Jurowski, who is a major champion of new music and inventive, adventurous programming. The other pieces in the concert will be Stravinsky's works 'Orpheus' and 'Symphonies of Wind Instruments' as well as Messiaen's 'Oiseaux Exotiques'. Harrison Birtwistle is a grandee of European contemporary music. His works combine modernist aesthetic with mythic power and emotional impact, often taking inspiration from contemporary art and the rituals of classical mythology. Orchestral works include BBC Proms commission, 'Panic' and 'The Minotaur' for The Royal Opera. He won the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 1995. 
In order to to offer maximum legacy and global exposure for the new work in a variety of territories, the LPO has put together a consortium of co-commissioning partners. This guarantees four performances of the work across two continents in the space of just four months and offers the possibility that it will be taken up quickly by other orchestras, promoters and venues. The co-commissioners are Bayerischer Rundfunk Musica Viva (Munich), Casa da Musica (Porto) and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

24 October 2014
Herkulessaal, Münchner Residenz, Germany 

1 November 2014
Casa da Music, Porto, Portugal 

12 December 2014
Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London, Great Britain 

9 February 2015 
Symphony Hall, Boston, USA 

Further information: 
www.lpo.org.uk