The Rite of Spring

Primal power unleashed

In the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s death, young firebrand conductor Adam Hickox returns with music by the great composer, drenched in rustic charm and nostalgia. A similar primal yearning drives Stravinsky’s revolutionary The Rite of Spring, and the world premiere of Gavin Higgins’ new Clarinet Concerto is given by Mark Simpson as his time as our Artist in Residence comes to a close. Raised in a ‘heart-shaped’ territory on the Welsh border, a woodland region with its own dialect, Higgins’ musical language is also unique, infused with spirituality and an affinity with nature.