Sally Beamish: Distans with Gianandrea Noseda

Sally Beamish Distans: Double Concerto for Violin and Clarinet* (UK premiere)
-Interval-
Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet – Suite

Gianandrea Noseda conductor
Janine Jansen violin
Martin Fröst clarinet
London Symphony Orchestra

Romeo and Juliet; clarinet and violin – some pairings were just meant to be. Gianandrea Noseda conducts Prokofiev’s classic ballet and a brand-new double concerto by Sally Beamish.

‘How silver-sweet sound lovers’ tongues by night, Like softest music to attending ears!’ Shakespeare’s star-cross’d lovers have inspired composers for centuries, but there’s still no interpretation of their tale that quite surpasses Prokofiev’s great Soviet ballet-score: Romeo and Juliet retold in music that’s as sharp as a rapier and as tender as a kiss.

It’s perfect for LSO Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda, an artist whose instinct for drama is matched only by his deep personal affinity with Russian music. First, though, we’re making history again with Distans by Sally Beamish – written in the solitude of lockdown but inspired, she says, “by Janine Jansen and Martin Fröst, who are both exceptional communicators, and who each have compelling onstage presence”. They both perform in this UK premiere.