Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin directed and played by Pekka Kuusisto

Wayward genius… extraordinary sound… there’s not an inch of formality to Pekka Kuusisto. He is one-of-a-kind - a mesmerising player, with a riveting personality on stage who has earned himself a bit of a maverick reputation. His programme is a sort of musical ‘farewell’ through the last four centuries.

The movements of Ravel’s light-hearted, reflective Tombeau de Couperin, themselves written as commemorations to friends of Ravel, dovetail with works written in times of conflict, including Messiaen’s Abyss of the Birds.

Bartók: Soldier Song

Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin

Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello: Mvt 1

Messiaen: Abîme des Oiseaux from Quatuor pour le fin de Temps

Crumb: God-Music from Black Angels

Biber: Battaglia         

Haydn: Symphony No 45 in F-sharp minor, ‘Farewell’

Pekka Kuusisto: Director/Violin

Maximiliano Martín: Clarinet

Benjamin Marquise Gilmore: Violin

Philip Higham: Cello