The culmination of V10LA Day, this special evening concert celebrates the viola’s future and rediscovered past. Lawrence Power and Simon Crawford-Phillips perform six world premieres from the inaugural Viola Commissioning Circle Composers Prize alongside the world premiere of Julia Perry’s recently rediscovered Viola Sonata, a rare opportunity to hear both ground-breaking new works and a long-lost masterpiece.

The culmination of V10LA Day brings together two remarkable celebrations of the viola: the unveiling of new musical voices and the rediscovery of a lost masterpiece.

Presented by internationally acclaimed violist Lawrence Power and pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips, this special evening concert features the world premieres of six winning works from the inaugural Viola Commissioning Circle Composers Prize. Selected from more than 150 submissions by composers aged 16–82 from around the world, these works represent some of the most exciting and distinctive voices in contemporary music, showcasing the creativity, diversity and future of the viola repertoire.

The concert culminates in the world premiere of Julia Perry’s recently rediscovered Viola Sonata, performed by Lawrence Power and Simon Crawford-Phillips. Lost for decades and only recently brought to light, this extraordinary work offers audiences a rare opportunity to experience a remarkable chapter of musical history and hear an important addition to the viola repertoire for the very first time.

Combining bold new commissions with a long-silenced masterpiece, this unique concert celebrates the viola’s past, present and future in one evening.

This event will last for approximately 2 hours including an interval.

About Lawrence Power

Internationally acclaimed viola player Lawrence Power is widely praised for his richness of sound, technical mastery and passionate advocacy for new music. Heralded by The New York Times as ‘a musician on a mission to make us pay attention to the viola’, Lawrence has advanced the cause of the viola both through the excellence of his performances, whether in recitals, chamber music or concertos, and through the creation of the Viola Commissioning Circle (VCC), which has led to a substantial body of fresh repertoire. Lawrence has premiered concertos by leading composers such as James MacMillan, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Julian Anderson and Alexander Goehr, and through the VCC has commissioned works by Anders Hillborg, Thomas Adès, Gerald Barry, Cassandra Miller and Magnus Lindberg.

Lawrence opened the season with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Nicholas Collon), performing Berlioz’s Harold in Italy, and appeared again under Collon’s baton alongside violinist Vilde Frang in Britten’s Double Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He will give the world premiere of the Wigglesworth Viola Concerto at the Aldeburgh Festival under the composer’s baton, commissioned through the VCC. Concerto highlights include performances of the critically acclaimed Magnus Lindberg Viola Concerto with the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona (Matthias Pintscher), the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (Ryan Bancroft) and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (Adam Hickox), as well as play-directing the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Further engagements include performances of Cassandra Miller’s I cannot love without trembling with the BBC Philharmonic (Ludovic Morlot) and the Montréal Symphony Orchestra (Elim Chan), Bacewicz’s Viola Concerto with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester (James Gaffigan), and a three-week play-directing tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, including the world premiere of Garth Knox’s Viola Concerto.

Reviews

‘His programming is so imaginative and his musicianship so independent of his instrument that it’s the message, not the medium, that is paramount’ The Strad

About Simon Crawford-Phillips

Simon Crawford-Phillips has built a unique career as a conductor, pianist and creative programmer, recognised for his revealing and eclectic approach to repertoire.

He is Artistic Director of the Swedish National Orchestral Academy (SNOA), Co-Artistic Director of the Nash Ensemble alongside Adrian Brendel, Artistic Director of Sweden’s Change Music Festival, and Co-Artistic Director of the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival. Formerly Chief Conductor of Västerås Sinfonietta, he made a critically acclaimed debut with the Swedish Royal Opera in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

As a chamber musician, Simon regularly collaborates with artists including Daniel Hope, Lawrence Power, Torleif Thedéen, Carolyn Sampson, Pekka Kuusisto, Roderick Williams and Colin Currie, performing repertoire ranging from Haydn and Schumann to Adès, Britta Byström, Brett Dean and Steve Reich. He also recently curated a chamber music series for BBC Radio 3 at LSO St Luke’s.

Alongside an increasingly international conducting career with orchestras including the Helsinki Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony and Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Simon is a committed advocate for contemporary music, having given numerous world premieres and worked closely with composers including Sofia Gubaidulina, Steve Reich, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Huw Watkins.

He performs widely across Europe’s leading festivals and concert halls, has recorded extensively for major labels, and is Professor at the Edsberg Institute, Stockholm Royal Academy of Music and the Academy of Music and Opera at Mälardalen University. Simon is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and a Steinway Artist.

Reviews

‘profound sensitivity and technical brilliance, achieving an expressive intensity that makes for compelling listening.’ The Guardian