BBC NOW 2022-23 Season Tadaaki Otaka conducts Britten and Elgar

Much-loved Conductor Laureate Tadaaki Otaka returns to BBC NOW for firm favourites by Elgar and Britten, alongside Elizabeth Maconchy’s charmingly evocative Nocturne for Orchestra.

In this all British programme, exploring the music of three contemporaries of the 20th Century, we’re joined by radiant Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma for Britten’s ever-popular Violin Concerto. With edgy ambivalence, expressed through intricate harmonies, lyrically introspective themes and vigorous rhythmic figures, the concerto is a virtuosic display of extraordinary power.

The music of Elgar holds a special place in Tadaaki’s heart, and audiences are in for a real treat with his Second Symphony. Tremendous in energy, opulence and musical athleticism, the symphony is a rhapsodic flow of original melodies, rhythmic playfulness and intricate, pearly, luminous qualities. This is certainly a concert not to be missed…