Benjamin Plays Britten

Benjamin Britten: An American Overture
Benjamin Britten: Piano concerto, Op. 13
William Walton: Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor

Jessica Cottis – conductor
Benjamin Grosvenor – piano

After a successful concert at the Prague Spring Festival, conductor Jessica Cottis joins again the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra in a programme dedicated to English music. It will open with An American Overture, which, as the title suggests, was written by Benjamin Britten during the Second World War in the United States. Then one of the most talented British pianists of today, Benjamin Grosvenor, will perform the Piano Concerto by the same composer, which is several years older and characterised by its energy and wit. Grosvenor, who has performed the work at the BBC Proms, has worked with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chicago and Boston Symphonies, and with conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Kent Nagano and Semyon Bychkov. The London-based Australian conductor will end the evening with William Walton's masterful Symphony No. 1, whose rendition promises to give the audience a great opportunity to get more familiar with the music of this composer.