Saturday 19 September 2026
Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
★ ★★ ★ ★
The Orchestra opens its new season with a stunning homage to nature, and a new piece by Gabriella Smith with a strong ecological theme
Saturday evening’s opening concert of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra’s new season, under Chief Conductor John Storgårds, took nature as its theme. It began with the Prelude from Richard Wagner’s opera Lohengrin. The opera is based on the legend of the Knight of the Swan, in which Lohengrin appears in a boat drawn by a swan. Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 ends with the Swan Hymn, inspired by the composer’s sighting of 16 swans flying above him. Breathing Forests was written in 2021 by the American composer Gabriella Smith, who originally wanted to be an ecologist. Her organ concerto is a meditation on ‘the complex relationship between humans, forests, climate change and fire.’
‘A lovely opening to the orchestra’s new season.’
The Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin describes the appearance of the Grail, in Wagner’s words, ‘out of the clear blue ether of the sky… radiating fiery beams and shaking the soul with emotion.’ A host of angels transports the Grail down to Earth, and the piece reaches its climax as it arrives, after which the angels return to heaven. On Saturday, the piece began with golden-voiced upper strings in perfect ensemble, creating a magical, almost mystical sound, quietly uplifting. Glowing woodwinds created hymn-like textures, with a sense of stasis combined with gradual movement; looking forward to Sibelius’ swans, it was possible to imagine the Grail floating gently down like birds floating on warm air currents. Storgårds’ conducting was calm and measured, as a gentle bloom of brass led to the emotional climax. The climax subsided as the Grail landed on Earth and the mesmerising opening strings returned: a lovely opening to the orchestra’s new season.
‘The BBC Philharmonic gave a totally committed performance, making this challenging work utterly convincing.’
Gabriella Smiths’ Breathing Forests describes the forest fires that the composer grew up with in California. She says that the use of ‘prescribed burns’ to destroy vegetation and limit fires can be ‘a vital part of many ecosystems.’ The work laments the loss of forests, ‘our planet’s biggest carbon sinks’, but ends with a joyful call to action in the fight for the planet’s future. Smith, whose work often uses extended techniques, felt ‘out of her comfort zone’ when composing the piece, an organ concerto for Saturday’s soloist, James McVinnie, as the organ doesn’t lend itself to being played in an unusual way
The orchestra used several extended techniques, beginning with Growth, bows scraped across strings, dystopian brass fanfares and screaming strings created the teeming noises of nature coming to life with intense difficulty. Beneath the sounds of difficult birth, the organ, played magnificently throughout by McVinnie, provided a different approach to birth in the natural world: calm and nurturing. The music rose up, like sunflowers seeking the sun, but rasping brass suggested doubt beneath the glittering surface.
Breathe used a fascinating range of string sounds, including clattering bows and long held notes, as if the universe were breathing. Sweeping string sounds evoked a flock of birds flying high above the forest, like Sibelius’ swans. The organ played slow, reassuring chords beneath, like the ancient forest below. The birds sounded more anguished, but the forest reasserted itself with a glowing, suddenly consonant chord amid the musical maelstrom, reaching a formidable climax before the horns played shuddering breathing noises, blowing into their instruments.
Burn began with more extended techniques, creating the crackling, creaking sounds of fire, with harmonics and plucking sounds: a remarkable soundscape. The organ, which again felt like the spirit of an ancient forest, asserted itself with another simple chord. Brass and organ overwhelmed the strings, and the running organ figures felt like dancing flames, the fire a force for good. A truly terrifying climax suggested fire’s destructive power. Horrific crashes felt like trees falling in extreme heat.
The ending was hopeful, as organ and orchestra came together in a triumphant chord. It’s a remarkable piece, with a unique sound world. The BBC Philharmonic gave a totally committed performance, making this challenging work utterly convincing.
‘Today at ten to eleven I saw 16 swans. One of my greatest experiences! Lord God, that beauty! They circled over me for a long time. Disappeared into the solar haze like a gleaming, silver ribbon.’ Jean Sibelius’ diary entry dated 21 April 1915
To adapt a phrase in Sarah Moynihan’s programme note, one could imagine the opening hunting horn in Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 sounding across ‘an imagined forest in ancient Finland.’ The orchestra played with characteristic precision and passion; the strings felt organic and alive, with richly warm brass. A theme in the lower strings was perfectly paced, reaching for the light. The strings swirled like forest undergrowth, playing with sweeping panache. Then, in what Stephen Johnson describes as ‘a phenomenal feat of musical engineering’, the movement morphed into a scherzo which had originally been a separate movement. The grafting together of two separate sections is an astonishing decision, fully vindicated here by the joyful confidence and verve with which the orchestra played here; as Johnson says, ‘we’re experiencing the musical equivalent of white-water riding.’
‘The orchestra’s playing brought great hope for another superb season of music-making, continuing the winning streak of previous seasons.’
The second movement is a series of variations. Storgårds brought out the pizzicato theme with stunning precision. He drew out every musical line perfectly, bringing out all the detail while always maintaining an urgent sense of momentum. The orchestra played the lilting, dancing section superbly.
The final movement began with swirling strings, evoking the composer’s excitement as he saw the swans approaching. The Swan Hymn created a majestic sense of inevitability. A mesmerising quiet section followed, where scurrying upper strings joined the cellos as the music returned to the swan theme in fragmentary form. The horns tentatively brought back the theme, and the trumpets picked it up with an anguished cry. Storgårds brought out all the drama of the struggle to reach the theme again, and the final six chords of the symphony were executed with wonderful precision. The orchestra’s playing brought great hope for another superb season of music-making, continuing the winning streak of previous seasons.
Programme
Richard Wagner Lohengrin: Prelude to Act I
Gabriella Smith Breathing Forests, Concerto for Organ and Orchestra
Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 5
Performers
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds conductor
James McVinnie Organ
The concert was recorded and will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s In Concert on Wednesday 23 September at 19.30, and will be available for 30 days after broadcast via BBC Sounds
Now read on…
Stephen Johnson’s new book Music Lessons: Seven Composers and What They Taught Me includes a chapter on Sibelius 5. Review here…