Music Is Power

Mendelssohn’s music was notoriously banned in 1936 by a Nazi regime which labelled the Jewish composer “a dangerous accident of musical history”. Hartmann’s Concerto Funebre, dashed off in the autumn of 1939, represents the contrasting hope and hopelessness of a country plunged into war.

Arvo Pärt and Pēteris Vasks use their music as a vehicle for spiritual questioning, to transcendent effect, and Bach’s ebullient E major concerto is a testament to the pure, uplifting joy of melody and harmony.

Together with world-renowned Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova, join us for an exploration of the political, spiritual and emotional power of music.