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Aldeburgh Festival - Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales perform Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, a world premiere by Freya Waley-Cohen, and Elizabeth Ogonek's Sleep and Unremembrance.

Kevin John Edusei joins the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for the second of two concerts at the Aldeburgh Festival. Dreams pervade the first half, beginning with Elizabeth Ogonek's Sleep & Unremembrance, which was based on a Wisława Szymborska poem about a strange dream. Ogonek's work is a vivid dreamscape, full of twists, turns, and mysteries. The Dreamer follows, a world premiere and BBC co-commission by Freya Waley Cohen, which she wrote for her sister, Tamsin Waley-Cohen. Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances rounds off the concert, his dazzling last orchestral work, which is full of wit and modernism, but never loses the heart we associate with the Russian master.

Elizabeth Ogonek: Sleep and Unremembrance
Freya Waley-Cohen: The Dreamer
Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances, Op 45

Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Kevin John Edusei (conductor)

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2 hours, 14 minutes

Last on

Tue 23 Jun 2026 19:30
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Elizabeth Ogonek

    Sleep and Unremembrance

    Orchestra: BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Conductor: Kevin John Edusei.

  • Freya Waley-Cohen

    Violin Concerto No 1, 'The Dreamer'

    Performer: Tamsin Waley-Cohen. Orchestra: BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Conductor: Kevin John Edusei.

  • Huw Watkins

    Violin Sonata (1st mvt)

    Performer: Huw Watkins. Performer: Tamsin Waley-Cohen.
    • Reflection.
    • Signum.
    • 7.

  • Benjamin Britten

    String Quartet No 1 in D major, Op 25 (1st mvt)

    Ensemble: Britten String Quartet.
    • Benjamin Britten String Quartets No. 1-3.
    • 2014 Ameritz Music Ltd..
    • 1.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Three Symphonic Dances, Op 45

    Orchestra: BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Conductor: Kevin John Edusei.

  • Gabriel Fauré

    Piano Trio in D minor, Op 120

    Performer: Gil Shaham. Performer: Akira Eguchi. Performer: Brinton Averil Smith.
    • Canary Classics.

Broadcast

  • Tue 23 Jun 2026 19:30
    BBC Radio 3

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