Proms 2022 Prom 5: Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony

‘They want me to write differently,’ said Anton Bruckner. ‘Certainly I could, but I must not.’ And from its quiet opening pulse to its towering finish, it’s hard to imagine his mighty Sixth Symphony unfolding any other way: one man’s utterly individual voyage towards heaven, expressed in music of quiet wonder and mountainous grandeur. The BBC Philharmonic’s former Chief Conductor Juanjo Mena cares deeply about this symphony, and tonight it’s the climax of an evening that begins with Webern’s jewel-like setting of Bruckner’s great hero Bach, and the Viola Concerto by Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan, performed by its dedicatee Lawrence Power.

Image: Lawrence Power © Jack Liebeck