| Performance Notes | Classical music sensation and Royal Albert Hall associate artist Anna Lapwood brings the organ to the fore in her Royal Albert Hall headline debut, accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra and Philharmonia Chorus, conducted by André de Ridder.
This special concert will include two new commissions: the premiere of a work for organ, chorus and orchestra, written for her by acclaimed composer Max Richter, and a piece by exciting young composer Kristina Arakelyan, alongside renditions of Hans Zimmers Chevaliers de Sangreal and Interstellar Suite, and Camille Saint Saëns Symphony No. 3.
Max Richters organ composition is a co-commission by the Royal Albert Hall, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Hallé, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra (US).
Hailed as 'a phenomenon' by the Guardian, Anna has been widely credited with popularising the classical organ, having performed alongside pop artists like RAYE, AURORA and Florence and the Machine, and introduced stars including Tom Cruise and Benedict Cumberbatch to the delights of the instrument, amassing 870,000 TikTok followers in the process.
In the past year, she has sold out performances with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano, and performed major recitals at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles and Boardwalk Hall, New Jersey.
"I am so excited to be able to announce these two new commissions from Max Richter and Kristina Arakelyan, both made possible by the Royal Albert Hall. I feel really strongly about placing the organ at the heart of the classical world instead of on the periphery, and commissioning more music for organ and orchestra lies at the heart of this." Anna Lapwood
"Im so happy to have written this new work for Anna, one of the brightest lights of the contemporary classical scene. Composing the piece has been a wonderful and fascinating challenge; a process of discovering the outer limits of sonic and physical space. I hope that hearing this concerto on that legendary organ, in one of the worlds great venues, will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the audience." Max Richter |