Philharmonia: Jess Gillam plays Glazunov

SANTTU-MATIAS ROUVALI conductor

JESS GILLAM saxophone

SHOSTAKOVICH Suite from Moscow, Cheryomushki (arr. Cornall)
GLAZUNOV Saxophone Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, Pathétique

‘EVERYONE’S FAVOURITE SAXOPHONIST’ (The Times), Jess Gillam, joins the Philharmonia's Principal Conductor for an evening of irresistible tunes. 

By the age of 23, British saxophonist Jess Gillam had topped the UK Classical Charts, won a BRIT Award, and debuted at the BBC Proms. Tonight, the household name shows us exactly what the saxophone can do, in Glazunov’s 1934 concerto. Much like its performer this evening, this piece helped put the instrument on the classical music map.

Santtu opens the concert with music by Glazunov’s student, Shostakovich: the suite from his satirical operetta, Moscow, Cheryomushki. Humour, lilting waltzes and fiery dances are packed into its four movements – it’s music that’s well worth discovering.

The concert ends with Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony. Entitled “THE PASSIONATE SYMPHONY” by the composer – and passionate it is – this is the work of a composer at the top of his game and remains one of the most popular in the canon.