Radio 3 in Concert: Simon Rattle conducts the LSO

Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra perform a strings concert with and for freelance musicians, celebrating the vital role freelancers play in Britain's musical life and drawing attention to the impact the last year of pandemic has had on the freelance profession. Government restrictions have reduced the number of concerts and necessitated smaller numbers of socially distanced musicians on stage, so this configuration of the Orchestra made up of 40 LSO members and 30 freelance 'extras' symbolises both a commitment to freelancers and a hope for a better future. The concert marks the first time a large number of extras have played with the LSO since March 2020. The commitment to freelancers is at the foundation of the LSO, formed over a century ago by a renegade group of musicians whose freelance status in the Queen's Hall Orchestra was threatened: to this day, the LSO is a collective of freelance musicians. The concert, recorded last month at LSO St Luke's and introduced by Martin Handley, includes two 20th-century classics of the string repertoire, Barber's moving Adagio and Vaughan William's other-worldly, ecstatic Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Grieg: Holberg Suite (Prelude). Puccini: Crisantemi. Barber: Adagio. Herrmann: Psycho (Suite from the film). Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. London Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle (conductor)