Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra

In 2016, English author David Mitchell handed a novella to the staff of a library that was about to be inaugurated in Oslo and asked them to seal it away until 2114. Anyone consumed by curiosity about what a work being locked away from prying eyes for close to a century could be about, might now have a glimmer of hope. The title of the novella – From me flows what you call Time – is identical to that of a Japanese piece of music. In 1990, Toru Takemitsu composed his unusual concerto for five percussion soloists and orchestra for the 100th anniversary of Carnegie Hall in New York. The Amadinda Percussion Group guarantee that time flows nicely in this concert. ▪ Two English symphonies created at almost the same time (between 1933 and 1935) come before and after the Japanese concerto. One is by a youthful Britten, who put together this string orchestral work in four movements from themes he wrote in his childhood, and the other is by Walton, who was 11 years older than Britten, and marks his first foray into the genre. A British musicologist reckoned that although it was unlikely posterity would rank William Walton among the greats of the 20th century, his first symphony would certainly be considered among the significant works of the century.