The Songs of War: Will Todd and Górecki

Former Music Director of Opera North, Richard Farnes returns to the helm of the Orchestra to present the world premiere of Will Todd’s Songs of Love and Battle. Dedicated to Opera North’s youth ensembles, Todd’s commission is a micro-opera depicting the conflicting emotions of war through the words and poems of Maggie Gottlieb.

Renowned for their melodic intensity and harmonic invention, Todd’s best-known works include Mass in Blue, The Blackened Man and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Górecki’s third symphony, known as his ‘Symphony of Sorrowful Songs’, picks up the theme of loss and separation caused by conflict through three Polish texts. The second text, a message written on the wall of a Gestapo cell during World War II, is arguably one of the most famous pieces of music from the late 20th Century.

Part of the Kirklees Concert Season 2018/2019

Talking Music starts at 6.40pm - free