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BBCSO/Oramo review – Turnage’s satisfying and clever Festen Suite makes UK debut
Sakari Oramo conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall for a Proms concert that included the UK premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Festen Suite, an orchestral distillation of his opera based on Thomas Vinterberg's 1998 film. The suite condenses the dark drama of a family gathering where incestuous abuse is exposed, and the review praises it as musically satisfying and clever even without the opera's narrative framework, predicting it will become a frequently performed work.
The eight-movement suite moves between lyrical passages, such as "Blue or Green" and "Grandma's Song", and darker, tension-laden sections like "Conga" and "The Fight", vividly capturing the atmosphere of denial and eventual confrontation. The programme also featured Britten's cello symphony, performed by soloist Guy Johnston in a faithful but understated reading, and closed with Sibelius's Symphony No. 2, which Oramo led with clarity and built to a joyful, grand finale.
In short
- Turnage's Festen Suite receives its UK premiere at the Proms
- BBCSO under Oramo also performed Britten and Sibelius
- Reviewer calls the suite clever and musically satisfying on its own
Explained simply
Festen (Celebration) is a 1998 Danish film directed by Thomas Vinterberg. It depicts a family celebration that becomes a crisis when a son reveals he suffered abuse from his father, forcing the family to face a truth they had previously concealed.
Mark-Anthony Turnage, a British composer, adapted the film into an opera, and has now created the Festen Suite from it. The suite comprises eight orchestral movements that tell the story through instrumental music alone, without sung voices, allowing it to function as a standalone concert work.
The suite receives its UK premiere at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under conductor Sakari Oramo. Premieres of new orchestral works by established composers at major venues represent important moments in concert life, potentially establishing pieces that orchestras programme regularly.
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