Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet at Glyndebourne in 2017 had a resonance beyond that initial production. The opera has travelled as far as the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Dean subsequently became composer-in-residence at the London Philharmonic, Glyndebourne’s resident orchestra.This two-disc set forms a handsome memento of his residency with that ensemble from 2020 to 2023. Seven works, all recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall, afford a wide-ranging conspectus of the Australian composer’s music over a quarter of a century.Dean’s Hamlet has also spawned various satellite works. One of these is The Players (2018-2019), a concerto for accordion derived from sketches that he made for Shakespeare’s scene with the travelling theatrical players. The music is playful, flamboyant, with a hint of Stravinsky’s Petrushka.This is in contrast to the prevailing mood. The Cello Concerto (2018) is typically uneasy, creating an empty landscape haunted by tolling bells where cellist, Alban Gerhardt, and lower strings engage in strange, disembodied trills. In The Viola Concerto (2004) soloist Lawrence Power contrasts an eerie serenity and a nightmare-like chase.Although Dean’s ideas are not always memorable, he is hugely creative at writing for orchestra and the London Philharmonic, under various conductors, makes the most of the opportunities. Among the other highlights are the edgy nocturnal soundscape Notturno inquieto (2018) and sopranos Emma Bell and Elsa Dreisig as Queen Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots, in the dramatic scena In spe contra spem (2022).★★★★☆‘Brett Dean: Viola and Cello Concertos’ is released by London Philharmonic Orchestra
