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John Luther Adams' 'Become Ocean'

The ѿý Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dalia Stasevska performs three grand canvas works: Luther Adams's Become Ocean, Ligeti's Atmosphères, and Anna Thorvaldsdottir's ARCHORA.

The ѿý Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dalia Stasevska performs three grand canvas works: Luther Adams's Become Ocean, Ligeti's Atmosphères and Thorvaldsdottir's ARCHORA.

Live from the Barbican, London. Presented by Petroc Trelawny.

Anna Thorvaldsdottir: ARCHORA
György Ligeti: Atmosphères
John Luther Adams: Become Ocean

ѿý Symphony Orchestra,
Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

Listening, we become ocean…engulfed in sound, immersed in nature, transformed by the depth and wonder of elements that might (or might not) be beyond our control. Dalia Stasevska conducts one of the defining masterpieces of our century: John Luther Adams’s huge, haunting Become Ocean.

“It may be the loveliest apocalypse in musical history” declared Alex Ross, who admitted that he was left “reeling” by Become Ocean after its premiere in 2013. Since then, it’s gone global: a vast, luminous expanse of music with a troubling but hopeful message about our relationship with nature. For the ѿý Symphony Orchestra’s principal guest conductor Dalia Stasevska – an artist who believes that music is at “the core of humanity” – it’s a story that simply has to be told.

ARCHORA by the Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir portrays abstractions – musical spectra and clashing extremes, explored through her focus on primordial energy and parallel realms. And György Ligeti's 1961 classic Atmosphères, though created by densely patterned experiments, is aurally impressionistic.

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4 days left to listen

2 hours, 14 minutes

Music Played

  • Anna Thorvaldsdottir

    Archora

    Orchestra: ѿý Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Dalia Stasevska.
  • György Ligeti

    Atmospheres

    Orchestra: ѿý Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Dalia Stasevska.
  • John Luther Adams

    Become Ocean

    Orchestra: ѿý Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Dalia Stasevska.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Sonata in C major for piano duet, K 521

    Performer: Christoph Eschenbach. Performer: Justus Frantz.
    • Mozart: Music for Piano Duet: Justus Frantz, Christoph Eschenbach.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 5.
  • Alexander Glazunov

    Autumn (The Seasons)

    Orchestra: Minnesota Orchestra. Conductor: Edo de Waart.
    • TELARC DIGITAL.
  • Antonín Dvořák

    Romance in F minor, Op 11

    Performer: Anne‐Sophie Mutter. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Manfred Honeck.
    • Dvorak - Anne-Sophie Mutter.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 004.

Broadcast

  • Wed 8 Oct 2025 19:30

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