Hear the UK premiere of Hallé Featured Composer, Unsuk Chin’s shimmering Le Silence des Sirènes, ‘a dazzling reflection on Homer’s formidable femmes fatales’ (Financial Times).

From its atmospheric beginning, Le Silence des Sirènes evokes vivid imagery of ill-fated ships on top of great, swelling waves: the score is alive with crashing percussion and warning brass interjections, the enigmatic sirens’ song provided by Faustine de Monès. Unsuk Chin drew upon several classical sources for the work, including Homer, Joyce and – most notably – Kafka, whose short story gave the work its name.  

Britten’s Four Sea Interludes opens the programme: orchestral ‘scene changes’ from his opera Peter Grimes conveying the changing mood of the storytelling, but always with an atmospheric undercurrent of foreboding. Schubert’s majestic Symphony No.9 will round off the evening, with conductor Elena Schwarz showing us exactly why it’s known as ‘The Great’. 

 

Get to know the music