Leonard Bernstein At 100: Britten, Bernstein And Copland

Celebrating the centenary of the iconic classical and Hollywood composer Leonard Bernstein, this serene evening spent in the company of the talented pairing of American cellist Anna Litvinenko and Royal College Of Music pianist Craig White encapsulated the importance of this musical giant. Litvinenko’s soulful cello veered from eery to mellifluous on Benjamin Britten’s Sonata in C, then exploded into life as string plucks became shrieks and White’s booming piano crashed to the fore in Bernstein’s epic 1971 religious meditation, Mass. The performers’ endearing enthusiasm shone through in an audience address preceding the climax of Aaron Copland’s deceptively sweet-sounding Billy The Kid.

St Paul’s Church, Brighton, 9 May 2018

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