Proms 2017: Birtwistle, Elgar, and a political point

[sawyl]

The second of Daniel Barenboim and Staatskapelle Berlin's two proms, open with the UK premier of Harrison Birtwistle's Deep Time — an intriguing and engaging piece that shows Birtwistle at his best. Rather touchingly, the piece was dedicated to the memory of Birtwistle's old friend Peter Maxwell Davies, who died last year. The second half rounded out the programme started by Staatskapelle Berlin on Saturday, with a performance of Elgar's Symphony No. 2 — a piece I like more than the first — with Nimrod from the Enigma Variations as an encore. After a short, impassioned speech from Barenboim which talked about cross-cultural communication and which, very deliberately, didn't mention Brexit by name, the orchestra rounded off with another performance of Land of Hope and Glory; a pointed message from a man who has devoted a great deal energy to breaking down barriers.