London Phoenix Orchestra: West Side And East

For a long time, the music of Nikolai Kapustin was known only to a few people in the Soviet Union.

It’s only in the last couple of decades that his unique fusion of classical and jazz has reached a wider audience.London Phoenix Orchestra are joined by Kapustin specialist Ophelia Gordon, whose debut album of his music has been highly acclaimed, for a rare performance of his Fifth Piano Concerto.William Grant Still’s First Symphony, ‘Afro-American’, provides contrast and context for the Kapustin – the first symphony written by an African American to be performed by a major orchestra, it combines classical form with the language of the blues.Bernstein’s roof-raising Symphonic Dances from West Side Story bring this unique evening together.“[Ophelia] really knows how to make Kapustin’s melodic lines and rhythm swing” BBC Music Magazine