Speaking of his appointment beforehand as a “homecoming”, Rattle said how lucky he felt to be at the beginning of a journey with the orchestra at “this very strange time in the 21st century” and pledged himself to encourage new music by present day composers.
The inaugural concert kicked off with an all-British roster of composers, beginning with the world premiere of “Fanfare” by the 36-year-old composer Helen Grime.
A five-minute splash of lightness and energy, it was followed by Thomas Adès’ four movement Asyla, that marched to a distinctly heavier beat, culminating in a pounding finale. Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s Violin Concerto drew a virtuoso performance from Christian Tetzlaff in an ingenious work which is a series of “discussions” between soloist and different instruments in the orchestra.
After Oliver Knussen’s sensuous Symphony No 3, it was the turn of the past for Sir Edward Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations in its entirety. Suddenly the familiar work, played exquisitely by the LSO, was new and exciting, especially so in the breathless hush at the beginning of the Nimrod adagio.
New Music Britain by the London Symphony Orchestra/Rattle Barbican Hall, London EC2 (Tickets: 020 7638 8891/barbican.org.uk; ends today )