Sir Donald Runnicles
The Magnificent Seven: Donald Runnicles selects some of the best examples of British orchestral repertoire
Interview by Hannah Nepilova
Sir Donald Runnicles studied at the University of Edinburgh and St John’s College, Cambridge, before beginning his career as a singers’ coach and assistant conductor in Mannheim, Germany. He has served as music director and principal conductor of San Francisco Opera, music director of the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming, and chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. This autumn, he begins his tenure as chief conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic, launching the season with a British Festival highlighting leading artists and compositions from the UK.
Gustav Holst: The Planets
The Planets is rightly one of the pillars of British music and one of the most popular works for both audiences and orchestras. It is so well orchestrated, and each movement is an extraordinary depiction not just of a celestial object, but of a feeling and a personality — you can almost imagine the planets as human beings. Jupiter brims with joy, Venus features some of the most serene music in the world, and as a whole the piece exudes a sense of mystery and timelessness. That you will often hear snippets of it in many different contexts is testament to its brilliance.
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
There is a reason this piece consistently appears in Classic FM’s top ten. I have performed it fairly frequently, and it continues to take my breath away. With those first ethereal G major chords, you really do feel that you have entered a mystical, magical space. It is a cathedral of sound, with a strong sense of geography: some of the music seems to come from behind you, some from the nave, and some from above. At the same time, it feels like a deeply personal work.
Benjamin Britten: War Requiem
I performed this work in my most recent concert in Dresden with the Dresden Philharmonic on 13 February this year — the anniversary of the firebombing of the city — and bringing this piece there was profoundly significant. I find its power, and sadly its continuing relevance, astonishing. The idea of combining the timelessness of the Latin Mass with the brutal specificity of Wilfred Owen’s poetry is remarkable. In lesser hands, such a juxtaposition might jar, but here it becomes something heartbreakingly sad and, at the same time, deeply beautiful.
James MacMillan: Symphony No. 4
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5
William Walton: Symphony No. 1