Time flies. It seems like last week, but it’s actually been a year since Simon Rattle’s triumphant homecoming to take charge of the London Symphony Orchestra. And while relationships between conductors and their bands usually involve honeymoons that fade into mutual loathing, this one hasn’t put a foot wrong yet. It’s still a lovefest with outstanding concerts like the one that opened the new season at the Barbican.
Observing Rattle’s promise to give time to English repertoire, the programme started with a new orchestral fanfare by Harrison Birtwistle (a firebrand now matured into a grand old man but still producing music of a kind that dazzles as it challenges), and then moved on to other composers who, across time, have combined edge with accessibility.
