Britten: War Requiem: Kazuki Yamada & CBSO

«My subject is War, and the pity of War.»
These words by the poet Wilfred Owen, whose verses mingle with the Latin text of the Mass for the Dead, were taken up by the pacifist Benjamin Britten to describe his deeply moving War Requiem. A work of monumental scale, composed in 1962 for the reconstruction of Coventry Cathedral and now performed for the first time at the Philharmonie, it brings together a Russian soprano (Olga Peretyatko), a British tenor (Andrew Staples) and a German baritone (Christian Gerhaher), in accordance with the composer’s wish for a symbol of unity.

The music: Benjamin Britten: War Requiem
The artists: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus; Trinity Boys Choir; Kazuki Yamada (conducting); Olga Peretyatko (soprano); Andrew Staples (tenor); Christian Gerhaher (baritone)