That big theme, admits current Proms director David Pickard, stole up on him almost unawares. “When you ask someone to write about nature now,” he says, “they are not necessarily writing about it in a romantic way, in the way Beethoven did. Photograph: Westend61/Getty ImagesMaster of the Queen’s music Judith Weir’s orchestral piece Forest dates from 1995. “However, I am a composer and I believe profoundly in the intrinsic power and value of music as music. And Jocelyn Pook has written a new piece that sets words from speeches by environmental activist Greta Thunberg to music.

Source: The Guardian July 18, 2019 04:52 UTC