With Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Christoph Koncz conducts Britten’s Nocturne with soloist James Ley making his debut in the house. The performance takes place on 8 February. The programme also includes Brahms’ Variations on a theme of Joseph Haydn, and Haydn’s Symphony No.100 (The Military).

A poetic and passionate concert that shows how the genius of the past shines as a frame of understanding for the future - and hits us with raw and authentic emotions.

The light and the dark - the past and the present. These are the contrasts that we encounter in Brahms, Britten and Haydn.

The "Military Symphony" is a whirlwind of energy, humor and surprises. Haydn plays with the contrast between the idyllic and the warlike: Here there is both stately elegance and humor – and a touch of very real horror in the encounter with the horrors of war.

Brahms shows all his love for the music of his great predecessors in the variations on a theme from Haydn's time. It is absolutely wonderful music that radiates Brahms' joy in exploring the great musical community.

We round off the concert with an encounter with the dark at Britten's. Through the greatest English poets, Britten shows us the restless universe of death and sleep. Nocturne is varied and playful music – and the piece gives us a chance to hear a number of the orchestra's musicians in a solo role.