United Strings of Europe: Through the Night

A special performance of this remarkable ensemble’s new album – exploring the depths of human emotion through music of the night.

United Strings of Europe
Julian Azkoul artistic director
Beibei Wang crotales

Jessie Montgomery:: Starburst (3')
Daniel Kidane:: Be Still (7')
Richard Strauss, arr. Mouret:: Metamorphosen (25')
Purcell, arr. Stokowski:: Dido's Lament (from Dido and Aeneas) (6')
Schoenberg:: Verklärte Nacht (30')

Close-up of musician Beibei Wang looking at the camera holding percussion instruments against a black background — Beibei Wang

Praised for original programming and expressive playing, the United Strings of Europe present a heartfelt sequence of atmospheric music from the new album Through the Night.

Composers from across the ages explore darkness, hope, and transformation through five moving works. ‘When I am laid in earth’ is the wistful final aria of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, while in Schoenberg’s romantic Transfigured Night, guilt and foreboding give way to a stronger bond of love.

Strauss’ haunting and nostalgic Metamorphosen was written in the final year of World War Two. Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst is a colourful exploration of change and transformation and Daniel Kidane’s Be Still is a search for a way forward emerging from the uncertainty of the past five years.