Arts and Entertainment Movie Reviews

Sir Simon Rattle has always been an unabashed champion of contemporary music, and the three works on the program of this 2000 concert that Sir Simon conducted with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra were all composed in the 1990s. Hans Werner Henze's brief opener, "A Tempest (Rounds for the Orchestra)," is given a brilliant account by Rattle and company; likewise Simon Holt's "Sunrise' Yellow Noise," a setting of an Emily Dickinson poem, which is sung with piercing clarity by soprano Lisa Milne. Finally, Olivier Messiaen's epic--and last--orchestral work, "Illuminations of the Beyond," has rarely sounded so luminous and, yes, heavenly for its hour. Included is a brief interview snippet with Simon Holt, and a 20-minute interview with Sir Simon, who talks engagingly and with authority about the widely diverse music of the three composers on the program. --Kevin Filipski