Gianandrea Noseda conducts Verdi's Requiem – With Erika Grimaldi, Daniela Barcellona, Francesco Meli and Michele Pertusi

Widely recognized as one of the leading conductors of his generation, Gianandrea Noseda is the International Opera Awards Conductor of the year 2016 and the Musical America's Conductor of the year 2015. For his first concert as Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, the milanese Maestro conducts Verdi's Requiem, a piece he masters perfectly. He launches the season in style, gathering the four opera Italian stars Erika Grimaldi (soprano), Daniela Barcellona (mezzo-soprano), Francesco Meli (tenor) and Michele Pertusi (baritone), joined by the London Symphony Chorus and its Chorus Master Simon Halsey.

Performed for the first time in 1874, on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death, Verdi's Requiem shows the composer's mastery of choral writing. His writing for the four vocal soloists is both personal and virtuoso. Few pieces in the repertoire offer as much drama as this work. After hearing it for the first time, Brahms said: "Only a genius could write something like this."