Debussy and Miller: From Love to the Sea 2025-2026
This program highlights the viola’s deep, expressive voice in Canadian composer Cassandra Miller’s Concerto, a poignant reflection on separation premiered in 2023 by Lawrence Power. Meanwhile, Debussy paints a vivid portrait of the sea with impressionistic colours, immersing listeners in a nostalgic and dreamlike soundscape. Enjoy a musical journey that is both powerful and poetic.
Coffee is offered courtesy of our Symphonic Matinees presenter, Chartwell, as soon as the doors open.
Voices from the press
« Chan kept the music on a tight leash, controlling the energy carefully, and ending the evening in an exhilarating rush. » – The Times
« The concerto which unfolded with sublime assurance and a transcendental gentleness by the superb soloist Lawrence Power made such a beguiling impact on the ear and so direct an appeal to the emotions that it almost rendered intellectual analysis unnecessary. » – The Times
Artists
Elim Chan, conductor
Lawrence Power, viola
Program
Hector Berlioz, Le Corsaire, Overture, Op. 21, H 101 (8 min)
Cassandra Miller, I cannot love without trembling, Concerto for Viola (25 min) 🍁
Claude Debussy, La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre, L. 109, CD 111 (23 min)
Concert without intermission
Elim Chan
ConductorOne of the most sought-after artists of her generation, conductor Elim Chan embodies the spirit of contemporary orchestral leadership with her crystalline precision and expressive zeal. She served as Principal Conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra between 2019-2024 and Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra between 2018-2023.
Having conducted the First Night of the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2024, Elim Chan returned to the series in 2025 to conduct the renowned Last Night of the Proms.
Highlights in the 2025/26 season include return engagements with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre de Paris, to mention a few; she also debuts with the Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchester der Oper Zürich, Bamberger Symphoniker, and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.
In 2014, Elim Chan became the first female winner of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition and went on to spend her 2015-16 season as Assistant Conductor at the London Symphony Orchestra, where she worked closely with Valery Gergiev. In the following season, she joined the Dudamel Fellowship program of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She also owes much to the support and encouragement of Bernard Haitink.
Lawrence Power
violonistInternationally-acclaimed viola player Lawrence Power is widely praised for his richness of sound, technical mastery and his passionate advocacy for new music. Heralded by the New York Times as “a musician on a mission to make us pay attention to the viola”, Lawrence has advanced the cause of the viola both through the excellence of his performances, whether in recitals, chamber music or concertos and the creation of the Viola Commissioning Circle (VCC), which has led to a substantial body of fresh repertoire for the instrument by today’s finest composers. Lawrence has premiered concertos by leading composers such as James MacMillan, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Julian Anderson, Alexander Goer, and through the VCC has commissioned works by Anders Hillborg, Thomas Adès, Gerald Barry, Cassandra Miller and Magnus Lindberg.
Over the past decade, Lawrence has become a regular guest performer with orchestras of the highest calibre, from Royal Concertgebouw and Bayerischer Rundfunk, to the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and BBC Symphony, with conductors such as Osmo Vänska and Esa-Pekka Salonen, among many others.
Lawrence plays a viola made in Bologna in 1590 by Antonio Brenzi and also a Brothers Amati viola from 1580 on loan from the Karolina Blaberg Stifftung.
Subscription, for the finest experience.
Save 25% when you subscribe to 4 concerts! Where your classics takes center stage.
I donate to the OSM
A tax receipt is issued by the OSM for all donations of $25 or more. For any amount under $25, a receipt will be issued upon request.