This album celebrates a warm and close musical relationship between composer, conductor and orchestra – and the extraordinary impact the Covid pandemic had on British cultural life. Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé commissioned and premiered the works on this album between 2020 and 2025, with Huw Watkins writing with the specific sound of the Hallé in mind.

Symphony no.2 and Fanfare for the Hallé were born of the pandemic. The symphony was composed during Covid lockdown and Watkins said this influenced the work’s character, with a determination that it should end positively. This is uplifting music, crafted in a symphonic tradition whilst offering a fresh voice and skilful use of instrumental writing. The performance was awarded the South Bank Sky Arts Classical Music Award for 2022.

The Fanfare for the Hallé was commissioned by the Hallé to celebrate the return of the orchestra to the concert platform following the first Covid lockdown. Scored for 11 brass instruments the work moves from a tentative beginning to a confident and defiant conclusion – arguably reflecting much of the national mood during the pandemic.

Following almost a quarter of a century as Music Director of the Hallé, Sir Mark premiered Watkins’s Concerto for Orchestra in his first concert as Conductor Emeritus. The piece particularly reflects the qualities of the orchestra and its musicians, and their longstanding relationship with Sir Mark. The work exudes positivity, with rhythmic deftness and highly effective orchestral colourations, displaying the musical strengths of all sections of the orchestra, in writing that is beguiling and joyous.

Huw Watkins is acclaimed both as a pianist and composer. He has written a number of concertos for high-profile soloists, alongside a wealth of chamber music and is known for the sensitivity of his writing for the voice. He has written widely praised works for a number of British orchestras, forging close musical relationships, notably with the Hallé and the BBC Orchestra of Wales. Watkins’s work is published by Schott Music.

‘Some new music sounds as if it has always existed. The Concerto for Orchestra is sincere and meaningful, classy contemporary classical music for those who don’t think they like the new stuff.’ – The Times, 12 May 2025