Lockhart intent on bringing planet classical down to earth

Conductor Keith Lockhart. Photo: Michael Lutch
Conductor Keith Lockhart. Photo: Michael Lutch


When: 8 p.m. Feb. 15

Where: Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., downtown

Admission: $27-$97

Phone: (858) 459-3728




So what’s Lockhart doing conducting a quintessentially British program of Britten’s Sea Interludes, Elgar’s Cello Concerto (with Sophie Shao) and “Enigma” Variations and Butterworth’s “The Banks of Green Willow” with the BBC Concert Orchestra, which the La Jolla Music Society brings to Copley Symphony Hall on Friday?


He was music director of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, and since 2010, principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra.

“It was fun preparing this program because every British orchestral musician has played the (“Enigma”) Variations pretty much since they could brush their teeth,” Lockhart said. “It really is national music for them and they have a high degree of familiarity with it.


Mind the gap

If you’ve never heard of the BBC Concert Orchestra (one of five BBC orchestras), maybe that’s because you are an American. The British have been listening to it on the BBC since its founding in 1952. Its broadcast on BBC 2, “Friday Night is Music Night,” is among the oldest continuing radio programs in the world and still reaches more than a million listeners. Comprised of 55 musicians with a repertoire ranging from the classics and jazz to experimental and rock music (Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood was composer-in-residence until recently), you’ve likely heard it on any number of BBC-originated shows, including “Planet Earth.”

“It’s a wonderful ensemble,” said Lockhart, speaking on the phone from Boston. “There’s a real feeling of collegiality that extends all the way up to the podium and I like how they approach making music. They are a very versatile group and they dig into everything with the same amount of commitment.”






