The BBC Proms came to a close last night with the feverish excitement of the Last Night. As ever it offered a huge range of music, but one performance in particular drew the eye – a spectacular account, from Yuja Wang and the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo, of Samuel Barber‘s Piano Concerto, completed in 1962.
Difficult to reconcile that this was the same composer of the Adagio for Strings, and the melt-in-the-middle Violin Concerto – this was forthright pianism, terrifically played but still with a deeply emotive heart.
You can watch Yuja Wang’s account here…but below is the premiere recording made by John Browning, who Barber had in mind when he wrote the work. Here he is with the Cleveland Orchestra and George Szell:
Published post no.3,316 – Sunday 13 September 2026
by Ben Hogwood, with text lifted from the press release
It is interesting to monitor the regularity with which Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings gets remixed in dance circles. The track is clearly a hugely popular bridge between classical music and trance – and another new take confirms its staying power.
Here, from the press release, “Three major names in electronic music come together for a powerful new take on one of the most recognizable records in dance music history. Brennan Heart, HI-LO, and Project Zeitgeist (alter ego of Australian hardstyle act Toneshifterz) unite on Adagio For Strings, out now via HILOMATIK – delivering a modern reinterpretation of the legendary Tiësto classic” (Tiesto, of course, putting his own slant on the Barber original).
The press text continues from a dance music perspective. “Looking at the track through a 2026 lens, the trio reshape the iconic melody into something darker, heavier, and built for today’s dancefloors. While the emotional core that made the original so memorable remains intact, this version leans into driving techno rhythms and hard dance intensity.
The result is a track that balances nostalgia with modern production. Brennan Heart brings his unmistakable hard dance energy, HI-LO adds a raw techno edge, and Project Zeitgeist contributes a cinematic touch that amplifies the composition’s drama. That track has already been supported by the likes of Armin van Buuren (live), Space 92 (live), Maddix (live), Nifra (live), and Lilly Palmer.
You can listen below:
“What do you do with one of the most iconic records in dance music history? I have been playing and messing around with different versions of this Tiesto classic over the years, as you may have heard in my sets, but when Brennan Heart sent me a collab idea for a proper hard techno rework of Adagio for Strings, “I knew this one would really stand out and would be perfect for 2026! I had a lot of fun working on this one with him and Project Zeitgeist, and it’s been amazing to see all the reactions to this banger at the shows! :)” – HI-LO
For many listeners, the original Adagio For Strings holds a special place in dance music history. This new version honors that legacy while opening the door for a new generation of festival moments and club memories.
Brennan Heart, HI-LO, and Project Zeitgeist Adagio For Strings is available now via HILOMATIK.
Julia Kogan (soprano), Britten Sinfonia / Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
Barber Knoxville: Summer of 1915 Op. 24 (1947) Britten Les Illuminations Op.18 (1939) – French and English versions
First Hand Records FHR150 [60’04’’] English/French texts and English translation included Producer Andrew Walton Engineer Debs Spanton
Recorded 8-10 October 2023 at Henry Wood Hall, London
Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse
What’s the story?
First Hand Records releases a recording of Britten’s Les Illuminations with a difference – this reading of its original French version being heard alongside one of a new English translation, and with Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 included as far more than a mere makeweight.
What’s the music like?
Second of Britten’s song-cycles, Les Illuminations sets poems from the eponymous collection by Arthur Rimbaud and was among the earliest works written during his three years in North America. Although most often performed with tenor, this was conceived for soprano and Julia Kogan amply underlines the emotional frisson possible when sung thus. Such is immediately evident from the simmering anticipation of Fanfare, its single-line setting recurring midway as the sensuous Interlude then as impetuous conclusion to the sardonic Parade. Elsewhere, the feverish excitement of Villes, knowing elegance of Antique and rapt longing of Being Beauteous are tangibly rendered – as is the inherent fatalism of Départ which evanesces into sombre repose. If not Britten’s defining vocal work, this is surely among his most engrossing.
All the more surprising, then, it should never have received an English translation – until now. Long established as translator and poet, Timothy Adès has come up with one that is idiomatic and conveys the essence of each setting to often startling degree. That said, these translations read arguably as explications of the poem at hand rather than as linguistic equivalents for the purpose of singing, which is not to deny the conviction that Kogan puts into their realization. Whether or not this establishes itself as a viable alternative is for future exponents to decide.
Cannily interspersed between these performances, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 finds Barber setting extracts from James Agee’s prose-poem as a ‘lyric rhapsody’ that offsets its evoking of idyllic contentment with a bittersweet acknowledgement of what can arise in the light of experience. Interesting to recall Agee was barely a decade older than Rambaud at his death, and that the trajectory of his life moved in something of an opposite direction as regards its unfolding from outward security to inner upheaval. There have been memorable recordings of this work across the decades, and that by Kogan is surely set to join them in terms of the imaginative insight she wrests out of Barber’s setting along with its undoubted vocal allure. Whatever their virtues, few earlier accounts get to the heart of this matter with such acuity.
Does it all work?
Pretty much always and not forgetting the contribution of Britten Sinfonia (whose association with its namesake’s song-cycles goes back to recordings from John-Mark Ainsley some three decades ago) – all directed here with no lack of perception by Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez, whose discography features worthwhile accounts of Shostakovich’s Sixth and Ninth Symphonies for FHR. The balance of voice and orchestra – whether with or without wind instruments – could hardly have been bettered, while Kogan contributes a succinct though revealing booklet note.
Is it recommended?
Indeed. Kogan has previously recorded a collection by Isabelle Aboulker for FHR, and it is to be hoped her association with the label will continue. Certainly there is much in the repertoire of English and French orchestral song to which her distinctive response would be well suited.
With another sweltering day promised in the UK, here is a rather wonderful tone poem from the pen of underrated English composer Frank Bridge – one to revel in this Sunday!
