London Symphony Orchestra

‘I think Bernstein's symphonies paint a wonderful picture of him as a whole,’ said Sir Antonio Pappano on the occasion of his recording of the US composer's second symphony. Bernstein shows us how to deal with crises of faith in the face of world-shaking events - ‘he brings us back’. And so this work for piano and orchestra may have ‘the age of fear’ in its title, but Bernstein countered the disorientation after the Second World War with radiant confidence at the end - a beautiful signal even in current times. Pappano believes it is time to give something back to Bernstein and find his own way of expressing his music.