This concert, given by the intrepid forces of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under conductor Matthew Coorey, was refreshing for offering repertoire not frequently performed and a context for a newly commissioned work.
Steve Reich’s 1995 City Life is a sonic tribute to his native New York, sampling the city’s overall clamour. Among the words and phrases integral to the fabric of the piece are those of firefighters responding to the abortive 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, now a chill pointer to what would be his WTC 9/11.
