BBC PROMS 2014: Panufnik and Tavener

Extract

Cultures collide and combine in the new works presented in the opening weeks of the 2014 BBC Proms. In music by Roxanna Panufnik and Sir John Tavener, ideas from different religious traditions are brought together. Both composers acknowledge the resulting tensions, but seek to transcend them. Various resolutions are proposed, and with them models for mutual understanding. Utopian ideals, indeed, and none of the works quite reach the lofty goals to which they aspire; but, in each case, the journey proves more interesting than the destination.