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‘I have spent my life trying to create a kind of cathedral of sound’. The words of Sofia Gubaidulina, one of the most significant living composers in the world. Her music, deeply spiritual and dramatic, forms the backbone of tonight’s celebration of International Women’s Day.

In this programme, Anja Bihlmaier makes her Manchester debut as the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor and explores this kaleidoscopic programme. There’s the UK premiere of Dreydl by the genre-defying Olga Neuwirth, alongside music from American Sarah Gibson – beyond the beyond is a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ commission, written as Sarah’s joy at becoming a mother was tempered by a progressive and terminal illness. This performance will see the posthumous premiere of the work.

To finish, the Fifth Symphony of Emilie Mayer. A trailblazer during her lifetime, Mayer’s music earns her a place amongst the greatest composers of the 19th century.