BBC SO Total Immersion: Italian Radicals

'Keep going!' Imagine a symphony that takes everything a symphony has been and everything a symphony could be: an orchestral showpiece that’s simultaneously a protest, a celebration, and a postmodern prank from the heart of 1960s counterculture. Berio’s Sinfonia is the climax to a day-long immersion in the music of postwar Italy.

But as we’ve heard, it’s just part of a far bigger – and even more gripping – story. Bristling, brilliant sonic adventures by Dallapiccola, by former BBC Symphony Orchestra guest conductor Bruno Maderna and by the far-left maverick Luigi Nono pave the way to Berio’s modern classic: outsize creative personalities who set out to remake the world, and left a legacy of music that continues to outrage, astonish and enchant.