London Orchestra Premieres St John Passion

Davis has been particularly associated with MacMillan's music in recent years, with international performances and a recent release on the LSO Live label, all leading naturally to the creation of a major new work. The resulting St John Passion, one of MacMillan's largest-scale and most personal scores, takes place at the Barbican on Sunday 27 April, with Davis conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with baritone Christopher Maltman.

The St John Passion is commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, with generous support from The Wilford Foundation, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Edward Van Beinum Foundation), the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Rundfunkchor Berlin (member of roc Berlin).

Future planned performances of the St John Passion include Sir Colin Davis conducting the Dutch premiere in Amsterdam on 3 April 2009 and the US premiere with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the 2009/10 season. Simon Halsey conducts the German premiere in Berlin on 14 March 2009. -- www.lso.co.uk