Marking ten years since David Bowie’s death, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra returns to Sonica Glasgow with a transcendent celebration of musical innovation.
Conducted by Patrick Hahn, the evening features Symphony No. 4 “Heroes” (1996), a sweeping orchestral re-imagining of Bowie and Brian Eno’s iconic 1970s album that drew its inspiration from the then-divided city of Berlin. The programme also includes the ritualistic Prelude from Akhnaten (1983), Glass’s hypnotic opera inspired by the revolutionary Egyptian pharaoh, whose austere harmonies and slowly unfolding structures evoke timeless ceremony and transformation.
Visual artist Tatsuru Arai enhances the experience with sumptuous generative visuals that transform Glass’s sound world into one of shimmering light and motion.
Supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. Developed during Cryptic’s Cove Park Residency 2026.
Tatsuru Arai performing at Sonica 2023. Photographer credit: Neil Jarvie
