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Ryan Wigglesworth Conducts the Premiere of For Laura, After Bach at the BBC Proms

Aug. 25, 2025

Ryan Wigglesworth's For Laura, after Bach is a personal offering in sound to a beloved colleague. The work pays tribute to Laura Samuel, long-time leader of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, who passed away in 2024. For Laura, after Bach was premiered on July 27 at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms, conducted by the composer himself together with the orchestra’s string section – the very ensemble to which Laura Samuel was so closely connected.

Inspiration for the composition came from a deeply intimate moment: during Laura Samuel’s memorial service, her own recording of Bach’s Partita in D minor for solo violin was played. That performance became the emotional foundation of Wigglesworth’s new work – a moving reflection on loss, memory, and musical companionship.

For Laura, after Bach avoids drama and grand gestures. Instead, it unfolds as a quiet, concentrated musical meditation in which Bach’s spirit is delicately interwoven with modern harmonic language. Scored for string ensemble, the piece invites listeners into a space of intimacy and reflection – like a hushed dialogue between past and present. The composer notes:

"Writing this work in memory of Laura Samuel — the BBCSSO’s beloved leader who died at the age of 48 last November — has been a privilege, if a hugely daunting one. How to pay meaningful tribute to a person so adored by all who knew her? During her illness, Laura made an exquisite, joyful recording of the ‘Gigue’ from Bach’s E-major Partita (BWV 1006) and, unforgettably, this recording was heard at her memorial in December. It was a final act of generosity, utterly typical of Laura. My piece for string orchestra is based upon this same ‘Gigue’ and falls into three main sections. In the opening section, fragments of Bach’s melody are multiplied and overlayed (often in canon) by the violins divided into four parts. A solo double bass introduces the central, slower section, in which the rhythms and contours of Bach’s original appear much transformed, first in a long melody given to the violas and cellos. The final section returns to the propulsive energy of the opening and leads eventually to a climax in which the canonic violin material and the middle-section “theme” are superimposed. A short, quiet coda closes the work. Although shadows do pass across the music’s surface, my aim has been to try – with Bach’s help! – to write a piece more celebratory than mournful. for Laura, after Bach is a small token of my immense and everlasting gratitude for Laura’s friendship."

To learn more about Ryan Wigglesworth, visit schott-music.com.

Ryan Wigglesworth
For Laura, after Bach (2025)
for string orchestra
10'

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