“Olivia Belli wrote this piece for my first solo recital at the BBC Proms in 2023. It has been a favourite of mine ever since. It has featured in almost every concert I have given as I feel such a strong emotional connection to it. When I’m performing this piece I have in mind the emotional journey an astronaut makes when preparing for a flight to space; it feels as if we are inside their mind, feeling all their conflicting emotions as they prepare to make such an extraordinary journey. It begins with a mixture of excitement and nervousness rippling away, building as the flight gets closer and mixing with confidence and pride in the form of melodies that pass between the hands and the feet. There’s a moment in the middle of the piece where the texture intensifies and the volume suddenly increases; this, in my mind, is the moment the rocket takes off, triggering a huge crescendo as our astronaut is completely surrounded by noise and power. And then, just when it feels as if it couldn’t possibly get any louder, everything goes quiet and drops back to that single C, the noise slowly clearing to reveal a melody. This is the moment our astronaut has reached orbit, everything has gone quiet, and they have turned to see the earth from space for the first time.” – Anna

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