Rufus Wainwright | Want Symphonic

Praised as “the greatest songwriter on the planet,” by Sir Elton John, and “simply one of the great writers” by David Bowie, Rufus Wainwright’s Want One and Want Two have earned recognition as iconic albums worldwide, with Paste Magazine elevating Want One to the No.1 album of the year, and Rolling Stone Magazine listing it in their top 5 best albums of 2003. Bowie hailed Wainwright’s song ‘Dinner at Eight’ as the “best father/son song he knew”.

The 2023-24 and 2024-25 season marks 20 years since the release of Rufus Wainwright’s critically-acclaimed Want One and Want Two albums and, to mark the 20th anniversary, we celebrate Want Symphonic, where the “breathtaking and eccentric oppulence” (German Rolling Stone) of the original songs are translated into new lush symphonic arrangements by Sally Herbert (Woodkid, Florence + the Machine) and Max Moston (Antony and the Johnsons).

Want Symphonic is a sonic Shangri-La for 60 classical musicians, drummer Matt Johnson (Jeff Buckley, St. Vincent) and Wainwright’s “velvety truffle of his voice” (London Times). On single night shows Wainwright will perform a large selection of songs from both albums, and at times also do two separate shows where he will perform all songs from both albums.

Wainwright has worked with leading orchestras across the course of his career (including San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Britten Sinfonia, amongst others), and the exciting new Want Symphonic experience will see these iconic albums performed in their entirety in this way for the first time.

Wainwright says “Want One and Two are maybe the most epic of my albums. They are the two sides of a coin or better my personality, the male and the female, the knight in shining armor and the innocent maiden, ecstasy and restraint, glory and doom, decay and creation, the mature and the child. I am excited to bring these songs to a new level with all new symphonic settings. There is nothing more exciting than singing in front of a huge orchestra.”

“This album is also a glorious musical adventure with Wainwright’s vocals — sweet and unerringly hopeful — reaching out so disarmingly that they make you feel at home amid even the most “daunting” of instrumental moments.” (LA Times)

The instrumental moments of these Marius de Vries (Madonna, Bjork, Massive Attack, David Bowie) are even heightened for Want Symphonic and you can be sure to feel even more at home: in the glorious and voluptuous House of Rufus.

The tour kicks off in Europe and the US at two of the most legendary classical institutions and orchestras: the BBC Proms in London (Prom 66 & Prom 67) and the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony.