Sunday March 17 in the Public Hall, Liskeard, at 5.30pm
Wednesday March 20 in Plymouth Guildhall at 7.30pm.
Plymouth Symphony Orchestra invites you to join them for either one of two dates this month – or both, of course, if you’re truly smitten – for a programme of Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Bruch.
The concert begins with Beethoven’s powerful and expressive Egmont Overture. Egmont was originally written as a set of incidental music pieces for Goethe’s play of the same name. The overture has become a popular orchestral piece and is often performed in its own right. It is similar in style to his Fifth Symphony and was composed just two years prior.
Savitri Grier
Talented young violinist Savitri Grier joins the orchestra for Bruch’s much-loved Violin Concerto in G Minor. During the last year Savitri has performed at the Wigmore Hall as both soloist, and with the IMS Prussia Cove Ensemble.
In 2019 she undertakes a complete Beethoven Sonata series in Scotland as part of a Tunnell Trust award with pianist Richard Uttley. Bruch’s Concerto is one of the cornerstones of the violin repertoire and was dedicated to Joseph Joachim, the pre-eminent violinist of the nineteenth century. The dialogue between soloist and orchestra is passionate and extensive in the first movement and leads to the wonderfully-expansive and lyrical second movement. The finale opens with an intense, quiet introduction but gives way to a Gypsy-like theme and concludes with an eminently fiery finish.
Rachmaninoff Second Symphony
It is surprising that Rachmaninoff ever composed his magnificent Second Symphony in E minor, as he was shattered by the disastrous reception of his first symphony in 1897. After years of suffering chronic depression, he sought help from a psychiatrist in 1900 and in 1901 completed the triumphant premiere of his famous second piano concerto. His Second Symphony was premiered in St Petersburg in 1908 to great acclaim. This expansive, brooding work is lush and impassioned and has remained one of the composer’s most popular orchestral works.
For ticket information visit www.plymouthsymphony.co.uk.
Philip R Buttall
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