Change of conductor
Regretfully Mark Wigglesworth is indisposed and we are grateful to Ben Gernon who has kindly agreed to step in to conduct.
Programme
- Overture ‘Cockaigne (In London Town)’
- Glasslands
- Ma mère l'Oye
- Symphony No. 5 in C minor
Performers
- Jess Gillamsaxophone
- Ben Gernonconductor
Concert Information
Doors open at 6.00pm
Free (with ticket) pre concert talk at 6.20pm - Jess Gillam in conversation
Concert starts 7.30pm
Jess Gillam’s infectious enthusiasm and effortless virtuosity make her an irresistible force in performance. Tonight, she explores the darkly magical world of Anna Clyne’s Glasslands, three realms governed by the banshee of Irish folklore, mercurial and mesmerising by turns.
Ravel’s captivating Ma mère l'Oye (Mother Goose) conjures a more benign magical world, populated by famous fairy tale figures such as Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb and Beauty and the Beast. The title of Elgar’s upbeat Cockaigne Overture also refers to a mythical land but its inspiration is altogether more worldly. His ‘stout and steaky’ homage (Elgar’s words) to turn-of-the-century London blazes with brass bands and seduces with lovers’ trysts in secluded public gardens. Ending the concert with elemental power is Beethoven’s fate-fuelled Fifth Symphony. With fiercely concentrated energy throughout, it ignites in a blazing finale where Beethoven provides extra firepower by adding a piccolo, contrabassoon and trombones to the symphony orchestra for the first time.
Programme
Elgar: Overture: Cockaigne
Anna Clyne: Glasslands (for alto saxophone and orchestra) UK Premiere
Ravel: Ma mère l'Oye (Mother Goose)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5