大象传媒

Conductor Alpesh Chauhan joins the Ulster Orchestra at the Ulster Hall in Belfast, beginning with Mendelssohn's poetically inspired overture "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage", premiered in 1828, after words from the poet Goethe.

Ukrainian violinist Aleksey Semenenko then takes to the stage in a performance of Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, one of the composer's most enduring and popular works, and a tour de force for the soloist. After its premier in 1866 the work was revised with the help of the violinist Joseph Joachim, after which the final version was completed and is what we use today.

Before the Schumann, a work by the 19th century French composer and pianist Louise Farrenc- Overture No. 2 in Eb Major. The work was written in 1834 and is a standalone concert overture, and is not based on any literary inspirations- rather it is a purely musical work in sonata form.

To finish, Schumann's Symphony No. 4 in D minor, a work completed in 1841 and then revised ten years later. Only a year before, the composer had been focussed on writing songs, producing some of his finest work including Liederkreis and Dichterliebe, and now a year later he turned his attention back to writing orchestral music. His wife, Clara, wrote in her diary in 1831 that she could hear him writing the 4th Symphony, and remarked that it would be "... another work that is emerging from the depths of his soul."

During the interval, John Toal will be in conversation with our soloist, Aleksey Semenenko

Mendelssohn- Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 27
Bruch- Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Farrenc- Overture No.2 in Eb Major, Op. 24
Schumann Symphony No.4 in D Minor, Op. 120

Ulster Orchestra
Aleksey Semenenko, violin
Alpesh Chauhan, conductor

Presented by John Toal