Summer Concert

Sat 11 June 2011  7:45pm - The Anvil, Basingstoke

Conductor:    Stephen Scotchmer

Programme:

Tchaikovsky’s Fantasy Overture: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is based on the three main strands of the Shakespeare story. The introduction represents the saintly Friar Laurence, the second strand an agitated theme of the warring Capulets and Montagues, and the third strand is a passionate love theme, always with an underlying current of anxiety.

We are pleased to welcome back the renowned James Lisney to play the popular Grieg Piano Concerto. Amazingly, this was the only concerto Grieg composed. However, it easily ranks among the most popular of all piano concerti - with good reason.

Dvorak’s New World Symphony is one of the orchestral greats. It was composed in 1893 during Dvorak’s visit to the United States from 1892 to 1895. The symphony was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered on December 16, 1893 at Carnegie Hall. Dvorak was certainly influenced by Native American music, in which he took a great interest; however, he was keen to stress that the Native American melodies were only used as a basis from which he composed original themes and developed them with the resources of modern rhythms, counterpoint, and orchestral colour. The result is clearly an orchestral masterpiece, which rightly deserves its place in the modern repertoire.

Tickets: Anvil Arts Website