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Of great interest to VW and Elgar
fans alike. A recently discovered arrangement of 'Larghetto'
from Elgar's Serenade for Strings for small
orchestra is being premiered at the Concert Hall in Reading on January
26. The arrangement was discovered at The Performing Arts Library in
Dorking where parts from the Leith Hill Festival were being archived.
  Begun
in 1906 and completed in 1909, On Wenlock Edge is
based on six of Houseman's poems from A Shropshire
Lad (published in 1896) and from which VW crafted one of the finest
English song cycles ever written.
On Wenlock Edge, From far from eve and morning, Is my
team ploughing? O when I was in love with you, Bredon Hill, Clun.
The wonderfully atmospheric and evocative outdoor effects can undoubtedly be
attributed to the influence of Ravel (above) with whom VW had just spent three
months studying in Paris. Although VW admitted to having had a "bad attack
of French fever" the song cycle is nevertheless distinctly VW.
VW's start with Ravel was patchy but the two became great friends. RVW said later "He
showed me how to orchestrate in points of colour rather than in lines." Ravel
was to became a visitor of the Vaughan Williams's at their house in Cheyne Walk
in Chelsea and when in Paris he busied himself on behalf of VW to have his work
heard. Later when some of VW's work was accepted at an important concert in Paris
in which Faure was also performing, Ravel offered to play the piano part. Ravel
wrote in March 1908 "...I will do my utmost to arrange a performance of
the work of a pupil of whom I am proud.." True to his word, in February
1912, Ravel played the piano part in On Wenlock Edge,
a concert which VW attended.
(Above) Vaughan Williams with Frederick Grinke rehearsing The
Lark Ascending in Gloucester Catherdral. Written in 1914 and revised in
1920. The first London performance was conducted by Sir Adrian Boult with Marie
Hall as the soloist to whom the work was dedicated. The piece takes its name
from the title of a poem by George Meredith (1828-1909). See the superb BBC Radio 3 web site for an audio exploration.
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JANUARY
6
Taunton (Somerset) - King's College Chapel
Lord, thou hast been our refuge
Valiant for Truth
Britten Festival Te Deum;
Walton The Twelve;
Elgar Give unto the Lord;
Stanford Te Deum in Bb;
Holst The Evening Watch, This have I done for my
true love;
Howells Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks;
Rutter Hymn to the Creator of Light;
Parry Never weather-beaten sail, My soul, there is a
country.
Somerset Chamber Choir
Conductor: Graham Caldbeck
3:00 pm
Box office: 01275 349010
www.somersetchamberchoir.org.uk
JANUARY 17,19 & 20
San Jose, CA , USA - The California Theatre
The Lark Ascending
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 A major Turkish
Elgar: Enigma Variations (Variations on an Original Theme)
Symphony Silicon Valley
Conductor and violin soloist: Joseph Silverstein
web
site
JANUARY 19
London Colney (Hertfordshire) – All Saints Pastoral Centre
'Entente Cordiale'
Mass in G minor
and works by Sermisy, Costeley, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Poulenc and Debussy.
St Albans Chamber Choir
Conductor: John Gibbons
7:30pm
Box Office: 01707 663110
www.StAlbansChamberChoir.org.uk
JANUARY 19
Brussels, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten/
Palais des Beaux-Arts
Concert marking the 50th anniversary of Vaughan
Williams death which is taking place in Brussels as part of Flemish classical
radio's annual Music Festival.
Folksongs
(Collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams)
Coope Boyes & Simpson
Donal Byrne - accompanied by Inge Spinette
The concert will be broadcast on Radio Klara and can be listened to via their
website.
www.coopeboyesandsimpson.co.uk/
http://www.klara.be/html/fs_evenementen.html
JANUARY 23
Birmingham - Symphony Hall
The Lark Ascending
With music by Bax, Walton, Coates, Ketèlbey, Farnon and Binge.
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: John Wilson
Laurence Jackson - violin
Box Office +44 (0)121-780 3333
web
site
JANUARY 23 & 24
Duisburg, Germany
The Wasps Overture
The Lark Ascending
Also: Elgar Enigma Variations
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto (1844 Version)
Duisburger Philharmoniker
Conductor: Jonathan Darlington
Soloist Daniel Hope
JANUARY 24
London - Temple Church, off Fleet Street
Mass in G Minor
Shakespeare Songs
Also: Howells Requiem
Holst The Evening Watch
Holst Singers
Conductor: Stephen Layton
Information: 020 7427 5641
6.45pm
www.temple2008.org
JANUARY 26
Concert Hall, Reading
Symphony No 2 - A London Symphony
Larghetto Elgar arranged by Vaughan Williams
from Serenade
for Strings (Premiere performance of recently discovered arrangement for
small orchestra)
Also: New Commission for Voice and Orchestra
Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp K299
Aldworth Philharmonic
Conductor: Andrew Taylor
tickets from tickets@aldworthphilharmonic.org.uk
Further details:
info@aldworthphilharmonic.org.uk
JANUARY 26
Christ Episcopal Church, 3445 Warrensville Center Road, Shaker Heights, OH, 44122.
5 Mystical Songs
Songs of Travel
Ravel - 5 Popular Greek Songs
Jeux d'eau
Britten - Selections from Folk Songs
Baritone Christopher Grundy
Pianist and choral conductor Nathan Carterette
Organist Todd Wilson
Combined choirs of Christ Episcopal Church and Church of the Convenant
3pm
For more information call Christ Episcopal Church at 216.991.3432
Admission free with retiring collection
JANUARY 30
Manchester – Bridgewater Hall
THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
presented by Dame Janet Baker
Toward the Unknown Region
Berlioz Overture: Le Corsaire
Rossini Il barbiere di Siviglia: 'Largo al Factotum'
Verdi Don Carlos: The Death of Rodrigo
Tchaikovsky The Queen of Spades: Yeletsky's aria
Thomas Adès These Premises are Alarmed
Lambert The Rio Grande °
Debussy Fêtes
Weber Konzertstück for piano and orchestra
Elgar In the South (Alassio)
Conductor: Mark Elder
Dmitri Hvorostovsky - baritone •
Polina Leschenko - piano
Conductor: James Burton°
Hallé Orchestra and Choir •
Hallé Youth Choir |
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Vaughan Williams probably started to think
about composing the Tallis Fantasia when he was editing the English Hymnal.
The modal tune, 'Why fumeth in fight' was the third of nine Psalm tunes composed
by Tallis, probably in 1567. Its monastic 'darkness' and spiritually
introspective melody deeply affected VW. Huge expanded chords (influences
probably from his time as an organist) feature prominently, and extensive
spacial effects are conveyed by the use of two groups of strings and
a solo quartet which are placed apart, resonating sympathetically.
"It is a piece which seems designed to highlight
the inadequacy of language to describe music, at once profound, uplifting,
calming, and thrilling." (from H2g2 (Edited Guide Entry)
The first ever performance of the Tallis Fantasia was at Gloucester Cathedral on September 6th
in 1910 and VW himself was the conductor. There is no doubt that it was the acoustics
of Gloucester that VW had in mind when he composed the Fantasia. It was
subsequently revised on a number of occasions. Many composers such as Herbert
Howells, who was present at Gloucester that day, have talked about the influence
this composition had on them. It is difficult to appreciate what a revelation
this piece must have been at a time when English music still bore a heavy Teutonic
influence.
VW later irreverently nicknamed it 'The Tallywag'!
Visit the BBC Radio 3 website
Discovering Music for an audio exploration.
 The
5th Symphony was dedicated to Sibelius (left). It was completed
in 1943 but to many in the war years, unaware that the symphony began
to take shape as early as 1931, and coming after the 'violent' 4th
it seemed that here was a vision of peace. Because RVW was over 70,
many people thought that this was to be his last symphony. Some of
the themes were taken from his then unfinished opera 'The
Pilgrim's Progress'. Thinking that the time was inappropriate
for an opera, VW decided to use some of the material for a symphony.
Contemplative', 'radiant' and 'ecstatic' are words which have commonly
been used to describe this work. However, there are moments of menace
particularily in the scherzo.
Vaughan Williams and Sibelius were admirers of each other's work. A
meeting between the two in London however was a disappointment. Unable
to speak each other's language, their inadequate knowledge of French
and shyness hindered their genuine desire to make contact, although
the meeting was full of goodwill.
Sibelius wrote of the dedication, 'Dr Williams has no idea what pleasure
he has given me.'
"Let us then shun all pernicious and enervating drugs, and turn to the
pure water of Sibelius' art."
Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1950 (in a BBC programme)
 Religious
subjects inspired VW throughout his life and his contribution to church
music was significant although he was quoted as saying, 'There is no
reason why an aetheist could not write a good Mass.' The Mass in G Minor has its roots in the music of Tallis,
Byrd and the Elizabethans and has been described as ‘the vocal
equivalent of the Tallis Fantasia'. The Mass was composed probably
in 1920 and dedicated to Gustav Holst (above) and his Whitsuntide Singers.
The Kyrie was sung at the funeral of Holst at Chichester Cathedral.
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FEBRUARY
1
Munich, Herz-Jesu-Kirche
The 100th Psalm- for Chorus and Orchestra
Magnificat for Alto, Flute, Female Chorus and small Orchestra
Oriol Cruixent: "Abismes" ("Abysses"),
Diptychon for Orchestra
(Commissioned Composition, World Première)
Henri Dutilleux: "Mystère de l'instant" for
Strings, Cimbalom and Percussion
Rebecca Martin - Mezzo-soprano
Christiane Dohn - Flute
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Münchner Rundfunkorchester
Conductor: Ulf Schirmer
Advance sale from Tue., December 11, 2007
You can order tickets for this concert at: BRticket-Service (00 / 49 / 89 / 59 00 - 45 45)
or www.muenchenticket.de
FEBRUARY 1
San Francsico, CA, USA
Old First Church, 1751 Sacramento St.
Old First Concerts (series)
Basically British XI
Vaughan Williams 50th Anniversary Concert
The House of Life
On Wenlock Edge
other works tba
Thomas Glenn - tenor
Joe Edelberg - violin
Adrienne Herbert - violin
Elizabeth Prior Runnicles - viola
Thalia Moore - cello
John Parr - piano
8:00 PM
Ticket prices: $15/$12 concessions
Box office (415) 474-1608
www.oldfirstconcerts.org
FEBRUARY 2
Sydney, Australia - Sydney Town Hall
59th Annual Australian Intervarsity Choral Festival
REFLECTIONS OF ENGLAND
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Five Tudor Portraits
Serenade to Music
Also: Tallis - Spem in Alium
Parry - Jerusalem
Boyd - Missa Pacifica
Australian Intervarsity Festival Choir and Orchestra
Conductor: Brett Weymark
Soloists: Helen Sherman, Simon Lobelson
http://www.siv.org.au/sydney
FEBRUARY 2
Bardi Symphony Orchestra
Vaughan Williams Anniversary Concert
Symphony No. 6
The Lark Ascending
Also: Beethoven Symphony No. 6, Pastoral
Leader and violin Adam Summerhayes
Conductor: Andrew Constantine
www.bardi-orchestra.org.uk/
FEBRUARY 3
Royal Northern College of Music
Concerto Accademico
(
for percussion and string orchestra)
The featured work is a new version of Vaughan Williams' concerto for solo violin
Concerto Accademico, transcribed for marimba and vibraphone with string orchestra
accompaniment.
Dave Danford - Percussion
RNCM String Orchestra
(Dedicated to the RVW Society)
http://www.davedanford.co.uk/n2007.html
FEBRUARY 7
Liverpool - Philharmonic Hall
Symphony no. 5 in D major
Bax The Garden of Fand
Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Vernon Handley
Ian Bostridge - tenor
Jonathan Barrett - horn
FEBRUARY 8
Derby – Assembly Rooms
Symphony no. 5 in D major
Bax The Garden of Fand
Elgar Cello Concerto
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Vernon Handley
Natalie Clein - cello
FEBRUARY 9
Victoria Rooms, University of Bristol
'Vaughan Williams, Hardy and the Ninth Symphony'
An afternoon workshop 1.30 - 4.30 pm preceding a concert at 7.30 pm
Mass in G minor
Symphony No.9
University of Bristol Singers
Conductor Glyn Jenkins
and
University of Bristol Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: John Pickard
Tickets (phone 0117 954 5032)
Workshop £10
Concert £10
FEBRUARY 9
St Marys Warwick
Amnesty International Human Rights in China Benefit
Concert
Oboe Concerto
Oriflamme Ensemble
Soloist - Julian West
Conductor: Antoine Mitchell
Ravel Tombeau de Couperin
Faure Pelleas et Melisande
Brahms Haydn Variations
Amnesty International Human Rights in China Benefit Concert
7.30 tickets £10 (concess. £5)
FEBRUARY 10
Eastbourne - Congress Theatre
Symphony no 5 in D major
Elgar: Serenade for Strings
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto 1 in B flat minor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Rumon Gamba
Clemens Leske - piano
FEBRUARY 11
Leeds Town Hall
Vaughan Williams Anniversary Concert
A Leeds International Concert Season Lunchtime Music presentation
Mass in G Minor
The Voice out of the Whirlwind
Five Mystical Songs
Quentin Brown - baritone
David Houlder - organ
St Peter’s Singers
Conductor: Simon Lindley
Admission Free - Retiring Collection
1.05 pm
FEBRUARY 16
Sheffield, St. Mark's Church, Broomhill, Sheffield, S10 2SE
Mass in G Minor
Five Mystical Songs
Sheffield Bach Society
Liszt - Missa Choralis
David Townend, bass
7.30pm.
Church web site http://www.sheffieldbachchoir.org.uk/
Sheffield Bach Society web site:
http://www.stmarkssheffield.co.uk/
Email: paul@upperdenby.org.uk
FEBRUARY 19
London – Cadogan Hall
Symphony No.3 'Pastoral'
Holst The Perfect Fool ballet music
Delius Violin Concerto
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Vernon Handley
Tasmin Little - Violin
FEBRUARY 19
London- Royal Festival Hall
Job - a masque for dancing
Piazzolla: 4 Estaciones portenas (The 4 Seasons of Buenos
Aires) for violin & strings
Ravel: La Valse
BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Barry Wordsworth
Chris Garrick - violin
FEBRUARY 23
English Hymnal Day at the Turner Sims Concert Hall, University of Southampton
Vaughan Williams and the English Hymnal
David Owen Norris - keyboard
Cantores Michaelis
Keith Davis - director
plus celebrity guests and students from the University of Southampton
See our News page
FEBRUARY 23
Merton College Chapel, Oxford
The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire's concert in Commemoration of the 50th anniversary
of the death of RVW
Toward the Unknown Region
An Oxford Elegy,
Serenade to Music
Fantasia on Greensleeves
Tuba Concerto
The Lark Ascending
The Oxford Studio Orchestra and The Anonymous Singers
7.30 pm
Tickets £10 (Concessions £8) at door or from 01865 778034
Proceeds to OXPIP
FEBRUARY 24
Leeds- Town Hall
Symphony no 7 - Sinfonia Antartica
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
City of Leeds Youth Orchestra
Conductor: Dougie Scarfe
Rakhi Singh - violin
http://www.leedsconcertseason.com
FEBRUARY 27
Helsinki, Johannes Church
Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
Britten: Frank Bridge Variations
Elgar: Violin Concerto
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Graham Jenkins
Thomas Zehetmair - violin |
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Vaughan Williams was working on the Five
Mystical Songs as early as 1906, and his response to George
Herbert's (1593-1633) metaphysical poetry is sensual and inspired.
In 1908 he went to France and studied for a period with Maurice Ravel.
Vaughan Williams later related how he had learned a great deal about
orchestration from Ravel. "He showed me how to orchestrate in
points of colour rather than in lines". The songs and their
orchestration were thoroughly revised before their first performance
at the Worcester Festival of 1911 so it is reasonable to conclude
that Ravel had some influence on the final revisions. To Gustav Holst,
VW from Paris wrote, " I am getting a lot out of Ravel - I hope
it doesn't worry him too much - only I feel that 10 years would not
teach me all I want".
Tender, ecstatic, ravishing, stirring, spiritual, magical!
" A firm favourite with audiences from its first
performance in 1911, it was cited as evidence that Vaughan Williams had indeed
'arrived' as a composer and was worthy of inheriting the mantle of such illustrious
musical forbears Lawes and Purcell."
© J. S. Whitehead 2003 - Halifax Choral Society notes.
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MARCH 1
Bolton, Victoria Hall
Pilgrim's Journey
with Britten Saint Nicolas
Finz: Eclogue
Bolton Choral Union is performing
Manchester Camerata
Conductor: Michael Greenhalgh
7-30pm
£12-50 / £10
01204-591563 or -492301
Bolton Choral Union:
www.boltonchoral.org.uk
MARCH
4
St Lawrence Jewry, Gresham Street,
London EC2V 5AA
Vaughan Williams Anniversary Concert
Serenade to Music
Three Shakespeare Songs
Come Away, Death, Serenade to Music, Three Elizabethan
Part Songs
Also: Moeran Sigh No More Ladies, Under the Greenwood
Tree
Mantyjarvi Four Shakespeare Songs
Rutter It was a Lover and his Lass
Matthias Shakespeare Songs
City Chamber Choir
Conductor: Stephen Jones
7.30 pm
10 or £7 for concessions
Contact Simon James on 07930417583 for tickets in advance
www.citychamber.org.uk
MARCH 5
London - Christ Church, Spitalfields
25th anniversary gala concert
Toward the Unknown Region
also: Tchaikovsky - Fantasy overture Romeo & Juliet
Mozart - Concerto for two pianos, K.365 (Sean Gibbons, Andrew Blankfield, pianos)
Mozart - Concert aria: Ch'io mi scordi di te (Ghislaine Morgan, soprano)
Brahms - Variations on a theme of Haydn
London Lawyers' Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Conductor: Ben Pope
Tickets: £10.00 (including programme)
Email: lawyers.music@hotmail.co.uk
tel:
020 7572 6361)
www.lawyersmusic.org.uk
MARCH 6
Geneva (New York State) - 484 South Main Street
Ursula Vaughan Williams Remembered
Presented by Amercian Landmark Festivals
Four Last Songs
Poetry readings
Suzanne Murphy - mezzo-soprano
Eleanor Stearns - reader
Hilda Collins - piano
with Douglas Grandgeorge - speaker and Master of Ceremonies
Admission free - but donations to ALF welcome
Reception after the concert
7pm
Reservations 212-749-8047 or 315-789-8985
AmLandmarkFstvls@aol.com
www.americanlandmarkfestivals.org
MARCH 8
King's College Chapel, Cambridge
Mass in G Minor
Poulenc Motets pour un temps de pénitence
Messiaen Offrande au Saint-Sacrement
Messiaen O sacrum convivium
Duruflé Requiem
Soloists - Emilia Hughes, Edmund Hastings, Edward Ballard, Raphaela Papadakis
Cello - Sophie Gledhill
Organ - Peter Stevens
CUMS Chorus
Guest conductor - Tim Brown
Tickets: £20, £16, £12
from Cambridge Corn Exchange, Wheeler Street, Cambridge CB2 3QB,
Tel: 01223 357851
MARCH 8
Ormskirk School, Wigan Road, Ormskirk, Lancs
5 Mystical Songs
Ireland - These Things shall be
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an exhibition
Copland - Dance episodes from rodeo
Conductor: Jim Cooke
Soloist to be confirmed
7.30pm
david.muskett@btopenworld.com
MARCH 12
Wolverhampton - Civic Hall
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Tadaaki Otaka
Tamsin Little - violin
MARCH 12
Rotterdam (The Netherlands) – De Doelen
Six studies in English Folksong
Warlock: The Curlew
Elgar: Pianoquintet
Members of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Fabio Trümpy – tenor
www.rpho.nl
MARCH 12
Uden (The Netherlands) – Theater Markant
Oboe Concerto
Elgar: Serenade for strings
Barber: Adagio for strings
Ravel: String Quartet (arranged for stringorchestra)
Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Conrad van Alphen
Bart Schneemann – oboe
www.rotterdamskamerorkest.com
MARCH 13
Rotterdam (The Netherlands) – Hoflaankerk
Oboe Concerto
Elgar: Serenade for strings
Barber: Adagio for strings
Ravel: String Quartet (arranged for stringorchestra)
Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Conrad van Alphen
Bart Schneemann – oboe
www.rotterdamskamerorkest.com
MARCH 13
Birmingham - Symphony Hall
Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Tadaaki Otaka
Tamsin Little - violin
MARCH 14
Stoke-on-Trent Victoria Hall, Hanley
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Mendelssohn: Violin
Concerto in E minor
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Tadaaki Otaka
Tamsin Little - violin
MARCH 14
Meany Theatre at Meany Hall for the Performing Arts
NE 41st Street & 15th Avenue NE — Seattle, WA
Symphony No.1 'A Sea Symphony'
University of Washington Symphony Orchestra and Choirs
Conductor: Peter Erös
Jane Eaglen - soprano
Gregory Carroll - tenor
8:00 PM — tickets: $10–15
www.meany.org
MARCH 14
Rotterdam (The Netherlands) – De Doelen
Tuba Concerto in F minor
Haydn: Symphonie nr. 104 (London)
Elgar: Enigma Variatons
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Robin Ticciati
Hendrik-Jan Renes – tuba
www.rpho.nl
MARCH 15
Cambridge - King's College Chapel
Serenade to Music
The Lark Ascending
Dona nobis pacem
Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Stephen Cleobury
James Clark - violin
Susan Ograjensek - soprano
Raphaela Papadakis - mezzo soprano
Simon Haynes - tenor
Robert Rice - baritone
King's College Choral Scholars, past and present
King's Voices
http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/easterfestival/index.html
MARCH 15
Tokyo - Metropolitan Art Space
Symphony no. 1 'A Sea Symphony'
Fantasia on 'Greensleeves'
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Naoto Otomo
Yasuko Otani - Violin
Sally Harrison - Soprano, Riccard Simonetti - Baritone
Tokyo Symphony Chorus Chorus Master: Hirohisa Tsuji
MARCH 15
Bristol, Clifton Cathedral, Clifton Park
A London Symphony
Also: Bax - The Garden of Fand
Britten - Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
Op. 31
Brunel Sinfonia
Conductor: Tom Gauterin
7.30pm
Ticket prices: £9 (£6 concessions, £1 under-16s)
Box office: Providence Music - (01117) 927 6536
http://www.brunelsinfonia.org.uk
MARCH 15
Bristol, St George's, Great George Street
Norfolk Rhapsody No.1
Also: Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto
Sibelius - Symphony No.2
Bristol Concert Orchestra
Alexandra Wood (violin)
Conductor: Stefan Hofkes
7:30pm
Tickets: £7 - £12
Box Office: 0845 40 24 001
www.bristolconcertorchestra.org.uk
MARCH 15
Wilmslow, Cheshire, United Reformed Church
Sancta Civitas
Also Finzi: Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice
Beethoven: Mass in C
Organ: Graham Eccles
Conductor: Peter Stallworthy
Soloists to be announced
MARCH 15
Rotterdam (The Netherlands) – Hildegondakerk
Oboe Concerto
Elgar: Serenade for strings
Barber: Adagio for strings
Ravel: String Quartet (arranged for stringorchestra)
Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Conrad van Alphen
Jeroen Kleefman – oboe
www.rotterdamskamerorkest.com
MARCH 15 & 16
San Jose, CA , USA - The California Theatre
Tuba Concerto in F minor
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegels lustige
Streiche
Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier Suite
Symphony Silicon Valley
Conductor: Sara Jobin
Tony Clements - Tuba
web
site
MARCH 16
Delden (The Netherlands) – Hervormde kerk
Oboe Concerto
Elgar: Serenade for strings
Barber: Adagio for strings
Ravel: String Quartet (arranged for stringorchestra)
Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Conrad van Alphen
Bart Schneemann – oboe
www.rotterdamskamerorkest.com
MARCH 19
Bristol - St James Priory
Mass in G minor
Howells - Take him earth for cherishing
Messiaen - O sacrum convivium
Tallis - O salutatis hostia
Sanders - The Reproaches
Exultate Singers
Conductor: David Ogden
8pm
Box office 0117 9276536
www.exultatesingers.org
MARCH 27
Sydney (Australia)- Concert Hall, The Opera House
A Pilgrim's Progress
Conductor: Richard Hickox
The Pilgrim's Progress will feature the Bach
Choir with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Opera Australia Chorus
and an exceptional cast including Joshua Bloom, Kanen Breen, Catherine Carby,
Henry Choo, Conal Coad, Taryn Fiebig, Antoinette Halloran, Hye Seoung Kwon,
Michael Lewis, Emma Matthews, Barry Ryan and Pamela Helen Stephen.
Click here to visit the website.
MARCH 28
Toronto - Saint Thomas's Anglican Church
383 Huron Street
Ca' The Yowes
Five Mystical Songs
Five Tudor Portaits
Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Refuge
Mass in G Minor
O Ovos Omnes
Silence and Music
The Turtledove
Exultate Chamber Singers
Conductor: John Tuttle
416 971-9229
8 pm
MARCH 28/29/30
Madison WI, USA- Overture Hall
Symphony no. 2 'A London Symphony'
Falla The Three-Cornered Hat; Suite No. 2
Chopin Piano concert no.2
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: John Demain
MARCH 29
Charles Herbert Flowers High School
Springdale, Maryland, USA
Symphony No. 3, 'Pastoral'
Butterworth – Banks of Green Willow
Previn – Honey and Rue
Prince George’s Philharmonic
Conductor: Charles Ellis
Soprano – Marlissa Hudson
(301) 454-1462
www.pgphilharmonic.org
MARCH 29
Red Bank, New Jersey, USA -Count Basie Theatre
Toward the Unknown Region
Serenade to Music
Mozart: Mass in C Minor
The Monmouth Civic Chorus
Artistic Director: Dr. Mark Shapiro
Tickets and information: 732-933-9333 or www.monmouthcivicchorus.org |
|
It was at a rehearsal of the
uncompromising 4th Symphony that RVW when questioned by a player
who queried a note, "peered at the score and remarked 'Well - it's
B flat. I know it looks wrong and sounds wrong. But it's
right." (Michael Kennedy)
Much was made of its violence and how it reflected the state of the times (1935)
and VW's anger towards Facism. Vaughan Williams denied this. Nevertheless by
1939 VW's music was on Hitler's black list. What is certain however, is that
the work came as a shock to audiences expecting more of the The Lark Ascending. Reflecting a starker attitude heard in works
works such as Flos Campi, Riders to the Sea and Sancta Civitas at
its first performance under Sir Adrian Boult, the 4th received thunderous applause
which was 'almost without parallel at Queen's Hall'.
"It has often been said that this work is related to the period in which it was
written, and, though this must be true to some extent of any work by any composer
who does not cut himself off from contemporary life, no one seems to have observed
how far more closely it is related to the character of the man who wrote it.
The towering furies of which he was capable, his fire, pride and strength are
all revealed and so are his imagination and lyricism. He was experimenting with
purely musical ideas; no sea or city; no essence of the country was at heart
of this score and what emerged has something in common with one of Rembrandt's
self portraits in middle age."
( R.V.W. A Biography of Vaughan Williams – Ursula
Vaughan Williams)
VW was the first Festival Conductor from 1905 to 1953 and some of his works received
their first performance at the Festival. To read more about the Festival visit
our page
www.rvwsociety.com/dorking.html
To visit the Festival page go to:
http://www.lhmf.co.uk/
|
APRIL
1
London – Cadogan Hall
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Symphony No.5
Finzi Cello Concerto
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Paul Daniel
Robert Cohen - Cello
APRIL 1
Zurich- Tonhalle
Symphony no.4 in F minor
Mozart: Overture the Magic Flute
Brahms: Violin Concert Zurich- Tonhalle
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Conductor: Peter Oundjian
Violin:Sergej Khachatryan
https://www.tonhalle
APRIL 2
Zurich- Tonhalle
Symphony no.4 in F minor
Mozart: Overture the Magic Flute
Brahms: Violin Concert Zurich- Tonhalle
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Conductor: Peter Oundjian
Violin:Sergej Khachatryan
https://www.tonhalle
APRIL 3
Zurich- Tonhalle
Symphony no.4 in F minor
Mozart: Overture the Magic Flute
Brahms: Violin Concert Zurich- Tonhalle
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Conductor: Peter Oundjian
Violin:Sergej Khachatryan
https://www.tonhall
APRIL 3, 4 & 5
New York - Lincoln Center
Symphony No. 4 in F minor
Also: Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 2,
Piano Concerto No. 4
New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Sir Colin Davis
Richard Goode - soloist
web
site
APRIL 4
Bristol - St Patrick's Church
Songs of Travel
Marking the 50th Anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams' death
The concert features works by this great English composer and his contemporaries.
Martin Le Poidevin - Bass
Accompanied by David Ogden
Tickets £10, £8 and £2 under 12s
8:00 pm
Box office: 0117 9557662
www.saintpatricksmusic.co.uk
APRIL 4 & 5
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia
Symphony No 1, A Sea Symphony
Elgar: Nursery Suite
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Martyn Brabbins
Anna Leese - soprano
Roderick Williams - baritone
City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
http://www.malaysianphilharmonic
APRIL 5
St John's Church, Egham
Toward the Unknown Region
Serenade to Music
Also: Haydn's Nelson Mass
Felicity Hayward - Soprano
Leanne McGiven - Contralto
Ben Alden -Tenor
Paul Robertson - Bass
Egham Choral Society
Kew Sinfonia
Leader: Gudrun Edwards
Conductor: Lionel Pike
7.30pm
Tickets £10
Telephone 01932 563202
www.eghamchoral.org
APRIL 6
London – Royal Albert Hall
Overture: 'The Wasps'
Also Elgar Sea Pictures
Tippett A Child of Our Time
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Nicole Cabell - Soprano
Catherine Wyn-Rogers - Mezzo-Soprano
Toby Spence - Tenor
David Wilson-Johnson - Bass
London Symphony Chorus London Philharmonic Choir
APRIL 8
London - Barbican Centre
Symphony No. 4 in F minor
Aaron Jay Kernis Newly Drawn Sky (UK
premiere)
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 1
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Andrew Litton
Stephen Hough - piano
APRIL 8
Lisbon, Portugal, CCB Hall
Symphony No 1 - A Sea Symphony
Portuguese Symphonic Orchestra,
Ilse Eerens: soprano
Manuel Rebelo: Baritone
Conductor: Dmitri Jurowsky
Choir Conductors: Jorge Alves, Clara Coelho
www.lisboacantat.com
APRIL 9
London - Barbican Centre
Toward the Unknown Region
Symphony No 6 in E minor
Dominic Muldowney Tsunami (world premiere)
Ives General William Booth Enters Into Heaven
Holst Hymn of Jesus
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Philip Quast - baritone
BBC Symphony Chorus
APRIL 10
Dorking Halls, Surrey
Leith Hill Festival
Toward the Unknown Region
Also: Haydn - Paukenmesse
Festival Conductor: Brian Kay
www.lhmf.co.uk
APRIL 11
New York (USA) - Goethe Institute, 5th Avenue.
Birthday Gifts
The Lake in the Mountains
Bridge Sonata
Brahms Three Intermezzi Op. 117
Hindemith Ludus Tonalis (extracts)
Beethoven Sonata in G major Op. 14 No. 2
John Rangel New work (commissioned by Roger Steptoe)
Roger Steptoe - piano
7.30pm
Box Office: 1014 Fifth Avenue (at 83rd Street)
New York, N.Y. 10028, USA
Tel.: +1 (212) 439 8700
www.americanlandmarkfestivals.org
www.goethe.de/ins/us/ney/enindex.htm
APRIL 12th
Godalming, Surrey, UK – Charterhouse Hall
A Sea Symphony
The Old Hundredth Psalm
Also Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture
Godalming Choral Society
The Godalming Choral Sinfonia
Conductor: Michael Veazey
Rachel Nicholls - soprano
George von Bergen - baritone
Tickets £12 (Students £8)
Tel: 01483 425257
7.30pm
www.godalmingchoral.org.uk
APRIL 10,11 & 12
Cleveland - Severance Hall
A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1)
Bernstein Chichester Psalms
The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus
Conductor: Robert Porco
Measha Brueggergosman - soprano
Brett Polegato - baritone
Paul Flight - countertenor
Tickets: (216) 231-1111 (Cleveland)
(800) 686-1141 (Toll-free)
E-mail: webpatrons@clevelandorchestra.com
http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/html/index.asp
APRIL 11 & 12
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA – Abravanel Hall
The Lark Ascending
Symphony No. 8 in D minor
Mendelssohn: Overture to Ruy Blas, Op. 95
Mendelssohn: Concerto for Violin in E minor,
Op. 64
Utah Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Keith Lockhart,
James Ehnes - violin
(further details later)
APRIL 12
Dorking Halls, Surrey
Leith Hill Festival
Five Mystical Songs
Serenade to Music
Festival Conductor: Brian Kay
Also: Mozart - Mass in C Minor K 427
www.lhmf.co.uk
APRIL 13
Bedford School Chapel, De Parys Avenue, BedfordEaster (from Five
Mystical Songs)
Sung by Oliver Downing
Bedford School Chapel Choir,
Jeremy Rouse (organ)
Conducted by Andrew Morris.
Tel: +44 (0)1234 362200
www.bedfordschool.org.uk/default.asp
APRIL 19
Southwell Minster, Southwell, Nottinghamshire
A Sea Symphony
Parry - I Was Glad
Elgar - Cello Concerto
Mansfield Choral Society with Bingham & District Choral Society
The Mansfield Sinfonia
Conductor: David Wilson
Soprano - Rebecca Von Lipinski
Baritone - Jeremy Leaman
Cello - Timothy Lowe
Tickets & info. 01623 487550,
e-mail: ajdennis20@ntlworld.com
7.30pm
APRIl 20
Bedford School Chapel, De Parys Avenue, BedforThe
The Call
Let all the world
(from Five Mystical Songs)
Bedford School Chapel Choir,
Jeremy Rouse (organ)
Conducted by Andrew Morris.
Tel: +44 (0)1234 362200
www.bedfordschool.org.uk/default.asp
APRIL 20
Geneva (USA) - The Smith Opera House
Birthday Gifts
The Lake in the Mountains
Bridge Sonata
Brahms Three Intermezzi Op. 117
Hindemith Ludus Tonalis (extracts)
Beethoven Sonata in G major Op. 14 No. 2
John Rangel New work (commissioned by Roger Steptoe)
Roger Steptoe - piano
2pm
www.thesmith.org
82 Seneca Street
Geneva, NY 14456
315-781-LIVE
1-866-355-LIVE (toll free)
315-789-6360 (fax)
E-mail: boxoffice@thesmith.org
APRIL 22
Hayes School of Music, Appalachian State University,
Boone, North Carolina (USA)
Flos Campi
Hayes Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Singers
Eric Koontz - viola
Combined orchestra and choir of Hayes School of Music,
Mr. James Allen Anderson and Dr. Stephen Hopkins, directors
Tuesday 8:00 pm
free entry
Telephone 1.828/262.3020
http://www.music.appstate.edu/
APRIL 24
St John’s, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HA
The Purcell School Choral Concert
Flos Campi
Also: In Paradisum, Fauré’s Requiem (original
1893 version)
Gloria - Poulenc
Soloists: Winnie Soutter - soprano
Ian Jewel - viola
Combined orchestra and choirs of The Purcell School
Thursday 7.30 pm
Concession for Society members
Tickets: k.hoare@purcell-school.org
Telephone 01923 331117
APRIL 25
New York City- The First Reformed Episcopal Church
317 E. 50th St.
Four Hymns for tenor, Viola & Piano
Songs of Travel
Ireland Phantasie Trio
Bridge Phantasie Trio
Christopher Puckett - tenor
Jake Alrich - baritone
Pauline Kim - violin
Christine Kim - cello
Bernadette Hoke - piano
7:30 p.m.
Tickets $15.00
Phone 212-755-0997
APRIL 25
St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LL
Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus
Debussy Prélude à l'après-midi
d'un faune
Strauss Intermezzo
Beethoven Symphony no. 1
Corinthian Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Alan Hazeldine
Leader: Paul Seddon
7.30pm
Box office: 020 7381 0441 /
Email: booking@corinthianorchestra.org.uk
Tickets £15, £12.50, £7.50 (concessions £2.50
off)
www.corinthianorchestra.org.uk
APRIL 26
St Peter and St Paul Church, Deddington
The Lark Ascending
Also Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin
Mozart Mass in C Minor
The Oxford Sinfonia Choros
Conductor: Janet Lincé
www.choros.org
APRIL 26
Bushey - Bushey Hall School London Road
The Lark Ascending
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Also: Mozart Violin Concerto No 4
Finzi Three Soliloquies from Love’s Labours
Lost
Haydn Symphony No 83 in G minor 'The Hen'
Bushey SO
Tamsin Waley-Cohen violin
Conductor: George Vass
www.busheysymphony.org.uk
APRIL 26
Reigate Park Church, Park Lane East, Reigate
3 Welsh Hymn Preludes
With various spiritual works by Tavener, Shephard and Caccini, Chilcott's
Jazz Mass and Poulenc's Gloria.
Reigate & Redhill Choral Society
Conductor: Peter Farrant
Box Office +44 (0)342 843718
www.rrcs.org.uk
APRIL 27
1157 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10075
Fantasia on the 'Old 104th'
For piano, string orchestra and choir
Jeanette Micklem - pianist
Also: Britten - Hymn to St. Cecilia
Rheinberger - Concerto #2 in F
Christopher Creaghan: organ
Musica Viva of New York
212-794-3646
www.musicaviva.org
APRIL 26
Chester Cathedral
By kind permiss ion of the Dean and Chapter
The Wasps—Aristophanic Suite
Also: Malcolm Arnold Four Scottish Dances, Op 59
Rimsky Korsakoff Symphonic Suite,
Scheherazade, Op 35
Conductor: David Chatwin
Jonathan Martindale: Guest Leader
Reserved seats: £12 (concessions £10)
Unreserved seats: £8 and £6
School children: £3
Ticket Sales: Chester Tourist Office or 0151 6321633,
Email:bookings@committee.chesterphilorchestra.co.uk
www.chesterphilorchestra.co.uk
APRIL 27
Hartford, Connecticut, USA- Immanuel Church
'Three Choirs Festival' honouring the
50th anniversary of the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
O Clap Your Hands
Rhosymedre - orchestral version
Benedicite
Dona Nobis Pacem
Old Hundredth Psalm Tune for choir and audience
Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Choirs of Immanuel Church Hartford, Center Church Hartford and South
Church, New Britain.
Conductors: Mark Singleton, Jason Charneski, Richard Coffey
|
|
May 2 - 5
Vaughan Williams in Spring
A Gloucester Festival
see www.gloucesterchoral.com for
updates
See also our News page.
When a journalist wrote that the 6th symphony was
a war symphony he got a rebuke from VW.
Ursula Vaughan Williams reported "He was bloody angry. He was furious about
that".
Vaughan Williams said "I am not anything to do with war. Nothing at all.
It never seems to occur to people that a man might just want to write a piece
of music."
Yet the symphony starts with an explosion. The key is unclear. Shifting themes
and textures create a feeling of incredible energy, instability and violence.
It has been said that the symphony shares a mood with Shostakowitch’s 10th
symphony. Dissonant, startling, contemporary, manic and shocking, VW’s
6th features jazzy and jaunty saxophones which create some very sinister effects.
The overall feeling is one of terror and alienation.
Vaughan Williams said we can get nearer to the meaning of the symphony in a quote
from The Tempest. "We are such stuff that
dreams are made of". He was delighted when a contemporary composer Rutland
Boughton, described the symphony with reference to Dante, as an 'agnostic’s
Paradiso'.
The Epilogue is the eeriest of finales and is perhaps the most unusual and unsettling
part of this symphony. The orchestra barely raises above a whisper. The conductor
Andrew Davis, thought it depicted a post nuclear vision as well as being a tribute
to Holst’s 'Neptune'. With sparce Holst-like orchestration, the symphony
concludes by drifting into space with the quietest and ghostliest of pianissimos.
Uncertain and varying between Eb major and E minor it continues its drift into
a tense and disquieting, nothingness.
Royal Festival Hall
Part 1 - The Elements May 22
Both the symphonies in this evening’s concert employ vast orchestral
forces, chorus and soloists. Originally titled The
Ocean, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony was
his first significant large-scale work, premièred in 1910 at
the Leeds Festival. The text, from the American poet and humanist Walt
Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, was
attractive to Vaughan Williams as its free verse allowed for a similarly
fluid compositional structure. The work is one of many sea-related
pieces written around that time in England, including Elgar’s Sea
Pictures and Bridge’s The Sea,
while Debussy’s La Mer may also
have influenced this nautical fascination. The Sinfonia
Antartica, composed over 40 years later, came about after Vaughan
Williams had provided the soundtrack to Scott
of the Antarctic, a film depicting the heroic age of exploration.
This subject so inspired Vaughan Williams that he incorporated much
of the breathtakingly evocative music into a symphony.
Royal Festival Hall
Part 2 - The Dance May 31
The two outer works in this programme are both written for enormous
orchestral forces. The percussion section of Symphony
No. 8 includes, according to Vaughan Williams, "all the
'phones and 'spiels known to the composer", and his original music
for the ballet Job (based on Blake’s
Illustrations of the Book of Job) requires an orchestra far too large
to fit in any theatre pit. The serene and tranquil solo violin of The
Lark Ascending provides a respite from the vigorous and sometimes
ferocious sound-worlds of the surrounding pieces.
For his Seventh Symphony, Sinfonia
Antartica, Vaughan Williams reworked much of the score which
he wrote in 1947, for the film, Scott of the Antarctic. Scott was a huge score and Vaughan Williams
wrote most of it before even seeing the script. From 996 bars only
462 bars were used in the film (MK). As he researched the ill fated
expedition of 1911-12, VW became increasingly depressed by the appaling
inefficiency of the expedition. His agitation manifested itself in
an original and masterly depiction of the struggle for survival in
the bleak and icy wastes. A howling wind is portrayed by a wind machine.
A Sea Symphony continues to be the choral
societies' favourite, and rightly so. This is a huge work for soprano,
baritone, mixed chorus, and orchestra. Vaughan Williams was introduced
to the poetry of Walt Whitman in 1892 by fellow Cambridge undergraduate,
Bertrand Russell. He began the sketches as early as 1903 when he wrote Songs of the Sea. This grew into the Ocean Symphony and eventually matured into A
Sea Symphony. The music beautifully captures the spirit of Whitman's
poetry. The work took almost six years and VW acknowledged that the work
owed much to Elgar. "The Elgar phrase which influenced me was 'Thou are
calling me' in Gerontius". A Sea Symphony gives
ample scope for choral virtuosity. The final movement is especially haunting.
(visit our sounds page)
"Oh vast Rondure, swimming in space,
Covered all over with visible power and beauty..."
For text
Above: VW Conducting A Sea Symphony at Leeds in
1910.
Following the success of the 2006 EMF, dates for the
2008 English
Music Festival have
been confirmed as 23-27th May. This is a feast of English music
representing Vaughan Williams, Britten, Elgar, Purcell, Handel, Howells,
Bantock, Ireland, Finzi, Moeran, Dyson, Holbrooke, Bax, as well as
many of the less often English composers. The Festival is held mainly
in Dorchester Abbey in Oxfordshire.
www.englishmusicfestival.org.uk
|
MAY
1 & 2
Berlin – The Philharmonie
Symphony no. 5 in D-major
Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.5 'The Emperor'
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, Berlin
Conductor: Sir Roger Norrington
Emanuel Ax - piano
web
site
MAY 1, 2 & 3
Pittsburgh, USA – Heinz Hall
Symphony No. 4 in F-minor
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, 'Emperor'
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier
Horacio Gutiérrez - piano
MAY 2 & 3
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
The Lark Ascending
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Also: Mozart - Symphony No.31 Paris
Beethoven - Symphony No. 7
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Richard Tognetti - director/violin
8pm
web
site
MAY 3
Gloucester Cathedral
The Wasps Overture
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
A Sea Symphony (Symphony no. 1)
Michael Kennedy, CBE will give a pre-concert talk
Performed and supported by The Royal Philharmonic
Gloucester Choral Society
Conductor: Adrian Partington
Judith Howarth - soprano
David Stout bass
7.30pm
MAY 4
Gloucester Cathedral
Mass in G Minor
Cathedral Eucharist
St. Cecilia Singers
3.00pm
MAY 4
Gloucester Cathedral
Three Shakespeare Songs,
Five Mystical Songs
A vision of aeroplanes
Five English Folk songs, Organ preludes on Welsh Hymn tunes and folksongs
St Cecilia Singers
Conductor: Russell Burton
Greg Skidmore - tenor
Charles Matthews - organ
Gloucester Cathedral
5.30pm
MAY 5
Down Ampney, All Saints Church
Recital of Vaughan Williams songs
(where VW's father was Vicar)
Including refreshments in the house where RVW was born (The Old Vicarage)
More details of this major initiative to follow –
see web
site
MAY 7
London, St John-at-Hampstead, Church Row NW3
The Lark Ascending
Warlock Capriol Suite
Mozart Flute Concerto in D, K314
Adam Gorb: new work for chamber orchestra - world premiere
Mozart Symphony No 29 in A, K201
Kathryn Thomas - flute
Thomas Gould - violin
Hampstead and Highgate Festival Orchestra
Conductor: George Vass
www.hamandhighfest.co.uk
MAY 8
St James' Piccadilly, London
Bedford School Chamber Orchestra
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Five Mystical Songs
Conducted by Martin Hughes
and by Andrew Morris
sung by Oliver Downing, Christopher Beale and Arran Peters
Bedford School Chapel Choir,
Jeremy Rouse (organ)
Tel: +44 (0)1234 362200
www.bedfordschool.org.uk/default.asp
MAY 9
London - Barbican Centre,
Toward the Unknown Region
Symphony No 6 in E minor
Dominic Muldowney Tsunami (RPS commission: world
premiere)
Ives General William Booth enters into Heaven
Holst The Hymn of Jesus
BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Philip Quast - Baritone
MAY 9
National Concert Hall, Dublin
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Adès, Violin Concerto
Holst, The Planets
RTÉ NSO
Conductor:
James MacMillan
Anthony Marwood - violin
Ladies of the National Chamber Choir
MAY 10
St John at Hackney, Lower Clapton Road, E5
Symphony No 1, A Sea Symphony
Hackney Singers
Forest Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Mark Shanahan
7.30 pm
MAY 10
St. Cuthbert’s Church, Wells, Somerset
Symphony No 5
Also Schumann Overture Manfred
Bruch 1st G minor Violin Concerto
Clarice Rarity - soloist
The Mid-Somerset Orchestra
Conductor: Ian Ball
Hywel Jenkins - leader
7.30 pm
Tickets: £9 (full), £7 (concs.), £1 (18 & under) available
from the Tourist Information Centre, Wells - (01749 672552)
http://www.midsomersetorchestra.co.uk/prospectus.htm
MAY 10
St.George's Church, Jesmond,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
The Lark Ascending
Also: Beethoven's 7th Symphony
Prokofiev's 1st Symphony 'Classical'
Newcastle Sinfonietta
Conductor: Simon Fidler
Soloist: Ed Cross
7.30pm
07914 567792
E-mail: louise.stanway@ncl.ac.uk
MAY 11
Brighton - The Dome
Vaughan Williams Anniversary Concert
Overture: The Wasps
Toward the Unknown Region
Songs of Travel (orchestral version)
with Gerald Finley - Baritone
Riders to the Sea (concert performance)
with Catherine Wyn Rogers - Maurya
Matthew Brooke - Bartley
Sarah Fox - Cathleen
Sarah Tynan - Nora
Brighton Festival Chorus
City of London Sinfonia
Conductor: Richard Hickox
MAY 13
London – Cadogan Hall
Symphony No.4
Elgar Serenade for Strings
Walton Cello Concerto
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Vernon Handley
Guy Johnston - Cello
MAY 13
London, Christ Church Hampstead Square NW3
String Quartet No 2 in A minor
Haydn String Quartet in D minor, Op 76 No 2 'Fifths'
Joseph Horovitz String Quartet No 5
Beethoven String Quartet in C minor, Op 18 No 4
Carducci Quartet
www.hamandhighfest.co.uk
MAY 13
London's Southbank (QEH)
Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
Notes from a Small Island
The Lark Ascending
An Oxford Elegy
Holst - Two Psalms
Bliss - Pastoral 'Lies strewn the white flocks'
City of London Choir
The London Mozart Players
Hilary Davan Wetton - conductor
Timothy West - speaker
So-Ock Kim - violin
Heather Shipp - mezzo-soprano
Ileana Ruhemann - flute
Mark williams - organ
7.30pm
MAY 15
The Sage Gateshead
Symphony no.5 in D
Butterworth: On the banks of green willow
Ravel Piano Concerto no.1 in G major
Soloist: Louis Lortie
Northern Sinfonia
Conductor: Richard Hickox
MAY 16
Prague - Municipal House
Songs of Travel
Dvorak: Scherzo capriccioso, op. 66
Elgar: Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55
Halle Orchestra
Conductor: Mark Elder
Gerard Finley – voice
MAY 16
Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School
Five Variants on 'Dives and Lazarus'
Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite
Mozart: Horn Concerto No.4
Schubert: Symphony no.5 D485
City of London Sinfonia
Conductor: Richard Hickox
MAY 16, 17 & 18
Barcelona, Hall of Barcelona
Symphony No.5 in D major
Satue Líneas de Fuerza (World Premiere)OS)
Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1
Barcelona Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: James Judd
Piotr Anderszewski - piano
MAY 17
St Paul's Church, Dorking, RH4 2HT
'Pastime with Good Company', (an evening
of English song)
Five Mystical Songs
Linden Lea
The Seeds of Love
The Springtime of the Year
Andrew Mayor - baritone
The concert will also feature works by Henry VIII, Barnby, Sullivan, Noel Coward,
Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Paul Halley.
Tickets will be £12 from 01372 274803.
The audience will be refreshed with
strawberries and cream during the interval.
7.30pm
http://surreycommunity.info/brockhamchoral/
MAY 17
Tewkesbury Abbey
Symphony No.1 , A Sea Symphony
Elgar - Enigma Variations
Stroud Choral Society
Stroud Symphony Orchestra
Conductors: Benjamin Nicholas and Jonathan Trim
Susan Young - Soprano
Julian Empett - Baritone
www.stroudchoralsociety.org.uk
MAY 17, 18
Aldeburgh Cinema
The English Tradition
A celebration of three 20th century composers
Vaughan Williams, Walton and Britten
Films by Tony Palmer and intoduced by Tony Palmer and Humphrey Burton
Concluding with a concert of music by Vaughan Williams Walton and Britten
See our News page:
http://www.rvwsociety.com/iframe/newsmaster.html
Tel: 01728 452996
Fax: 01728 454026
MAY 18
London, St John-at-Hampstead, Church Row NW3
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Ferguson Piano Concerto, Op 12
Finzi Let us garlands bring, Op 18
Tippet Concerto for Double String Orchestra
Danny Driver - piano
David Wilson-Johnson - baritone
Hampstead and Highgate Festival Orchestra
Conductor: George Vass
www.hamandhighfest.co.uk
MAY 17
Ipswich Corn Exchange
Five Variants on 'Dives and Lazarus'
Schubert: Symphony no.5 D485
Kats-Chernin: Concerto for Basset Clarinet
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto
Soloist: Michael Collins
Conductor: Richard Hickox
MAY 17 & 18
St Mary's Church, Hendon
Vaughan Williams 50th Anniversary weekend
String Quartet No.2
On Wenlock Edge,
Six Studies in English Folksong
Fitzwilliam String Quartet
www.fitzwilliamquartet.org/concerts.asp
MAY 18
St. Marks Episcopal Church
1020 N. Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA
Dona Nobis Pacem
Glendale Concert Singers
Dr. Peter Green, director
4:00 pm
Gen: $10, Students/Seniors: $7
MAY 21
St Mary's Church Hall, Humberstone, Leicester
Linden Lea
Three Elizabethan Songs
Valiant for Truth
Stanford: 5 Songs of the Sea
Rutter: Nice Young Maidens
Choral Selection from the Sound of Music
and other vocal items by Wendell Whallum, Andrew Carter, Andrew Diack and Walter
Ehret.
Humberstone Choral Society
Tickets at the door or in advance from Choir members.
MAY 21
Bedford Corn Exchange, Bedford
Symphony No. 8
The Lark Ascending
Symphony no. 2 'A London Symphony'
The Philharmonia Orchestra
Conductor: Richard Hickox
Anthony Marwood - violin
http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/21may08/
MAY 22
Royal Festival Hall, London
The London Vaughan Williams concerts –
Part 1 – The Elements
Symphony No. 7, Sinfonia Antartica
Symphony No. 1, A Sea Symphony
Conductor:Richard Hickox
Susan Gritton - soprano
Gerald Finley - baritone
London Symphony Chorus
£38 £29 £23 £18 £14 £11 £8 Premium
seats £45
(On sale 15 October)
At 6pm There will be PRE CONCERT RECITAL by the Soloists of the Philharmonia
Orchestra exploring chamber music by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
ADMISSION FREE
MAY 23
Leicester -De Montfort Hall
Symphony No. 1, A Sea Symphony
Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture
Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1
Philharmonia Orchestra
Conductor: Richard Hickox
Alina Ibragimova - violin
Susan Gritton - soprano
Gerald Finley - baritone
London Symphony Chorus
http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/23may08/
MAY 24
All Saints' Church, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire
English Music Festival
Lord Thou hast been our Refuge
Concerto Accademico
Also: Elgar There is Sweet Music, Serenade
Finzi Romance, Magnificat, Welcome, Sweet & Sacred
Feast
Holst Ave Maria, Nunc
Dimittis
Howells Serenade for Strings
Vox Musica
Directed by Michael Berman
2.30p.m.
www.englishmusicfestival.org.uk
MAY 24
Dorchester Abbey, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
English Music Festival
Te Deum
Also: Norman O'Neill Pastorale
Bridge The Two Hunchbacks
Holst Brook Green Suite
Bliss Pastoral
Milton Keynes City Orchestra and City of London Choir
Conductor: Hilary Davan Wetton
7p.m.
www.englishmusicfestival.org.uk
MAY 25
Radley College Silk Hall, Radley, Oxfordshire
English Music Festival
Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
Also: Finzi Clarinet Concerto
Ireland Downland Suite
Elgar Introduction and Allegro
Amaretti Orchestra
David Campbell Clarinet solo
Conductor: Louise Latham
2.30p.m.
www.englishmusicfestival.org.uk
MAY 26
All Saints', Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire
English Music Festival
String Quartet no. 1
String Quartet no. 2
Also: Moeran String Quartet in Eb
Carducci String Quartet
2.30p.m.
www.englishmusicfestival.org.uk
MAY 24 & 25
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Bach arr. Schoenberg: Prelude & Fugue in E flat (BWV552) "St.
Anne"
Britten: Violin Concerto
Sibelius: Symphony No.7
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Hannu Lintu
Daniel Hope - violin
http://www.malaysianphilharmonic
MAY 27
Zurich- Tonhalle
Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra
Sibelius: En Saga
Brahms: Serenade No 1
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Conductor: Alan Gilbert
Tuba: Simon Styles
https://www.tonhalle
MAY 28
Zurich - Tonhalle
Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra
Sibelius: En Saga
Brahms: Serenade No 1
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Conductor: Alan Gilbert
Tuba: Simon Styles
https://www.tonhalle
MAY 29
Sheffield – City Hall
Five variants of Dives and Lazurus
Elgar The Music Makers
Poulenc Suite Les Biches
Britten Four Sea Interludes
Christine Rice - mezzo soprano
Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus
Hallé Orchestra
Conductor: Martyn Brabbins
MAY 31
Royal Festival Hall, London
The London Vaughan Williams concerts –
Part 2 – The Dance
Symphony No. 8
The Lark Ascending
Job: A Masque for Dancing
Conductor: Richard Hickox
Anthony Marwood - violin
Philharmonia Orchestra
£38 £29 £23 £18 £14 £11 £8 Premium
seats £45
(On sale 15 October) |
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| The Philharmonia Orchestra
present two special semi-staged performances of The
Pilgrim's Progress to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Vaughan
Williams’ death.
The last of Vaughan Williams’ operas and a labour
of love for the composer for forty years, The
Pilgrim’s Progress is today regarded as one of his finest
works, brimming with expressive musical ideas. It tells of a pilgrim's
journey to the Celestial City. He battles with The Devil, visits Vanity
Fair, gets imprisoned and finds a pastoral idyll in the Delectable
Mountains. The music is occasionally scary, at other times witty, but
the overarching impression is one of visionary beauty and nobility.
The opera exhibits all of Vaughan Williams’ range, from the Tallis
Fantasia through the Pastoral Symphony, and a lifetime devoted to setting
the greatest English poetry.
(notes from Saddlers Wells)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Winchester – June 2008
An English Idyll
A festival of music celebrating the best English music ever written,
in particular that of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Throughout the festival
a special exhibition about the life and work of Vaughan Williams will
be on display at Winchester Cathedral. Visit the cathedral website
at www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk for
opening details.
The Serenade to Music was
composed for the unique occasion, of Henry Wood's jubilee which took
place at the Royal Albert Hall on the 5th October 1938. 'Tailor' written
for 16 internationally acclaimed solo singers (VW identified the singers
by inscribing their initials in the score) with words by Shakespeare
from The Merchant of Venice, RVW later
adapted the music for choral or orchestral use. Beautiful words and
beautiful music. Ursula Vaughan Williams recalled that Rachmaninov
who was there to play his Second Concerto, was moved to tears.
The Concerto for Bass Tuba was written
when VW was aged 81, and first performed on 13th June 1954 by Philip
Catelinet and the LSO under John Barbirolli. Critical reaction was
not to take it too seriously - "an elephantine
romp, humorous and salty" - Michael Kennedy
VW took the task seriously enough as he always did and especially as
a champion for underated instruments.
'He discovered agility and melodic potential in an instrument few others
had suspected, and created a work of lasting value.
The D major romanza is really beautiful, with a main theme as fine
any Vaughan-Williams slow movement. Sung first by the violas, the tuba
takes it over and explores it lovingly. The finale is short, quick
and more chromatic, slithering into and out of keys rapidly, before
another short cadenza and closing flourish.' |
JUNE 6
Winchester Cathedral
An English Idyll
Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Elgar- Serenade for Strings
Holst - St Paul’s Suite
Delius - Two Aquarelles
Grieg - Holberg Suite
Duncan Riddell - Director
Bournemouth Symphony Strings
sponsored by Nationwide Building Society
7.30pm
Prices: £25, £19, £10, £7, £4
Box Office: 01962 857275
http://www.bsolive.com/
JUNE 7
St Marys Woodbridge Suffolk
The Ravel - RVW Connection
Quartet no 1 in G minor
On Wenlock Edge
Also: Ravel String Quartet in F
Carducci Quartet
Nathan Vale - tenor
Nicola Eimer - piano
7.30pm
Free pre concert talk by Stephen Connock at 6.30pm
(second of two weekend concerts)
There will also be a small exhibition on 'RVW in East Anglia'.
For brochure, tickets or further binformation please contact: John Treadway
01986 798324
Email: johnatreadway@yahoo.co.uk
JUNE 7
St Georges Hyde Cheshire
Five Mystical Songs
Five English Folk Songs
House of Life
Parry: Blest Pair of Sirens
Parry: I was Glad
Howard Wong - baritone
Philip Collin – conductor / piano
Manchester Bach Choir
7.30pm. Tickets £9, concessions £6, students £1
For tickets or further information:
Janet Holwill 0161 427 4054
email: tholwill@tisacali.co.uk
JUNE 8
darmstadtium Congress Centre, Holzstr. 2, DE-64283 Darmstadt, Germany
Ein Abend am Meer (A night at the sea)
Symphony No. 1, A Sea Symphony
Also: Richard Wagner: The Flying Dutchman - Ouverture; Ludwig
van Beethoven: Meeresstille und Glueckliche Fahrt op. 112; Felix
Mendelssohn
Bartholdy: The Hebrids op. 26;
There will be a short introduction to the concert in
german language on 16:30 CEST
Artists: Konzertchor Darmstadt; Philharmonie Suedwestfalen; Elizabeth Roberts,
Soprano; Christopher Foster, Baritone;
Conductor: Wolfgang Seeliger
17:00 CEST.
JUNE 8
Central Theatre, Chatham
Five Variants on 'Dives and Lazarus'
Schubert: Symphony no.5 D485
Kats-Chernin: Concerto for Basset Clarinet
Mozart: Symphony No.40 in G minor, K550
City of London Sinfonia
Soloist: Michael Collins
Conductor: Richard Hickox
web site
JUNE 9
The Schubert Club, 302 Landmark Center
75 W.
5th St.,
Saint
Paul,
MN 55102
651-292-3266
The Schubert Club's 2008 Saint Paul Summer Song
Festival
The Lark in the Morning
Songs of Travel
A series of 5 free noon concerts exploring the breadth of the songs of Ralph
Vaughan Williams on the 50th Anniversary of his death.
Michael Jorgensen, bass baritone
Sonja Thompson, piano
Email: jkudrna@schubert.org
FREE
For full programme
JUNE 10
The Schubert Club, 302 Landmark Center
75
W. 5th St., Saint Paul, MN 55102
651-292-3266
The Schubert Club's 2008 Saint Paul Summer Song Festival
Along the Field
Two folk songs with violin
Searching for lambs
The Lawyer
Along the Field
The Twilight People
The Piper
Maria Jette, soprano
Young Nam Kim, violin
Email: jkudrna@schubert.org
FREE
For full programme
JUNE 11
The Schubert Club, 302 Landmark Center
75 W. 5th St., Saint Paul, MN 55102
651-292-3266
The Schubert Club's 2008 Saint Paul Summer Song Festival
Claribel
Four poems by Fredegond Shove
Ten Blake Songs
The Splendor Falls
Dan Dressen, tenor
Timothy Lovelace, piano
Kathryn Greenbank, oboe
Email: jkudrna@schubert.org
FREE
For full programme
JUNE 12
The Schubert Club, 302 Landmark Center
75 W. 5th St., Saint Paul, MN 55102
651-292-3266
The Schubert Club's 2008 Saint Paul Summer Song Festival
Boy Johnny
The House of Life
Three Shakespeare Songs
Emily Lodine, mezzo
Sonja Thompson, piano
Email: jkudrna@schubert.org
FREE
For full programme
JUNE 13
The Schubert Club, 302 Landmark Center
75 W. 5th St., Saint Paul, MN 55102
651-292-3266
The Schubert Club's 2008 Saint Paul Summer Song Festival
Now Let Us Praise Famous Men
Greensleeves
Maria Jette, soprano
Emily Lodine, mezzo
Dan Dressen, tenor
Michael Jorgensen, bass-baritone
Timothy Lovelace, piano
Email: jkudrna@schubert.org
FREE
For full programme
JUNE 13
Cadogan Hall, Sloane Terrace
Greensleeves Fantasia
Lark Ascending
John Rutter presents
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo
Butterworth: The Banks of Green Willow
Rutter: Suite Antique for flute, harpsichord and strings
Elgar: Introduction and Allegro
Rutter: Suite for Strings (on English folk tunes)
Binge: The Watermill (oboe, harp, strings)
Handel: Water Music Excerpts
For more details
JUNE 13
Brangwyn Hall
The Lark Ascending
Sibelius: Symphony no.3
Beethoven: Symphony no.3 in E Flat (Eroica)
Soloist: Jennifer Pike
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Conductor: Richard Hickox
JUNE 14
Lehman Auditorium, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia
The Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival
English Folk Song Suite
Fantasia on Greensleeves
Also: Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major,
BWV 1048
Joaquín Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez*
Eugene Friesen - Under the Sun for string octet
*Michael Partington - guitar
Ken Nafziger - artistic director and conductor
7:30 p.m.
www.emu.edu/bach/
JUNE 14
Woodhouse, Holmbury St Mary, Surrey
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