Spring Masterworks Concert
An amazing programme, featuring wonderful works and a superb soloist.
Join us in March 2023 for our Spring Masterworks Concert.
For this concert, we are delighted to be joined by Ensemble 360’s resident clarinettist Robert Plane, who will perform Mozart’s clarinet concerto in A major — a piece he has played in such diverse locations as Madrid, with the City of London Sinfonia; Beijing, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales; and the USA with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
Our conductor for this concert is Laurence Perkins, who worked with us in March 2022 as our bassoon soloist. We are very pleased to welcome him back in this different role.
We open the concert with Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, which is a 'concert overture' or tone poem. This piece is thematic and was inspired by the composer's trip to Fingal’s cave in 1829. It is said that Mendelssohn jotted down the opening theme for his composition immediately after seeing the island. Johannes Brahms once said "I would gladly give all I have written, to have composed something like the Hebrides Overture”.
Next comes Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, with Robert Plane, our amazing soloist. The Concerto was completed in 1791 and is regarded as Mozart's swan-song — his last great completed work, written a few short weeks before his death. It is the very first clarinet concerto to be written by any major composer. Cheery yet graceful, the clarinet’s warm tone brings the beautifully simple tunes to life.
After the interval we conclude with Beethoven’s 7th symphony. At the premier, the second movement, "Allegretto", was so popular that audiences demanded an encore and this movement is frequently performed separately to this day. In fact, in the 2010 film The King's Speech, it was used during King George's climactic speech at Buckingham Palace after the commencement of the country's involvement in World War II. Beethoven remarked that this symphony was one of his best works — come and see if you agree.
Programme
- Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture
- Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A
- Beethoven: Symphony No 7
