The Second Symphony, from its first performance to today, remains one of Sibelius’ most popular works. Its importance at the time was also due to the Finnish struggle for independence and early reactions to the work included some efforts to read into it an overtly nationalistic, patriotic programme. Much attention was focused on the heroic finale, of course, but also on the long, anguished slow movement, music of great passion and pain, surging along in dramatic waves toward a grim conclusion.
The Second Symphony, from its first performance to today, remains one of Sibelius’ most popular works. Its importance at the time was also due to the Finnish struggle for independence and early reactions to the work included some efforts to read into it an overtly nationalistic, patriotic programme. Much attention was focused on the heroic finale, of course, but also on the long, anguished slow movement, music of great passion and pain, surging along in dramatic waves toward a grim conclusion.
Walton’s Cello Concerto is introspective and reflective. Wistful romanticism and lush...
Hauntingly beautiful and compellingly emotional, Britten’s Serenade is an insightful and imaginative setting of poems which span five centuries of English verse, united under a loosely connecting theme of evening, the night-time and sleep. The music is immediately gripping, the tenor's penetrating vocal lines matched in spades by the wonderful horn calls. It is without question a genuine masterwork of the 20th century.
Mozart’s Symphony No.39 opens grandly, with a darkly dramatic introduction in which orchestral texture and harmonic dissonance increase to near breaking point. This...
One of the most impressive calling cards in the history of music, The Firebird is a work of such brilliance that it could only have been written by Stravinsky, mixing the orchestral mastery of his Russian mentors with the rhythmic vitality of the revolutionary about to burst out of his shell. The musical language shifts between exotic, chromatic gestures to illustrate the supernatural dimension and the sing-song simplicity of folk song for the mortals creating a dazzling, evocative atmosphere.
A Moorish exoticism is also present in de Falla’s set of symphonic impressions of the...
Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto is a perennial favourite of violinists and audiences. Vibrant and confident, ironically, it dates from a crisis-laden two years in his life after the breakdown of his disastrous marriage. Folk music and French chanson merge with dazzling fireworks in this marvellous showpiece. When the Spring Symphony burst forth in a torrent of confidence and creativity in those famous four days of “symphonic fire… sleepless nights”, Schumann was still a newcomer to orchestral music; yet it possesses the most successful use of orchestral colour that he ever obtained.
Join the BSO and boldy go where no orchestra has gone before in another blockbuster concert featuring music from some of the most iconic and successful space movies of all time, including Apollo 13, Star Wars, Star Trek, ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Avatar and War of the Worlds...plus many more.
See in the New Year in style with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s traditional celebration of Johann Strauss, the King of Waltz. Don’t miss your chance to hear his waltzes, marches and polkas as they should be heard – played by a full symphony orchestra! Following on from his hugely successful debut at the BSO with the New Year Gala in 2013, the Orchestra is delighted to welcome back charming Viennese conductor Aleksandar Marković for what is sure to be a festive afternoon looking towards the excitement of the New Year. He will be joined by stunning soprano Rebecca Bottone.
Kick off Christmas with our fun-packed concert for all the family, featuring seasonal classics old and new, all wrapped up with a sprinkling of magic and sparkle. A rollercoaster of Christmas favourites lies in store, including Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Sleigh Ride, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.
All this plus a selection of popular songs from the best of West End and Broadway musicals, including Beauty & the Beast, Gypsy Overture, The Girl from 14G, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Chess and Company.
The incidental music for The Tempest, the tone poem Tapiola and the Seventh Symphony were Sibelius’ last significant compositions. Possibly the most ambitious and extraordinary symphonies in the repertoire – a work of great confidence and affirmation – the Seventh is more a sort of giant rondo. Comprising one seamless flow of thematic development it builds from a few melodic scraps towards a final upward sweep and trombone hymn that seems to reach out to infinity.
Contrastingly, Tapiola is dusky, mysterious and brooding – evoking the god of the forest and a seemingly endless...
With references to the brilliant warmth and light of Italy and the rugged grandeur of the Cornish coast, Elgar’s Second Symphony is far more complex and deeply personal than his First. Riddled with doubts, questioning and conflict it reflects not only the true spirit of the age but also the personality of the composer as it meanders from extrovert exuberance to melancholy introversion.
Elgar himself stated that “I have written out my soul”. In this most lyrical, poetic and fantastical of his concertos, Beethoven does not abandon Mozartian concerto form but imbues it with a...
