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Stravinsky, Delius, Debussy, Ravel at the Hereford Three Choirs Festival

When
Sunday July 22, 2012 at 19:45
Where
Hereford Cathedral, Hereford
Tickets
£40, £35, £25, £20, £15, £7
Phone for tickets: 08456521823
Phone lines open: From Monday 16th April: Monday-Friday, 10.15am to 1.30pm
Other Sources: Over the counter from 11 July at the Festival Ticket Office, Hereford
Book Online Book by Email
Tickets "at the door" - until sold out
  1. The Firebird Suite - Igor Stravinsky
  2. Cello Concerto - Frederick Delius
  3. La Mer - Claude Debussy
  4. Boléro - Maurice Ravel

Stravinsky The Firebird suite, aka Concert Suite for Orchestra No.2, as succinctly put by a reviewer on Amazon, forms a bridge between the romantic era and the modern movement. Mix this piece with art by Picasso or even an impressionist such as Renoir, wash it down with buckets of absinthe and you will see & hear what the Russian revolution was all about … and for those not familiar with the ballet, the suite was used in the film Fantasia! Arranged by the composer himself in 1919 for a concert performance, the suite (in 5 movements) is based on the original ballet of the same name.

Born in the UK to dutch parents, Delius spent most of his musical life in Germany and France where his works were predominantly performed. His return to the UK after the First World War failed to make sufficient impression, though Sir Thomas Beecham quickly became a lifetime devotee of his work and performed his music whenever possible. Completed in 1921 as Delius succumbed to syphilis which eventually rendered him paralysed and blind, his cello concerto has failed to win the recognition that it perhaps deserves. Eric Fenby, who transcribed Delius's work as his illness progressed, said: "The music of Delius is not an acquired taste. One either likes it the moment one first hears it, or the sound of it is once and for ever distasteful to one. It is an art which will never enjoy an appeal to the many, but one which will always be loved, and dearly loved, by the few."

Debussy La mer was completed in 1905 while Debussy was in Eastbourne, and the first performance took place in the same year in Paris. It was not initially well received, partly because of Parisian outrage at Debussy leaving his wife for the singer Emma Bardac. But is soon became one of his most admired and frequently performed works. Debussy called La mer "three symphonic sketches", and it is a masterpiece of suggestion and subtlety in its rich depiction of the ocean, combining unusual orchestration with daring impressionistic harmonies.

Premiered in 1928, Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece, originally written as a ballet for the Russian ballerina Ida Robinstein and is Ravel’s most famous composition (much to the composer's surprise!) The music is built over an unchanging ostinato rhythm played on one or more snare drums that remains constant throughout the piece over which a single theme is repeated. Tension is provided by the contrast between the steady percussive rhythm, and the "expressive vocal melody trying to break free". Interest is maintained by constant reorchestration of the theme, leading to a variety of timbres, and by a steady crescendo. This piece was made even more famous when used as the soundtrack by Torvill & Dean for their Gold medal winning routine at the 1984 Winter Olympics.


Venue
Hereford Cathedral
5 College Cloisters
Hereford
Herefordshire
HR1 2NG
England


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