UWE GRODD    Conductor
AMALIA HALL   Violin

A concert of the two romantic titans: Elgar and Brahms!

One of the most demanding concertos in the Violin repertoire, Elgar’s Violin Concerto is also one of the most romantic and beautiful. There is much speculation as to who was Elgar’s muse for this piece, but many believe it was for his friend nicknamed ‘Windflower’, Alice Stuart-Wortley. The violin theme ‘windflower’ is repeated throughout the work and is a wonderful descriptor for the elegance and movement of the music. The MSO is delighted that Amalia Hall will return to play the superb violin solo for this work which we know is repertoire she excels at.

Taking over twenty years to write according to Brahms, with much expectation from his friends and contemporaries, Symphony No 1 was deemed a success when first performed in Vienna and was then hailed as Beethoven’s tenth. The motifs Brahms pays homage to from Beethoven are indeed purposeful, and when these similarities were pointed out to him, Brahms reply was “any ass can see that!”

Powerful, energetic and moving, Brahms shows us his brilliance as a composer of maturity. And thus, Johannes Brahms will forever be known as one of the three ‘B’s of classical music, in equal footing with the legendary Bach and Beethoven.