New Bristol Sinfonia - Archive

For our final concert of this season, we are joined by Leo McFall who is currently studying at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. We open the concert with what is probably Ives' most famous and popular work, 'The Unanswered Question'. This piece has a number of alternative titles, which perhaps give some clues to the work's meaning. They include 'a Cosmic Landscape', a 'Contemplation of a Serious Matter' and 'The Unanswered Serious Question'. It is written very much in the style of a collage; one piece of music being piled on top of another with a constant contrast of styles and a throwing together of disparate themes.

Sibelius' 7th and last Symphony marks the culmination of his lifelong quest for symphonic unity, in one continuous movement. The 7th Symphony is the apotheosis of Sibelius' symphonic thought and its unfolding and culmination is wrought with so much finality that one cannot blame Sibelius for being unable to complete another symphony after it, even though he lived for another 33 years.

Brahms' 4th and last Symphony finishes off the year parading its elaborate interplay of themes. Loaded with German Romanticism and including variations of a Bach cantata, Brahms' final symphony is a remarkable example of his mastery of symphonic composition. A rich, warm work that builds on a sense of movement and intensity right up to the final bars.

Date: Saturday 26 November, 2005

Programme:

• Ives: The Unanswered Question
• Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
• Brahms: Symphony No. 4

Conductor: Leo McFall

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Victoria Rooms, Clifton, Bristol. Click here for a map

Tickets:
We recommend booking in advance on our ticket hotline: "MusicBox" 01275 349010. (Cheques and all major credit and debit cards accepted, no booking fee). Pre-booked tickets will be posted to you or can be picked up at the door.

Most seats for this concert are numbered and can be reserved in advance. Click here to see a seating plan of the Victoria Rooms. The Box Office can advise on which seats are available and which have the best view.

The ticket prices are:

• £13 (£11 concessions) balcony
• £10 adults (£8 concessions) front stalls
• £7 adults (£5 concessions) rear stalls under the balcony (unreseved)
• £5 students, any seat
• £2 children/school parties, any seat

Pre-concert talk:
Please note that there will not be a pre-concert talk before this concert