New Bristol Sinfonia - Archive

Lukas Groen, chief conductor of the Rijnland Symphony Orchestra and musical director of the Symphonic Choir in Vlissingen, joins us as a guest conductor for this concert, which opens with the premiere of his own 'Small Piece for Orchestra'. This is a piece in 4 sections and combines the use of the 12-tone system in both traditional and new ways. The piece culminates with a jazz-like finale with an unexpected end!

Stravinksky's Firebird Suite is a ballet based on the Russian folk tales of the magical glowing bird from a faraway land, which is both a blessing and a curse to its captor. Besides the complete 50-minute ballet score of 1909-10 there are 3 shorter suites arranged by the composer himself dated 1911, 1919 and 1945. The 1919 suite remains the most wide spread and well known but the 1945 version contains the most music from the original ballet score (partly motivated by the need to secure copyright in a USA that did not recognise European agreements). The ballet has historic significance not only as Stravinsky's 'breakthrough piece' but also as the beginning of the collaboration between Diaghilev and Stravinksy that would also produce Petrushka and The Rite of Spring.

Elgar had first considered composing a symphony as early as 1898 but he toyed with this idea for several years before finally settling down to it shortly after his fiftieth birthday in 1907. It begins with a broad, noble theme, which binds the work together, recurring at intervals throughout the four movements before eventually emerging as a triumphant march at the very end of the symphony. The third movement (adagio) is widely considered to be the most perfect and lyrical of all Elgar's output.

Concert

Date: Saturday 1 July, 2006

Programme:

• Lukas Groen: Small piece for orchestra
• Stravinksy: Firebird Suite (1945 version)
• Elgar: Symphony No 1

Conductor: Lukas Groen

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:
Lukas will be presenting a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm. This is open to all and entry is free.