New Bristol Sinfonia

Saturday 3rd March 2012

Tonight’s concert starts with “In Nature’s Realm” by Anton Dvorak. Written in 1892, the piece forms part of a “Nature, Life and Love” trilogy of overtures which were premiered in Prague in 1892. It was his farewell concert before moving to New York, and when the trilogy was repeated again at the Carnegie Hall a year later, The New York Times commented that Nature’s Realm was “especially bright and virile in melody and instrumental treatment”. The work resembles a rich, colour-soaked landscape depicting the composer’s home in the Vysoká forest where he composed, disturbed only by the natural sounds outside.

Our second piece is Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major. This concerto was one of five that he composed around 1775, at a more mature stage in his career. The concerto opens with the presentation of a theme that Mozart had devised a few months earlier in his comic opera, “Il rè pastore” and the first movement provides huge variety in rhythm and orchestral colour. The second movement is serene, with a seemingly unending melody floating over the muted, elegant strings. A rondeau, full of surprising vignettes, forms the third movement. Our soloist tonight is 15 year-old Lana Trimmer, a student at Clifton College and winner of the 2011 Rotary Club Young Musician of the Year competition.

Our final work is Symphony No. 8 by Shostakovich. This piece was composed in the summer of 1943, and premiered that November by the USSR Symphony Orchestra, under Yevgeny Mravinsky, to whom the Symphony is dedicated. Although ranked as one of the finest pieces that Shostakovich ever wrote, it’s argued that it succumbs to the “tragedy to triumph” tradition of other notable C minor symphonies such as Beethoven’s Fifth and Mahler’s Second Symphony. The work was written in 40 days, a remarkable feat given that it is one of his largest works. However, it was received with indifference by the public and with outrage by the critics, who expected another instalment of uplifting and celebratory music akin to his seventh symphony. Unable to openly criticise such an icon of Russian music, the critics decided that this symphony was a “tribute to the heroic victims of the Battle of Stalingrad” - hence its tag as the “Stalingrad Symphony”.

Concert Details

Date: Saturday 3 March, 2012
Time: 7.30pm

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

Programme:

• Dvorak - In Nature’s Realm
• Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major
• Shostakovich - Symphony No. 8

Violin: Lana Trimmer, winner of the 2011 Rotary Club of Bristol Young Musicians' Competition
Conductor: Robin Browning
Leader: Mark Bunker

Tickets:
We recommend booking in advance with our Box Office: 07796 573869.
Cheques are accepted and there is 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:

• £15 (£13 concessions) balcony
• £11 adults (£9 concessions) stalls
• £5 students
• £2 children/school parties

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