Gala Concert

Leader - Charles Sewart

Conductor - Robert Secret

Charles Sewart – Violin

Julian Metzger - Cello

Christopher Redgate – Oboe

Rachel Edmonds - Bassoon

Mendelssohn: Overture: The Hebrides Op. 26 “Fingal’s Cave”

Haydn: Sinfonia Concertante in B flat Major for Violin, Cello, Oboe & Bassoon

Sibelius: Symphony no 3 in C major Op. 52

Haydn’s pupil Ignaz Pleyel’s concertos, symphonies and, especially, his symphonies concertantes, were hugely popular in Paris and London during the 1780s and early 1790s. The popularity of Pleyel’s works led to Haydn being asked to write his Sinfonia Concertante first performed in London in 1792. The Monday Herald review said "The last performance at Salomon’s Concert deserves to be mentioned as one of the richest

treats which the recent season has afforded. A new concertante from Haydn combined with all the excellencies of music; it was profound,

airy, affecting, and original”.

Dedicated to the British composer Granville Bantock, the third symphony of Sibelius is perhaps the last of the composer’s “romantic” symphonies. Concise, cheerful and heroic this symphony is truly a gem. The wistful tune that opens the second movement will haunt everyone who hears it.

The cheerful and sometimes light mood of this symphony has led to it being described as his “classical symphony”.

Sibelius said of Mozart “To my mind a Mozart allegro is the most perfect model for a symphonic movement. Think of its wonderful unity and homogeneity”.