Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra

Programme:

Haydn - Symphony No. 103 ' Drum Roll'
Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
Brahms - Symphony No. 1 in C minor

Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra
Michael Bell – Conductor
Sara Trickey - Violin

Two contrasting symphonies begin and close this concert. Haydn’s Drum Roll Symphony, his 103rd symphony no less, is a work full of sparkle and zest.

In comparison to Haydn, Brahms wrote just four symphonies, and was 43 when his first symphony was premiered. When Haydn was 43 he had composed over 50 symphonies!

Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 takes us on a journey in its four movements from despair and angst to joy and triumph, and contains in its final movement one of the most beautiful and best-loved tunes written by any composer.

Separating these two symphonies is Vaughan Williams’ sublime work for violin and orchestra, The Lark Ascending. Written in 1914 but put aside while Williams served in the First World War, it features a solo violin as the lark with the orchestra providing musical images of the rolling countryside. It is the work consistently voted the nation’s favourite classic.