Farnborough Symphony Orchestra

The FSO’s March concert has a strong international flavour and it is appropriate and exciting to welcome internationally acclaimed flautist Marina Piccinini, who is in demand worldwide as a soloist and recording artist, for Ibert's concerto for flute and orchestra.

Jacques Ibert made a name for himself in Paris between the wars and it is from this era that the flute concerto dates. The opening work of the concert is a symphonic poem inspired by Arthur Honneger's holiday in the Swiss alps in 1920. It has been described as "a musical impression of a peaceful early morning in the Swiss alps". By contrast, Milhaud's surrealist ballet score, Le Bouef sur le Toit (literally the Ox on the Roof) uses nearly 30 Brazilian folk tunes to evoke the spirit of the country. Originally intended as a film score to a Charlie Chaplin silent film, it was inspired by two years which the composer spent in Brazil during World War I.

The concert concludes with the supremely melodic Symphony No. 5 by Tchaikovsky. The work met with mixed reaction when it was premiered but, over the years, it has established itself as one of the composer's best loved symphonies. After all, who can fail to be struck by the lyrical horn solo in the 2nd movement.

Programme:

Honegger : Pastorale d'été
Ibert : Flute Concerto
Milhaud : Le Boeuf sur le Toit
Tchaikovsky : Symphony No. 5 in E Minor