English String Orchestra with Kenneth Woods & Matthew Sharp perform Grieg, Hans Gál,and Tchaikovsky: Romantic Strings for a Shirehall Sunday at Shire Hall, Hereford on Sunday 28th May 2017

Please note: This concert is in the past and has already taken place.

English String Orchestra with Kenneth Woods & Matthew Sharp perform Grieg, Hans Gál,and Tchaikovsky

Romantic Strings for a Shirehall Sunday

Part of the ESO Shirehall Sundays 2017 Season

Add to my Calendar 28-05-2017 15:30 28-05-2017 17:30 36 English String Orchestra with Kenneth Woods & Matthew Sharp perform Grieg, Hans Gál,and Tchaikovsky Herefordshire’s internationally renowned professional orchestra in residence, the English String Orchestra, conclude their second season of hugely popular Shirehall Sunday concerts on Sunday the 28th of May at 3:30 PM with concert celebrating the ESO’s roots as one of the most admired string orchestras in the world.  ESO Artistic Director Kenneth Woods will conduct and the soloist is ESO Artist-in-Association, cellist Matthew Sharp.   The concert includes two of the gems of the string orchestra literature- Tchaikovsky’s beloved Serenade for Strings and Grieg’s Holberg Suite, works the orchestra has recorded to sweeping international critical acclaim. “The ESO were founded in 1980 as the English String Orchestra at a time when professional string orchestras were a real rarity,” says Kenneth Woods. “Although our repertoire now spans everything from Baroque to modern works and we work in combinations of instruments from string trio to Mahler-sized symphony orchestra, the Romantic string repertoire is very much this orchestra’s home territory, and we’re really looking forward to showcasing that side of the ESO’s heritage in the lovely acoustic of the Shirehall.”   Between the Grieg and Tchaikovsky mainstays, the orchestra is joined by cellist Matthew Sharp for a rare performance of Hans Gál’s Concertino for Cello and Strings. “Gál is a composer who has come to mean a great deal to me,” said Woods. “In many ways, he was the last great Romantic composer- someone with the most incredibly lyrical gift. Nobody ever wrote more beautiful melodies than Gál, but he was also an inventive musical craftsman who was always thinking about what he could say through music that hadn’t been said before. The Concertino is one of his loveliest works, but it was premiered at a time when beautiful music was out of fashion and this is only the second performance we know of in the last 45 years.”   Sharp and the ESO are also recording the Gál for release on Avie Records. Woods has previously made world-premiere recordings of the four Gál Symphonies, Violin Concertos and Piano Concerto international acclaim. Matthew Sharp is one of today’s most astonishingly multi-talented musicians. He has previously appeared with the ESO as narrator and bass baritone, is a leading actor and opera director and is highly active in bring music to young people. He recently hosted the ESO’s celebration of Music and Storytelling at the Shirehall.   The ESO are also active in supporting music education and the musical development of young people across Elgar Country. They are the affiliated orchestra for the Music Hubs in both Herefordshire and Worcestershire and have a close relationship with Hereford Sixth form College, the Elgar School of Music and other music educators across the region. For their performance of Grieg’s Holberg Suite, the ESO will be joined by a number of young Orchestral Scholars, outstanding young instrumentalists from the Hereford Youth Orchestra and Academia Musica. “We’re working year round with our partners at Encore Enterprises and Hereford Sixth Form College to make sure young people in our region have world-class opportunities to experience great music and to participate in making music with professional musicians,” said Woods.   2016-7 has been a banner year for the ESO. Highlights of the current season included a triumphant choral concert with Academia Musica in the Shirehall in February, the world premiere of John Joubert’s opera Jane Eyre in October (a performance hailed by the Birmingham Post as the highlight of the musical year in Birmingham), a triumphant launch of the orchestra’s 21st Century Symphony Project in St John’s Smith Square and major debuts at Bridgewater Hall- Manchester, Kings Place- London and Cheltenham Town Hall The ESO’s third Shirehall Sunday series begins on October 1st and will include symphonies by Mozart and Mendelssohn, the return of virtuoso violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky and a season ending celebration of music and youth combining forces of the ESO, Academia Musica Choir and Orchestra and Hereforshire Youth Orchestra.   Shire Hall, Hereford DD/MM/YYYY

Details

Shire Hall
St Peter's Square
Hereford
Herefordshire
HR1 2HX
England

Sunday 28th May 2017
3:30 PM

Programme

Edvard Grieg – Holberg Suite, Op.40
Pyotr Tchaikovsky – Serenade for Strings in C major, Op.48
Hans Gál – Concertino for Cello and Strings

Performers

Kenneth Woods – Conductor
Matthew Sharp – Cello

English String Orchestra

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English Symphony Orchestra performs Haydn, Mozart, Milhaud and Piazzolla – Hereford afternoon concert

Programme Note

Herefordshire’s internationally renowned professional orchestra in residence, the English String Orchestra, conclude their second season of hugely popular Shirehall Sunday concerts on Sunday the 28th of May at 3:30 PM with concert celebrating the ESO’s roots as one of the most admired string orchestras in the world. ESO Artistic Director Kenneth Woods will conduct and the soloist is ESO Artist-in-Association, cellist Matthew Sharp.

The concert includes two of the gems of the string orchestra literature- Tchaikovsky’s beloved Serenade for Strings and Grieg’s Holberg Suite, works the orchestra has recorded to sweeping international critical acclaim. “The ESO were founded in 1980 as the English String Orchestra at a time when professional string orchestras were a real rarity,” says Kenneth Woods. “Although our repertoire now spans everything from Baroque to modern works and we work in combinations of instruments from string trio to Mahler-sized symphony orchestra, the Romantic string repertoire is very much this orchestra’s home territory, and we’re really looking forward to showcasing that side of the ESO’s heritage in the lovely acoustic of the Shirehall.”

Between the Grieg and Tchaikovsky mainstays, the orchestra is joined by cellist Matthew Sharp for a rare performance of Hans Gál’s Concertino for Cello and Strings. “Gál is a composer who has come to mean a great deal to me,” said Woods. “In many ways, he was the last great Romantic composer- someone with the most incredibly lyrical gift. Nobody ever wrote more beautiful melodies than Gál, but he was also an inventive musical craftsman who was always thinking about what he could say through music that hadn’t been said before. The Concertino is one of his loveliest works, but it was premiered at a time when beautiful music was out of fashion and this is only the second performance we know of in the last 45 years.”

Sharp and the ESO are also recording the Gál for release on Avie Records. Woods has previously made world-premiere recordings of the four Gál Symphonies, Violin Concertos and Piano Concerto international acclaim. Matthew Sharp is one of today’s most astonishingly multi-talented musicians. He has previously appeared with the ESO as narrator and bass baritone, is a leading actor and opera director and is highly active in bring music to young people. He recently hosted the ESO’s celebration of Music and Storytelling at the Shirehall.

The ESO are also active in supporting music education and the musical development of young people across Elgar Country. They are the affiliated orchestra for the Music Hubs in both Herefordshire and Worcestershire and have a close relationship with Hereford Sixth form College, the Elgar School of Music and other music educators across the region. For their performance of Grieg’s Holberg Suite, the ESO will be joined by a number of young Orchestral Scholars, outstanding young instrumentalists from the Hereford Youth Orchestra and Academia Musica. “We’re working year round with our partners at Encore Enterprises and Hereford Sixth Form College to make sure young people in our region have world-class opportunities to experience great music and to participate in making music with professional musicians,” said Woods.

2016-7 has been a banner year for the ESO. Highlights of the current season included a triumphant choral concert with Academia Musica in the Shirehall in February, the world premiere of John Joubert’s opera Jane Eyre in October (a performance hailed by the Birmingham Post as the highlight of the musical year in Birmingham), a triumphant launch of the orchestra’s 21st Century Symphony Project in St John’s Smith Square and major debuts at Bridgewater Hall- Manchester, Kings Place- London and Cheltenham Town Hall

The ESO’s third Shirehall Sunday series begins on October 1st and will include symphonies by Mozart and Mendelssohn, the return of virtuoso violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky and a season ending celebration of music and youth combining forces of the ESO, Academia Musica Choir and Orchestra and Hereforshire Youth Orchestra.

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