Details
Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall
University of York
York
YO10 5DD
England
Programme
Edward Elgar – Cockaigne Overture, Op.40
Frederick Delius – Paris: The Song of a Great City
Percy Grainger – Dreamery
Maurice Ravel – La vallĂ©e des cloches (arr. Percy Grainger)
George Gershwin – An American in Paris
Performers
John Stringer – Conductor
University of York Symphony Orchestra
Programme Note
Musical portraits of London and Paris at the turn of the twentieth century open University Symphony Orchestra’s first concert of our 2022/23 season. Elgar described his Cockaigne Overture to his friend the music publisher August Jaeger as ‘cheerful and Londony’ and ‘stout and steaky’. The work uses a variety of vivid themes to create a snapshot of London at the time of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Delius’ nocturne for orchestra, Paris: The Song of a Great City, was inspired by memories from his time living in Paris and offers impressions of daybreak and Parisian nightlife. While referencing the sounds and energy of Jazz-Age New York, Gershwin’s musical response to the French capital, his highly popular tone poem An American in Paris, evokes city life during the Années folle.
