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Details
The Great Hall - Reading University
27 London Rd
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 5AG
England
Programme
Olivier Messiaen – Les Offrandes Oubliées
Sergei Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto no.3, Op.30
~ Interval ~
Dmitry Shostakovich – Symphony no.9 in E flat major, Op.70
Performers
Antonina Suhanova – piano
Philip Ellis – Conductor
West Forest Sinfonia
Other concerts in this Series (+)
Programme Note
The 24/25 WFS season begins with a virtuosic flourish on Sunday 6th October, and takes place at The Great Hall, Reading University and will be conducted by Philip Ellis, WFS Principal Conductor.
The French composer Olivier Messiaen had the condition chromesthesia - he perceived colours in response to certain chords. This, along with the music of Claude Debussy, significantly influenced the soundscapes Messiaen created. We play Les Offrandes Oubliées (The Forgotten Offerings), an early work which typifies the complex harmonies and rhythm which Messiaen developed throughout his career.
The virtuoso pianist, Sergei Rachmaninov, needs little introduction. Exiled from Russia for most of his life, Rachmaninov made his home in America where his Third Piano Concerto was premiered. We welcome the young Latvian pianist Antonina Suhanova as soloist in the performance of this exciting and romantic piece, which featured in the Oscar winning film Shine.
Unlike Rachmaninov, Dmitry Shostakovich remained in the USSR throughout the Soviet period. Sometimes celebrated, sometimes censured (he suffered two denunciations during his career), Shostakovich nevertheless managed a prodigious output (15 symphonies!) and is considered a major figure of 20th Century music. We play his Ninth Symphony, considered a "light and amusing" work by contemporary critics, and befitting of an Autumn afternoon.
