York Guildhall Orchestra

Weber, Bruch, Britten & Ravel
Our final concert in this season has a very full programme and will see us continue our celebration of the works of Weber, this time recognising his considerable input into the world of opera with the overture to one of his most popular works, Der Freischütz. Our soloist for this concert is the wonderful Bradley Creswick, leader emeritus of the Royal Northern Sinfonia; he will be playing the Bruch violin concerto No.1

The second half opens with a bang - Verdi's wonderful overture to his opera 'The Force of Destiny'; it sets a dramatic tone for the opera, encapsulating its themes of fate and tragedy.
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It's been a while since the orchestra played any Benjamin Britten and we rectify this omission with the Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from his dramatic opera Peter Grimes; coincidentally, the Sea Pictures was one of the pieces that our Music Director, Simon conducted in his very first concert with the YGO over 30 years ago!

The concert concludes with an orchestral showpiece by Ravel; La Valse gives the various sections of the orchestra the opportunity to let their hair down and show off in this magnificent representation of the waltz and its gradual descent into chaos at the end; some say it is an allegorical reference to the state of Europe at the end of the first world war, although this was firmly denied by the composer. Whatever the case - it is a magnificent work for the orchestra to show off with and bring the season to a close.