Formerly East of England Orchestra. France meets Austria in this programme from sinfonia ViVA, beginning with Faure’s Masques and Bergamasques, his affectionate homage to the amateur dramatics of 18th-century French aristocrats. Mozart wrote his 4th horn concerto for Joseph Leutgeb, whose virtuosity prompted its winning blend of high-flying pyrotechnics and smooth refinement. The French horn also stars in Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess, a tender vision of a young Spanish princess and her courtly world centuries earlier. The great conductor Hans Richter declared the 3rd symphony to be Brahms’s ‘Eroica’ and it’s certainly one of the richest and most poetic of his works. Besides the composer’s broad melodies, thrillingly announced at the beginning in sweeping arcs, there’s a powerful rhythmic thrust and, at its heart, a pastoral slow movement that’s as beautiful as anything Brahms ever wrote.| 14 Apr 11 | Theatre Royal Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Performance Details => Venue archive |
