Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

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The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra return to the De La War Pavilion in June 2019 with Elgar's Cello Concerto.

Auditorium Doors 7pm
Start time 7.30pm

Program:
SIBELIUS Finlandia
ELGAR Cello Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4

Brian Wright Conductor
Michael Petrov Cello

Opening the concert is Finlandia, Sibelius' bold statement on a Finnish national identity that offers a glimpse of the soul of a nation and an urge to escape Russian oppression. The piece reaches a heroic climax as its stirring main theme, the Finlandia hymn, delivers an invigorating and emotionally charged invocation of Sibelius' patriotic passion.

Elgar's Cello Concerto is a work that proves a formidable challenge for any soloist, urging them to use their versatility and expression to find their distinctive voice in the context of the orchestration. Cellist Michael Petrov rises to the occasion, and across the four movements plays Elgar's atmospheric post-war elegy with a sublime touch.

Closing the concert is Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, a grand work of Russian Romanticism that translates internal anguish and despair parallel to its triumphant expressions of love and hope in the most personal of Tchaikovsky's symphonies.