Talented violinist Savitri Grier performs with Plymouth Symphony Orchestra.
Join the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday 20th March at 7:30pm in Plymouth Guildhall for a programme of Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Bruch, featuring young violinist Savitri Grier.
The concert begins with Beethoven’s powerful and expressive Egmont Overture. Egmont was originally written as a set of incidental music pieces for Goethe’s play of the same name. The overture has become a popular orchestral piece and is often performed in its own right. It is similar in style to his 5th Symphony and was composed just two years prior.
Talented young violinist Savitri Grier joins the orchestra for the extremely well-known Bruch Violin Concerto in G Minor. During the last year Savitri has performed at Wigmore Hall as both soloist and with the IMS Prussia Cove Ensemble. In 2019 she undertakes a complete Beethoven Sonata series in Scotland as part of a Tunnell Trust award with pianist Richard Uttley. This work is one of the cornerstones of the violin repertoire and was dedicated to Joseph Joachim, the pre-eminent violinist of the 19th Century. The dialogue between soloist and orchestra is heated and extensive in the first movement leading to the wonderfully expansive and lyrical second movement. The last movement opens with an intense, quiet introduction but gives way to a dance-like theme and concludes with a fiery finish. The concerto is by far the most played of Bruch’s output and is one of the most frequently played of all violin concerti.
It is surprising that Rachmaninov ever composed his magnificent Symphony No.2 in E minor, as he was shattered by the disastrous reception of his first symphony in 1897. After years of suffering chronic depression, he sought help from a psychiatrist in 1900 and in 1901 completed the triumphant premiere of his famous second piano concerto performing the piano solo himself. His Symphony No.2 was premiered in St Petersburg in 1908 to great acclaim. This expansive, brooding work is lush and impassioned and has remained one of Rachmaninov’s most favoured works.
For ticket information visit www.plymouthsymphony.co.uk.