Arts – Royal Festival Hall

The section will be organising a trip to the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank London,  to see the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by John Wilson, preforming Elgar’s 1st Symphony and Walton’s Violin Concerto.

Elgar himself said that his First Symphony spoke of ‘a wide experience of life… and a massive hope in the future.’ Premiered in 1908, when Elgar was 51 years old, the work was an immediate success. Over a century later, it would still top many people’s lists of the finest music ever written by a British composer.

The concert also features Walton’s Violin Concerto, which The Philharmonia first recorded in 1950 with Walton himself conducting and Jascha Heifetz as soloist. Following in Heifetz’s footsteps is Canadian James Ehnes, labelled as ‘a violinist in a class of his own’ in The Times. Every aspect of his outstanding musicianship, from dreamy lyricism to exuberant virtuosity, has its moment in this expressive masterpiece.

If you would like to attend please email Charlie Dart here