Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Petrenko's Elgar
Friday 10 June 2011 7:30 pm
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Elgar 3 Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands
Guilmant Symphony No.1 for Organ and Orchestra
Elgar Symphony No.2
Vasily Petrenko conductor
Ian Tracey organ
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir
Tickets £11, £16, £22, £29, £35
Inspired by a line from Shelley, conceived on the storm-swept cliffs of Tintagel and amidst the shimmering towers of Venice, and haunted by the death of a King; it’s no wonder that Elgar called his Second Symphony ‘the passionate pilgrimage of a soul’. From resplendent beginning to haunting final sunset, this isn’t only themightiest of all British symphonies: it’s an unforgettably emotional self-portrait of a great artist and his age. Vasily Petrenko proves once again that Elgar is infinitely more than just a moustache and a march – as if tonight’s delicious picture-postcard openers didn’t already prove that! And to celebrate the end of the season, organist Ian Tracey scales the earpopping gothic heights of Guilmant’s sensational Symphony for Organ and Orchestra.
‘Petrenko shows that he is a natural Englishman... He knows that an orchestra such as the RLPO has this music in its bones, and he knows when to stand aside and let them play, a swell as when to seize the reins.’ - Geoffrey Norris in The Telegraph 2007, on the Phil's performance of Elgar's Symphony No. 2.
This concert will finish at approximately 21.30