Beyond Fingal’s Cave
Discover the magic of a secret cave on a Scottish island, steeped in legend, this Tuesday in Firebird’s next concert…
Please note: Tickets can only be purchased online for this event – there will be no door sales. In the interests of safety we also request that when you book you agree to follow our COVID-19 POLICY.
The 19-year-old Felix Mendelssohn visited Britain with his friend, Karl Klingemann in 1829. Their journey took them to the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland and to the isle of Staffa.
It was here that they were drawn to the basalt sea cave known as ‘Fingal’s Cave’, renowned for its natural acoustics, eerie sounds produced by the waves, and its cathedral-like atmosphere.
We are told that the composer immediately jotted down the opening theme for his composition after seeing the island. He originally called it To the Lonely Island or Zur einsamen Insel. But in 1834, the German publishers, Breitkopf & Härtel produced an edition with the name Fingalshöhle (Fingal’s Cave) – and this title stuck.
Did you know…
Just three years later, Fingal’s Cave was visited by the artist J.M.W Turner who immortalised ‘Staffa Fingal’s Cave’ in one of his most famous canvases (pictured at the top). A few years later it was also visited by Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and Dr. David Livingstone.
Also in this exciting programme with be the work which Joseph Haydn composed in the 1760’s for his longtime friend Joseph Franz Weigl, principal cellist of Prince Nicolaus’s Esterházy Orchestra:
Haydn’s first cello concerto will be brought to life by Jamal Aliyev who, earlier this year was selected by Classic FM as one of the ‘30 most brilliant young classical musicians playing today’.
And we conclude the programme with an ‘unfinished’ symphony by Franz Schubert. He began composing his 8th symphony when he just 25 years old in 1823. Nobody knows why Schubert never completed it, but the Unfinished breaks new musical ground, and has been described as the first distinctively Romantic symphony.
We are delighted to welcome back conductor George Jackson for this concert who is renowned for the authority and eloquence of his music-making. Following his work at Grange Park Opera he was described in a review as ‘a young conductor to watch’.
Beyond Fingal’s Cave
London Firebird Orchestra
Conductor George Jackson
Cello Jamal Aliyev
Tuesday 28 September 2021, 7:30 pm
£35, £25, £15
Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture in B minor, Op. 26
Haydn Cello concerto in C, Hob. VIIb:1
Schubert Symphony no. 8 in B minor, D. 759 ‘The Unfinished’
Now with a free digital programme
