Bohemian Rhapsody!
No – not Freddy Mercury’s 1970s progressive rock hit – this is Firebird’s next concert with a curious link to the exotic land of Bohemia…
Our 30 April concert takes us to the very heart of Central Europe with one of the greatest works by the Czech composer Dvořák (pictured below). Dvořák’s musical style is inextricably linked with the traditional folk music of Moravia and Bohemia.
His cheery and lyrical 8th Symphony is a perfect example of this musical influence from his homeland, composed on the occasion of his election to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts in 1890.
The concert opens with Beethoven’s heroic Leonora Overture. Beethoven (pictured below) actually wrote four overtures for his only opera Fidelio, struggling to balance the intense drama with the calmer opening scenes in the opera.
It wasn’t until the 1841 revival of the opera that he composed this somewhat lighter version – with the first performance outside Vienna talking place that year in Prague – which is of course in Bohemia!
In between these two masterworks we have one of the most admired works for piano and orchestra in the repertoire with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.20. This work was so admired by Beethoven that he frequently performed it himself. In our concert it will be performed by our soloist, Martin James Bartlett (pictured below).
‘Martin James Bartlett brought maximum feeling to the music and played with astonishing delicacy and punch.’
The Daily Telegraph
The concert will be conducted by our very own George Jackson (pictured below). Tickets are now on sale for this fantastic evening of great music.
Bohemia
Tuesday 30 April 2024, 7.30pm
St George’s Hanover Square
2A Mill Street, Mayfair, London W1S 1FX
Beethoven
Leonore Overture No.3, Op.72
Mozart
Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K.466
Dvořák
Symphony No.8 in G, Op. 88
Conductor George Jackson
Piano Martin James Bartlett
