Haydn                        Symphony No. 96 in D ‘The Miracle’

Satie                          Gymnopedies No. 1

Saint-Saëns               Cello Concerto in A minor

Delibes                      Pizzicato (Sylvia)

Fauré                        Symphony No. 3 

Beethoven                Symphony No. 7

​

​

Following Sheku Kanneh-Mason's sell-out performance with WSO in March 2018, he returns to Worthing to play Camille Saint-Saëns' popular Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor.

​

The concerto was written in 1872 when the composer was 37 years old.  Saint-Saëns wrote the work for Belgian cellist August Tolbecque, who first performed it at the Paris Conservatoire concert in January 1873. This was considered a mark of Saint-Saëns growing acceptance by the French musical establishment.  Sir Donald Francis Tovey later wrote "Here for once is a violoncello concerto in which the solo instrument displays every register without the slightest difficulty in penetrating the orchestra". Many composers including Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff, considered it to be the greatest of all cello concertos. 

 

Haydn’s Symphony No. 96 in D ‘The Miracle’ was the first of twelve symphonies written during his first visit to London.  Satie’s Gymnopedies No. 1 is an austere but elegant composition for piano whilst Fauré’s Pavane was originally written for piano but is perhaps better known for orchestral and (optional) choral versions.  The Pizzicato from Delibes ballet Sylvia appears in the third act when the Greek gods are intervening in mortal love affairs and was famously used in Walt Disney’s Fantasia.

 

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 was dubbed “the apotheosis of dance” by Wagner as rhythm is the essence of this majestic symphony, which many will be familiar with through its use throughout the film The King’s Speech.