Elgar's Enigma Variations

Address

Dag Hammarskjölds väg 3,
115 27 Stockholm

Elgar's Enigma Variations

Description

Samuel Barber was driven by a belief in the power of music to build bridges between people. He took classical forms and the late-romantic musical language of the 1800s as his starting point to create music that could reach a broad audience. The source of the Overture to The School for Scandal is Richard Brinsley Sheridan's famous 1700s comedy, a biting satire about gossip, intrigue and hypocrisy in London society. Barber took up the play's playful spirit, timing and fast pace when he composed his effervescent concert overture. Sofia Gubaidulina, born in Tatarstan in what was then the Soviet Union, is one of the pioneering figures of modern Russian art music. In Fairy Tale Poem from 1971, originally composed for a children's radio programme, she took as her starting point the Czech author Miloš Macourek's tale of the little piece of chalk. The concert begins after a short break, following a brief piece of brass music with five brass players. Programme: Samuel Barber: Overture to The School for Scandal Sofia Gubaidulina: Fairytale Poem Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations, Op. 36 Ivan Boumans: BRASSeries Florence Price: Adoration (arr. Jonathan Bhatia) Joseph Horovitz: Music Hall Suite