On Saturday 5 th March, the AESO will welcome the Spring with a cheerful, dazzling display of rich and colourful music. Full of light and energy, it will dispel those dark, winter, Covid blues. The concert will take place at 7.30pm in Alderley Edge Methodist Church.
The orchestra will be joined by brilliant young virtuoso pianist, Matthew McLachlan, and will be conducted by James Heathcote, known to our previous audiences as a talented cellist, but now also building a career in conducting.
The orchestra will be joined by oung virtuoso pianist, Matthew McLachlan, and will be conducted by James Heathcote, known to previous audiences as a talented cellist, but now also building a career in conducting.
The concert starts with an orchestral favourite, Beethoven's Overture: Egmont. This tells the story of Flemish resistance to Spanish repression in the 17 th century and the music is defiantly positive. Lyrical woodwind sections tell the story of Egmont's love for his sweetheart, Clarchen, and the overture ends with brass fanfares, a symphonic representation of victory.
Rachmaninov was no stranger to repression – he was exiled from his native Russia after the Bolshevik revolution, losing all the income from his royalties and estates. He was a brilliant pianist and forged a career as a soloist and conductor in the USA, very often performing his own compositions. The Piano Concerto no 3 was one such piece, so fiendishly difficult to play that for a long time he was the only person who could manage it. We have no doubt that Matthew, currently a scholar at The Royal College of Music, and winner of many international prizes, will be more than fit for the task!
Matthew said, "I have been listening to Rachmaninov's music my entire life and it has always been a dream of mine to play this mammoth concerto with an orchestra, so thanks for the opportunity."
Dvorak wrote his eighth symphony during a summer vacation in Vysoka, about 35 miles south of Prague. He described Vysoka as "a little village, surrounded by forests, in which we lead a quiet and happy life." The symphony was not written for a commission and seems to have been written for the sheer pleasure of writing, being the most relaxed and exuberant of his symphonies.
James said "Dvorak 8 holds a very special place in my heart as one of the first "proper" pieces I ever played and also the first piece I played with a professional orchestra, so it's great to be able to conduct it with the AESO. The Rachmaninov is a real tour de force for everyone involved and I have no doubt Matthew will play it brilliantly. I hope you will join us for this exciting concert!"
The concert will take place at 7.30pm on Saturday 5 th March 2022 in Alderley Edge Methodist Church, SK9 7DU. Tickets cost £12 for adults and £1 for under eighteens.
Tickets can be bought in advance through the website www.aeso.yapsody.com or on the ticket hotline 01625 581321. Please try to buy in advance online if possible.
For more information about the orchestra visit the website www.aeso.org.uk.
If you are a string player looking to join a friendly and ambitious orchestra, please get in touch with us via the website or by phoning Roger Dowling on 01925 756390.
Guest post by Helen Hall.
