Inspired by his wife Clara, Schumann's tender piano concert was a true labour of love, written over a four-year period. His only completed concerto for the instrument, it remains one of his most popular works and tonight will be played by OSJ Artist in Residence Rupert Egerton-Smith. The evening culminates with the ever-wonderful Siegfried Idyll.
Mozart's popular operatic overture sits hand-in-hand with his triumphant final symphony, a work of huge breadth which showcases his sheer brilliance at every turn. OSJ Artist in Residence Rupert Egerton-Smith performs Schumann's only piano concerto, a glorious piece where the composer's great love for his wife Clara shines through.
Famously described as 'Beethoven's Tenth', Brahms' masterful first symphony took him at least 14 years to write. This powerful work sits alongside two pieces from the Russian composer Alexander Glazunov. Gifted young performer Elodie Chousmer-Howelles makes her debut with the orchestra, showcasing the technical brilliance required for Glazunov's dazzling Violin Concerto.
Great friends Glazunov and Tchaikovsky both conjured the changing of the seasons in these two delightful works inspired by the Russian year. Gifted young performer Elodie Chousmer-Howelles performs Glazunov's awe-inspiring Violin Concerto, and the evening is rounded off with Tchaikovsky's much-loved Nutcracker Suite.
We are very pleased to announce OSJ's inaugural Youth Music Twinning Project; a celebration of youth, music and friendship.
In this new collaboration, gifted musicians aged 12 to 23 from Oxford and from Oxford's twin cities past and present will come together for a week of music making, led throughout by John Lubbock.
The project will culminate in a performance of Carmina Burana with the OSJ Voices in Oxford Town Hall.
The fourth concerto is Beethoven in his most jovial mood but also contains the drama we associate with this composer. On first listening it sounds like a concerto that a virtuoso could just dash off with the usual élan but on closer inspection it is far more difficult to bring off than one could imagine.
The four notes that open Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony have a claim to being the most famous musical motto ever written. ‘Fate knocking at the door’, is how Beethoven is reported to have described the theme.