And now for something a bit different – a musical discovery
Cambridge is a place famed for innovation and discovery, and we at Nash Matthews are delighted to be supporting a musical first for the Cambridge Philharmonic through its forthcoming concert of premieres.
On Saturday 14th March at West Road Concert Hall, works by three of the UK’s most celebrated composers will be played for the first time, including a Cambridge premiere, a UK premiere, and a world premiere.
This performance of new music includes a world premiere of Elgar Howarth’s Dover Beach. Excitingly, the composer (alias the inventor!) himself will be at the concert to hear his creation brought to life by this ensemble of local talented musicians.
The concert opens with Jonathan Dove's A Song of Joys, which is perhaps best known as the theme for the BBC proms. Due to the sheer magnitude of the ensemble required to perform the piece, A Song of Joys is rarely performed, making this is a unique opportunity to hear it. (Oh – and just to emphasise how special this is for Cambridge, Jonathan Dove’s next big premiere will be with the Berlin Phil!).
This is followed by a UK premiere from the Cambridge Philharmonic's own president, Paul Patterson. Spider's Web is mini-concerto for harp and string orchestra featuring soloist and Cambridge Philharmonic regular, Elizabeth Scorah. Cambridge Firsts is brought to a finale with another Cambridge premiere by Jonathan Dove: his monumental and deeply moving There Was a Child. This piece was commissioned by Jonathan Dove's friend, Rosemary Pickering, who lost her son, Robert, aged 19 in a snorkelling accident. However, this piece is not tinged with sadness; it is an uplifting celebration of Robert's life, telling the story of childhood through the words of Wordsworth, Keats and Emily Dickinson.
Director and conductor Timothy Redmond explains why this concert is a personal highlight of the season for him: “In my early days in opera I was lucky enough to be assistant conductor to Elgar Howarth, who is a wonderful man and musician. So I was thrilled when he rang me recently and asked if I would like to premiere Dover Beach.
“I would encourage anyone who is interested in music to come and hear this fantastic contemporary music. All the pieces we are playing are accessible, exciting, beautiful and moving. To be giving first performances is a great honour, and we are delighted to have the support of Nash Matthews with this innovative concert.”
Elgar Howarth and Paul Patterson will be joining Cambridge Philharmonic's director Tim Redmond before the concert to talk about their pieces and careers in a Q&A session, free to ticket holders.
Tickets can be brought from www.cam-phil.org.uk.
