The Hallé: Elgar's Second Symphony

Strauss Don Quixote
 (38′)
Elgar Symphony No.2 (58′)

The score of Elgar’s Second Symphony is inscribed with Shelley’s words ‘Rarely, rarely comest thou, Spirit of Delight’. Accordingly, though this great Romantic symphony begins optimistically, the music yields to resignation and deep nostalgia for past times. It is an enigmatic blend of the private and public sides of its composer’s persona and a work of restless and tragic beauty. In the first half, Nicholas Trygstad assumes the role of Don Quixote in Richard Strauss’s take on Cervantes’ classic novel and Timothy Pooley plays Sancho Panza, the Don’s trusty sidekick and the voice of reason. Commotion ensues as ‘the knight of the woeful countenance’ tilts his lance at windmills, assails a flock of sheep and generally gets it wrong! The full drama of Strauss’s ‘Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character’ will be described through surtitles in this highly-anticipated performance.

The Vera Clegg memorial concert.