On Friday 21 September at St David's Hall, Cardiff, we will be giving you a sneak peek into the 2012/2013 season with our Taster Concert, conducted by Grant Llewellyn and featuring Irish soprano, Ailish Tynan.
We start off with Sibelius' Finlandia, which needs no introduction. A stalwart of the orchestral repertoire, this looks forward to Thomas Søndergård's inaugural concert as Principal Conductor on 12 October when our St David's Hall concert will have a distinctly Scandinavian feel.
Featuring music by Magnus Lindburg and Grieg, the highlight of Thomas' first concert will be Sibelius' Fifth Symphony. The horns all think this is the one with the lovely horn chorale at the end, but it's also the one with the cool viola bit at the start of the last movement. Just saying.
Incidentally, it would appear that this is the year of the fifth symphony for us. Which is no bad thing, because I've always generally been a fan of the fives!
I'm not sure which one I'm most looking forward to though. The Sibelius? Nielsen 5 with Thomas Søndergård? Shostakovich 5 with Tadaaki Otaka? Mahler 5 with Thomas? I'll get back to you on that subject...
The relationship between Mahler's songs and symphonic music is explicit; melodic material from the song cycles can be found littered throughout Mahler's symphonic repertoire.
In our taster concert, Ailish Tynan will perform a selection of Mahler songs with orchestra, including Ging heut Morgen über's Feld, from the Songs of a Wayfarer cycle (which became part of the musical content for Mahler's first symphony), and excerpts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn which features quotes from the third symphony, but also, more importantly for us, the fifth, which we will perform in June.
As it is the centenary of Benjamin Britten’s birth in 2013, a year that will see us perform a great many of his works, it would be remiss of us not to include some of Britten’s music, and what better introduction than his Four Sea Interludes?
I'm rather excited about the Britten Centenary. I was introduced to his music at quite a young age, and have been a Britten fan ever since. A friend at college introduced me to the operas, then I became familiar with the quartets, then I found the concerto for violin and viola.
This season we will perform many Britten works, but my absolute must see in this series is the Britten Double Concerto, on 28 March, featuring two of my favourite soloists, violinist Anthony Marwood and violist Lawrence Power.
In his centenary year, take the opportunity to immerse yourself in the work of this British composer with us. Some people find it takes a bit of listening to get into, but in my opinion, it is absolutely worth it.
Our Season Taster Concert will also feature works by Rachmaninov, Brahms and Verdi, but importantly, will also feature our amazing Chorus. I personally think they are one of the best - their commitment, energy, and dedication is incredible, and it is a privilege to have them as part of our BBC NOW family.
BBC National Orchestra of Wales start their 2012/13 season at St David’s Hall with a Season Taster Concert on Friday 21 September, starting at 7.30pm. For more information and tickets, call the Orchestra's Audience Line on 0800 052 1812.
