Relayed from
The Queen's Hall, London
(Sole Lessees, Messrs. Chappell and Co., Ltd.)
FLORENCE EASTON (soprano)
ALBERT SAMMONS (violin)
THE B.B.C. SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA
(Principal violin, CHARLES WOODHOUSE)
Conducted by Sir HENRY WOOD
Part I
Arthur Benjamin is an Australian by birth and is perhaps best known as a concert pianist. But as a composer he has already attracted notice, particularly with his Pastoral Fantasy which was awarded publication by the Carnegie Trustees, and again, more recently, when his opera, The Devil Take Her, was produced at the Royal College under Sir Thomas Beecham and taken into the repertory of the Old Vie. This violin concerto is dedicated ' with great admiration ' to William Walton. Its first movement, though called Rhapsody, is energetic and formally precise. The second, Intermezzo, has a special colouring, in sombre hues, of its own. The third is a form that Benjamin likes-a Rondo, with the recurring theme to link it together and a rhythmic and fascinating modernity. The solo part is of virtuoso difficulty, yet there is never a moment when musical thought does not dominate the mere passage work. Agatha, the heroine, is looking out from her window in the gathering dusk, awaiting her lover with some anxiety. Fears for his safety pervade the beautiful recitative and the not less beautiful aria which follows it, until at the end its mood changes to one of faith in him and in their good fortune. At the very end she sees him approaching.
Sir Edward Elgar had already composed his three great choral works, The Dream of Gerontius, The Apostles, and The Kingdom, before he turned his thoughts to writing a symphony, and he had passed. his fiftieth year when the work in A flat had its first performance in Manchester, in December, 1908. It was conducted by Hans Richter , ' True artist and true friend', in the terms of the dedication, and introduced by him to London. In a very short time it was heard in every city of musical importance in the world, and had reached its hundredth performance before a year was out.
This noble work established Elgar as a symphonic writer in the direct tradition. It was the first of a series of works in symphonic form, composed by him during the next few years, a period marked by the majestic expenditure of his faculties as a mature artist. The Second Symphony, Falstaff, and the Violin Concerto belong to this period, and the steady flow was interrupted only by the War.
Tickets can be obtained from [address removed]; and usual agents. Prices (including Entertainments Tax), 7s. 6d., 6s., 5s. (reserved), 3s. (unreserved), Promenade (payment at doors only), 2S.
