Relayed from the Assembly Room, City Hall
National Orchestra of Wales
(Cerdorfia Genedlaethol Cymru)
Conducted by Warwick Braithwaite
Tchaikovsky himself was not very proud of this piece, and it was not intended for concert performance. He wrote it for the ceremonial which accompanied the consecration of the great church built to commemorate the turning back of Napoleon's armies from before Moscow. The intention was that it should be played in the open air with real cannons firing to lend emphasis. That performance did not come off, but the work has frequently been played since, sometimes with the firing of actual cannon as was originally intended.
Tchaikovsky himself said of it that 'it possessed merely patriotic and local significance.'
Mavis Bennett (Soprano) and Orchestra
Vous Souvient-ils? (Andante et Variations) arr. from the Sonata of Mozart by Wekerlin
Boris Pecker (Violin) and Orchestra
The name of this work is a little misleading.
It is not a symphony, but a concerto for solo violin and orchestra in the form of a Suite. Composers of many nations have delighted in setting forth their own ideas of Spanish music, and this is, of course, Spain as seen by a French-man.
The first movement is bold and vigorous with a brilliant solo part; the second is slighter and almost in jesting mood. It is mainly a solo with accompaniment by plucked strings.
In the third movement the rhythm of the Tango is used; the movement is called Intermezzo.
The fourth is the only really slow movement, rather solemn in mood, and the fifth is a lively Rondo.