CONCERTGOERS will be saying, ‘It’s all Greek to me’ when they attend the next performance from a Reading-based orchestra.
The Aldworth Philharmonic will be returning to the University of Reading’s Great Hall for its first show of 2023, entitled Triumph and Tragedy.
They are a group of amateur musicians from the Reading and Wokingham areas who want to improve access to classical music through accessible concerts and providing people with a chance to play orchestral music to a high standard without having to commit to weekly rehearsals.
Instead, they take part in intensive weekend rehearsals in the run-up to the performance date.
For this concert, on Saturday, February 11, the programme is framed around the struggles and fate of two characters from Greek mythology.
Liszt’s Prometheus chronicles his harsh punishment from Zeus, and sorrow at his fall as a Titan, but ultimately ends in triumph.
A tragic fate awaits the mountain nymph Echo.
The APO commissioned British composer Graham Ross in 2008 to tell her story, which ends with her punished for her indiscretions by having her voice reduced to a foolish repetition of another’s words.
Her talkative character is brought to life by clarinet soloist Caroline Owen, with the music ending with her lamenting repetitively over an orchestral realisation of Orlando Gibbon’s melancholic song, The Silver Swan.
The fates of Prometheus and Echo lay the ground for Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony.
The composer wrote: “This is fate: that fateful force which prevents the impulse to happiness from attaining its goal, which jealously ensures that peace and happiness shall not be complete and unclouded.”
Its finale is celebratory display of musical fireworks.
The show starts from 7.30pm, and the Great Hall is on the University’s London Street campus.
Tickets cost £15, £10 for under 18s, and the APO’s fan club for children aged five to 15 pay £7.
The orchestra operates a Concert Virgins scheme for people who have never attended a classical music event before. They can apply for free tickets via its website.
For more details or to book, log on to: www.aldworthphilharmonic.org.uk
