Artelize - Harmonies of Summer: A Journey Through Classical Concerts with BBC National Orchestra of Wales

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Harmonies of Summer: A Journey Through Classical Concerts with BBC National Orchestra of Wales

As the summer of 2025 unfolds, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales is set to grace stages with a series of concerts that promise to captivate audiences with their diverse range of compositions and brilliant performances. From reinterpretations of classic works to the unveiling of 20th-century masterpieces, these concerts showcase the orchestra's versatility and dedication to bringing timeless music to the forefront. With renowned performers like Lesley Hatfield, Vadym Kholodenko, and Benjamin Grosvenor, each event offers a unique musical journey that celebrates the enduring power of orchestral music.

Jun 26, 2025

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1. Lesley's Lunchtime Concert

Caroline Shaw’s Punctum takes its musical inspiration from JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion, but twists the context of modular sequences with the inspiration of French post-structuralism to create a sensory palate of classicism without form; and from its Cantabile and lilting slow waltz to lively scherzos and humorous exuberance, Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings draws this concert to a joyous close.

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3 - 4 Jul, 2025

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Cardiff · Wales Millennium Centre

2. Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto

A Romantic classic meets two 20th-century masterworks in a concert of widescreen orchestral drama. From its thunderous opening chords to its heartbreaking slow movement, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is an emotional tour de force. Ukraine-born Vadym Kholodenko joins the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Conductor Laureate Tadaaki Otaka. Framing the concerto are two orchestral showpieces: Bacewicz’s vibrant Concerto for String Orchestra – whose motoric outer movements contrast with a sublime Andante – and the daring invention of Lutosławski’s folk-inspired Concerto for Orchestra.

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Jul 30, 2025

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

London · Royal Albert Hall

3. Great British Classics

A celebration of Britain’s land- and sea-scapes. Hear the soaring flight of Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending as well as the many moods of the North Sea as it meets Suffolk shingle in Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from ‘Peter Grimes’.

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Aug 5, 2025

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

London · Royal Albert Hall

4. Mahler’s Third

‘A symphony should be like the world,’ Mahler said, ‘it should embrace everything.’ Nowhere does this vision come more powerfully to life than in his mighty Symphony No. 3, an intricate, joyful tapestry of man, nature, heaven. The work opens in heavy summer heat and closes in rapt tranquillity in a sublime finale, animated in between by marches, dances and birdsong. Ryan Bancroft brings together the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Orchestre National de Bretagne, joined by the CBSO Children’s Chorus, the upper voices of the Welsh National Opera Chorus and National Chorus of Wales and mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor.

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Aug 11, 2025

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

London · Royal Albert Hall

5. Benjamin Grosvenor Plays Ravel

A jazz band and a symphony orchestra meet in the zany groovings of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Revue Music for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Band – part of a concert that brings these two sound- worlds together. Jazz is represented by the syncopated brilliance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, performed by Proms favourite and former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Benjamin Grosvenor. Shostakovich supplies the symphony – the snarling, sometimes shockingly tender ‘Babi Yar’, bearing witness to the horrors of a Nazi massacre of Jews in Soviet Ukraine.

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Aug 15, 2025

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

London · Royal Albert Hall

Conclusion

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales' summer series offers a remarkable journey through the world of classical music, inviting audiences to experience the profound, the innovative, and the timeless. Each concert is a testament to the orchestra's commitment to celebrating musical diversity and excellence, featuring gifted performers and exceptional compositions. These events not only highlight the orchestra's versatility but also reinforce the enduring power of music to unite and inspire. As the summer unfolds, these concerts promise to leave a lasting impression, enriching the cultural tapestry of the season.

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