With his Symphony No. 7 Beethoven permanently realigned Western music’s fundamental relationship with rhythm. In the process he created some of the most compelling music of his age. Young Italian-Turkish conductor Nil Venditti places this momentous symphonic dance alongside music by a composer from the generation after Beethoven, one who picked up the master’s baton and ran with it: Louise Farrenc. The first half spotlights two Welsh composers born less than 40 years apart. Grace Williams’s jaunty Concert Overture, written in her mid-twenties, came ‘highly recommended’ after its entry in a Daily Telegraph competition in 1932–3. And Sir Karl Jenkins, one of the most popular composers of our time, wrote his Stravaganza especially for tonight’s soloist, Jess Gillam.

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Prom 32: Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony

Royal Albert Hall

With his Symphony No. 7 Beethoven permanently realigned Western music’s fundamental relationship with rhythm. In the process, he created some of the most compelling music of his age.

Prom 32: Beethoven’s 7th Symphony

This afternoon we welcome Martyn Brabbins to Salford for a programme of five 20th-century works by British composers.

Twentieth Century Treasures

MediaCityUK

Striking a balance between the light-hearted and the noble, Elgar’s Enigma Variations is an ingenious collection of musical sketches of his friends and an astute self-portrait.

Enigma Variations

Wales Millennium Centre

Brangwyn Hall

Grace Williams shows an early insight to the highly individual music she would compose in later years in tonight’s concert opener, her showcase for strings, the Elegy. From the dramatic Praeludium to its introspective Adagio, Nielsen’s Violin Concerto is a thrilling journey through harmony, gesture and mood, and we’re delighted to welcome the winner of the 2016 Nielsen Violin Competition, the Bulgarian virtuosi Liya Petrova as soloist.

Rachmaninov 2 with Martyn Brabbins

### Kosmos Ensemble at Assembly Hall, Worthing

**Date:** Sunday, 3 March 2024  
**Time:** 2:45 pm  
**Venue:** Assembly Hall, Worthing  
**Conductor:** John Gibbons  
**Leader:** Julian Leaper  

**Program:**
- **Parry:** Lady Radnor’s Suite
- **Walton:** Touch her soft lips (Henry V)
- **Igor Shamo:** Accordion Concerto
- **Grace Williams:** Sea Sketches
- **Errolyn Wallen:** Triple Concerto
- **Astor Piazolla:** Libertango

**Event Description:**
The mesmerising Kosmos Ensemble, known for redefining the relationship between classical and world music, will perform at the Assembly Hall in Worthing. This unique trio, featuring violinist Harriet Mackenzie, violist Meg-Rosaleen Hamilton, and accordion player Miloš Milivojević, brings a passion for improvisation and a diverse repertoire to the stage.

The program includes Errolyn Wallen’s dazzling Triple Concerto, composed especially for the ensemble, and Igor Shamo’s Accordion Concerto, showcasing Miloš Milivojević as the soloist. Grace Williams’s Sea Sketches, reflecting the coast around her birthplace in South Wales, and Parry’s Lady Radnor Suite, composed for the pioneering conductor Lady Radnor, will also be performed. The concert will conclude with Astor Piazolla’s vibrant Libertango.

**Tickets:**
Tickets are available for purchase. Don't miss this opportunity to experience the unique and captivating performance of the Kosmos Ensemble.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit [Kosmos Ensemble's website](www.kosmosensemble.com).

Kosmos Ensemble

Assembly Hall Theatre

We celebrate 90 years since William Mathias’ birth with his Holiday Overture, written in 1971 specially for BBC NOW. We then move on to Karl Jenkins and the UK Premiere of his saxophone concerto, Stravaganza, written for tonight’s soloist, the sensational Jess Gillam. It wouldn’t be St David’s Day without any singing, so BBC National Chorus of Wales and the National Youth Choir of Wales take centre stage in Jenkins’ Dewi Sant, and a medley of your favourite Welsh tunes.

St David's Day Stravaganza

Grace is our new series showcasing female composers and emerging Welsh talent, and in the inaugural concert of the series we’re delighted to welcome BBC NOW violinist, turned conductor, Emilie Godden to conduct the opening work.

'Grace' 2023

BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Nil Venditti return to Brecon and Newport this September with a programme of Busoni, Bellini, Mendelssohn and our very own Grace Williams’ rhapsodic Violin Concerto with the prodigiously talented Geneva Lewis.

Visions of Italy

Theatr Brycheiniog

The Riverfront

“To compose music is to do something off the beaten track, even if you're a man. But if you're a woman composer it is considered very odd indeed." So said Welsh composer, Grace Williams, who followed in Morfydd Owen’s celebrated footsteps to show her detractors that musical talent is gender blind. Sadly, Williams’ work is still not given the attention it deserves, but today the BBC Philharmonic unearth a seldom-heard gem from a film score Williams composed in the late 1940s. The feature film, Blue Scar, depicts ordinary lives touched by the nationalisation of the coal mines and in her score for it, Williams conjures an atmosphere of melancholy beauty. In Blue Scar: Mountain Scene, we hear Williams’ gift for painterly observation, a talent which must have impressed her tutors at the Royal College of Music. It was here that she studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams in the 1920s, about a decade before Ruth Gipps attended.

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Jaime Martín present Holst’s epic suite The Planets alongside works by Grace Williams and Dora Pejačević.

Prom 32: Holst’s The Planets

Myth, Fantasy & Folklore

First Presbyterian Church of Oakland

Opening with Barry-born Grace Williams’ overture Hen Walia, which takes its inspiration from folk tunes, in particular the lullaby Huna Blentyn, we move on to Elgar’s quintessentially British and sumptuous song cycle, his Sea Pictures – a vivid musical portrait of the sea and its changeable characters. To perform this sensational work we’re delighted to be joined by Cardiff Singer of the World finalist Beth Taylor.

Pictures of Britain

Bangor University

Aberystwyth Arts Centre

Kensington Symphony Orchestra returns to Sinfonia Smith Square on Monday 25 November, when soprano Monica McGhee joins the group for a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No.4 (1899-1900).

Mahler’s Fourth Symphony

Smith Square Hall

### Mahler's Symphony No.4 - Kensington Symphony Orchestra

**Date:** Monday, 25 November 2024  
**Time:** 7:30 PM  
**Venue:** St John’s Smith Square

Join the Kensington Symphony Orchestra (KSO) for an enchanting evening of classical music at St John’s Smith Square. Under the baton of conductor Russell Keable, the orchestra will present a captivating program featuring works by Andrea Tarrodi, Grace Williams, and Gustav Mahler.

**Programme:**
- **Andrea Tarrodi:** *Serenade in Seven Colours* (2013)
- **Grace Williams:** *Sea Sketches* (1944)
- **Gustav Mahler:** *Symphony No.4* (1899-1900)

**Soloist:** Monica McGhee, soprano

The evening will open with Andrea Tarrodi’s *Serenade in Seven Colours*, a vibrant piece for woodwind and percussion inspired by Mozart’s *Serenade for 13 Winds No.10, Gran Partita* and the jazz compositions of Miles Davis and Gil Evans. This kaleidoscopic showpiece transitions from shimmering textures to an explosion of color.

Next, the orchestra’s string section will perform Grace Williams’s *Sea Sketches*, a five-movement work that evokes the life and beauty of the sea. Written during World War II, this piece reflects Williams’s longing for her home in Barry, South Wales.

The highlight of the evening will be Mahler’s *Symphony No.4*, featuring soprano Monica McGhee. This four-movement symphony, known for its tuneful opening and the evocative scherzo depicting Death playing the violin, culminates in the finale with the song *Das himmlische Leben* (The Heavenly Life), presenting a child’s vision of heaven.

Don’t miss this opportunity to experience one of the finest non-professional orchestras in the UK, as they bring to life these masterful compositions.

Mahler's Symphony No.4

St. John's Smith Square

Expressing the effects of global warming and the collapse of historic ecosystems, Cecilia Darmström’s ICE depicts through music the earth fighting for existence, and how we could rewind this process. British composer Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade’s Piano Concerto receives its world premiere with BBC NOW regular, Clare Hammond at the keys before we turn to the series’ namesake, Grace Williams. One of her earliest works, and believed to be the first symphony ever written by a Welsh composer, her dramatic First Symphony is inspired by fifteenth century Welsh rebel, Owain Glyndŵr.

'Grace' 2025

Grace

Quasi-improvisatory melodies weave with rhythmic accompaniment, reminiscent of folk songs being accompanied by harp, in Grace Williams’ Penillion. Meditative lyricism bends to rousingly fiery dances in this enchanting concert opener, conducted by our much-loved Conductor Laureate, Tadaaki Otaka.

Fireworks of Passion

Soaring melody, quirky bravado, and fiendishly tricky virtuosity radiate in Bruch’s passionate Violin Concerto. From soloistic fireworks to its rich orchestral backdrop there is little wonder this concerto remains a favourite with soloists and audiences alike, and to perform we’re delighted to welcome back violin sensation, Eldbjørg Hemsing. Similarly passionate is Rachmaninov’s Third Symphony – striking climaxes give way to soulful solos, forceful marches to thunderous celebration, all based on one musical motif skilfully transformed and developed throughout.

Quasi improvisatory melodies weave with rhythmic accompaniment, reminiscent of folk songs being accompanied by harp, in Grace Williams' Penillion. Meditative lyricism bends to rousingly fiery dances in this enchanting concert opener, conducted by our much-loved Conductor Laureate, Tadaaki Otaka. 

Grace Williams

Events

Upcoming events

14 - 15 Nov, 2024

Pictures of Britain · BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Nov 25, 2024

Mahler’s Fourth Symphony · Southbank Sinfonia

Nov 25, 2024

Mahler's Symphony No.4 · Kensington Symphony

Feb 21, 2025

'Grace' 2025 · BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Feb 21, 2025

Grace · Wales Millennium Centre

Past events

Aug 12, 2024

Prom 32: Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony · BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Aug 12, 2024

Prom 32: Beethoven’s 7th Symphony · Royal Albert Hall

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