Mozart – Piano Concerto No.20 in D Minor K.466
Beethoven – Symphony 3 (Eroica)
Wagner – Siegfried Idyll

Wednesday 19th November 2008
7.30pm
The Hippodrome, Great Yarmouth

This concert will mark an auspicious night for classical music and the arts in East Anglia, as we begin the innovative and unique Great Yarmouth International Concert Series 2008/09. This scintillating concert by John Lill and one of the finest orchestras in Germany – the Munich KlangVerwaltung Orchestra – will be an evening of music-making of the highest class.

It is unique due not only to the opportunity to hear a world-class orchestra and soloist in a fabulous acoustic, but also to the opportunity to experience an amazing venue, one of only two purpose built circus Hippodromes still in existence in England. The wooden structure and banked walls of seats mean everyone has an excellent view and that the acoustics are comparable with the finest concert halls. This ‘Mini Albert Hall’ is a gem of a venue with an ambience and atmosphere all of its own.

John Lill is widely recognised as a giant amongst pianists. Equally at home with Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Prokofiev, he possesses a prodigious technique which lets him scale the heights of highly virtuosic repertoire, but also allows him to explore the intricacies of Mozart to remarkable effect. The Mozart D Minor Concerto is a brooding work that is menacing from the start. Closer than any of his other works to the melancholy sound and spirit of Beethoven, Lill’s Mozart will pulsate and excite in equal measure in what will surely be a performance to remember.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) is simply one of the most important pieces in classical music. He throws off the shackles of Classicism in truly heroic fashion with drama, passion and some of the finest music he ever composed. Enoch Zu Guttenburg and the KlangVerwaltung Orchestra have forged a close and productive relationship since 1997. Their joint work – especially with the symphonies of Beethoven – has brought forth interpretations whose depth and authenticity contrast sharply with more conventional performances, but have succeeded in rekindling audiences’ appetite for this astonishing music.

Wagner famously wrote the Siegfried Idyll as a birthday present for his second wife, Cosima. As she lay in bed on Christmas Eve (her birthday) she heard music drifting up the stairs that she immediately recognised as her husband’s. Not knowing him for his romantic gestures, Cosima was moved to tears as Richard presented her with the score as the music finished. Originally scored for 13 players (1 for every stair of the staircase!) it is more commonly heard in Wagner’s larger orchestration, which is even more packed with emotion than the original.

A superb, world-class pianist and orchestra, playing three major pieces from the classical repertory, in a remarkable and distinctive building. A night to savour for all.

Tickets – £27.50 (£26.50), £25.50 (£24.50) and £10.00
available from The Hippodrome Box Office – 01493 844172
or online at http://bookings.yarmouthhippodrome.co.uk

Easy access and wheelchair seats are available; to book these please call the box office.

www.seachangearts.org.uk

SeaChange Arts, Maritime House, 25 Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth NR30 2EN