Programme
- Hansel and Gretel(8 mins)Prelude to Act 1
- This Midnight Hour(12 mins)
- Swan Lake(50 mins)Excerpts
Performers
- Ben Gernonconductor
About This Event
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Philharmonic Principal Guest Conductor, Ben Gernon, returns to MediaCity for a live Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3 broadcast of atmospheric, fairy-tale coloured music.
Opening this afternoon is Engelbert Humperdinck's setting of Hansel and Gretel: the classic story from the Brothers Grimm. As with many fairy tales, the story is light on the surface, but carries dark undertones, and Humperdinck illustrates this well-loved fairy-tale with some of his most sumptuous music.
We also have a second chance to hear Anna Clyne’s This Midnight Hour (the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Philharmonic gave the UK premiere with Ben Gernon in March). Drawing inspiration from two poems - one by Juan Ramón Jiménez and the other by Charles Baudelaire – Clyne’s 2015 atmospheric and colourful miniature takes the listener on a vivid journey – and beyond.
Closing this afternoon’s broadcast we hear music from Tchaikovsky’s infamous ballet - Swan Lake. Despite its initial failure, it is now considered to be one of the most popular of all ballets – albeit only gaining a positive reputation after Tchaikovsky’s death. In 1882, reflecting on his ballet, he wrote: “ I wanted very much to save this music from oblivion, since it contains some fine things.â€