Heavily influenced by the folk music he collected whilst travelling, Bartók’s Hungarian Sketches fuses boisterous dance with sublimely lyrical melodies, along with a humorous depiction of a staggering drunk, complete with hiccups! Rhapsodic melodies accented by pizzicato allusions lead the way to virtuosity and British bravado in Elgar’s much-loved Cello Concerto, although his post WW1 moroseness is never far from the surface, with assertive yet austere themes, a jaunty energy and meditative qualities.
From stormy developments and vivacious scherzo’s to sentimental songfulness and sprinklings of Midsummer Night’s Dream-esque fairy dust, Mendelssohn’s Third Symphony was inspired by the composers 1829 trip to Scotland. Characterized by a fierce energy, cunning countermelodies and vivid pictorial qualities, Mendelssohn sketched much of the work following a trip to the ruins of Holyrood, although he didn’t complete the work for over 10 years. To conduct we are delighted to introduce audiences across Wales to the prodigiously talented Hungarian conductor, Gergely Madaras.