Paul Hindemith – Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Weber
Elizabeth Maconchy – Sinfonietta
Johannes Brahms – Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Leoš Janáček – Sinfonietta
Tom Evans leader
Marc Dooley conductor
27 November 2021, 7.30pm
St John’s, Smith Square
Fulham Symphony Orchestra mark their long-awaited return to St John’s with an unashamedly celebratory programme.
In his joyful and uplifting Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Weber, Paul Hindemith transformed music by the nineteenth century composer Carl Maria von Weber to create a riotous showcase of orchestral colour that was an instant hit when it was first performed in New York 1944.
Johannes Brahms also looked to the past for inspiration. Although the theme upon which he based his Variations is now no longer thought to be by Haydn, Brahms’s masterful piece is no less witty, nostalgic and playful: Haydn himself would have no doubt approved.
Elizabeth Maconchy was one of Britain’s greatest composers of the twentieth century; her music is marked by its arresting drama and powerful narrative drive. She described her Sinfonietta as “rather like a piece of woven material with many patterns and colours in it”.
Janáček’s Sinfonietta is also richly textured. Scored for an orchestra with additional fanfare brass (for which FSO is delighted to be joined by Fulham Brass Band) its five movements create one of the most optimistic and life-affirming works in all music.
Ticket information coming soon
