At the start of a new year, the Farnborough Symphony Orchestra is excited to be welcoming back cellist Jonathan Ayling to perform the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations. Based on an original theme written in the Rococo style, (Tchaikovsky was a great admirer of Mozart), the work comprises a theme and seven variations and is the closest the composer came to a full cello concerto. Jonathan's rendering of this technically-challenging piece is not to be missed. The other major work in the concert is Brahms's 2nd Symphony, which was composed during a visit to Austria in 1877. With his typical humour, the composer wrote of it, "I have never written anything so sad, and the score must come out in mourning", although the symphony actually expresses a cheerful and pastoral mood! The concert begins with an orchestral suite drawn from an opera composed by the French Rococo composer, Rameau, in 1739. The opera tells the story of Dardanus, the son of Electra and Zeus in classical mythology. The plot is full of sea monsters, gods and magicians, providing an excellent curtain-raiser for our new year concert.
Suite, from Dardanus - Jean-Philippe Rameau
Variations on a Rococo Theme in A Op 33 - Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Symphony No 2 in D Op 73 - Johannes Brahms
Jonathan Ayling (cello)
Robert Hodge (conductor)
