Malvern Priory to host the English Symphony Orchestra this month

The Worcester based English Symphony Orchestra – the international orchestra of Elgar Country – will be joined by conductor Kenneth Woods and renowned oboist Nicholas Daniel next month, as part of this year’s Elgar Festival.

Entitled the ESO Strings Orchestra – Elgar’s Strings in Malvern, the performance – which will take place at Malvern Priory on Thursday 28 May at 7.00pm – will include Elgar’s ‘Serenade for Strings’, ‘In Moonlight’ and ‘Chanson de Nuit’ as well as Thea Musgrave’s ‘Night Windows’, Sibelius’s ‘Rakastava’ and Schoenberg’s ‘Verklarte Nacht’.

Kenneth Woods, Artistic Director of the Elgar Festival said: “Music lovers might be forgiven for mistaking composer Arnold Schoenberg for the ‘Big Bad Wolf” of classical music but in his 1899 Romantic tone poem, Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), his music purrs as sweetly as a kitten. This lush and lyrical masterpiece crowns a night with the English String Orchestra also featuring beautiful and evocative works by Elgar and Thea Musgrave. Internationally renowned oboist, Nicholas Daniel, is the featured soloist.”

This year’s featured composer is Scottish-American 97-year-old icon of British music, Thea Musgrave, whose music abounds in colour, emotion, drama and impact. Her rich and powerful musical language and a strong sense of drama have led her to become one of the most respected and exciting contemporary composers in the Western world. Her works are performed in major concert halls, festivals, and on radio stations on both sides of the Atlantic.  Musgrave has been the recipient of many notable awards including two Guggenheim Fellowships, the Ivors Classical Music Award 2018, and The Queen’s Medal for Music. She was awarded a CBE on the Queen’s New Year’s Honour List in 2002. 

There will be a pre-concert talk at 6.15pm with Nicholas Daniel in conversation with Kenneth Woods; tickets for both the talk and the concert cost £22.00 per person. 

Set in the composer’s hometown and surrounding areas over the week closest to Elgar’s birthday on 2^nd June – this year’s festival will take place from Saturday 23 May until Sunday 31 May – the festival is an annual celebration of Elgar’s music spanning symphonic and string orchestra concerts by the resident English Symphony Orchestra, along with chamber concerts, choral concerts, recitals, workshops, masterclasses, street performances, a young composers competition, exhibits, tours and talks.

Since its inauguration in 2018, when it was a Critic’s Pick in both The Guardian and The Times, the festival has doubled in size and scale and continues to grow annually through an innovative development programme of appealing and accessible events, working with hundreds of both internationally renowned professional artists and amateur musicians and performers of all ages to ensure Elgar really is for everyone.

The music of the festival’s namesake will be the centrepiece of a busy programme of 27 events across 15 different venues with 3 pre-festival events including the relaxed concerts. The full breadth of Elgar’s work will be showcased, including songs, miniatures, chamber music and choral anthems alongside his most beloved orchestral masterpieces.

This year’s festival will bring together world-class professional musicians and artists alongside local choirs and ensembles placing the music of Worcester’s most famous son alongside that of his contemporaries and some of today’s leading composers and arrangers.

For a full list of events, costs and booking information, please visit www.elgarfestival.org.