Nielsen.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maskarade Overture     

Brahms.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Piano Concerto No.1

Sibelius. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Symphony No.1

Kees Bakels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Conductor

Nielsen’s ebullient overture to his comic opera Maskarade is full of joie de vivre, depicting how the donning of a mask can be a release from the limiting structure of society. The opera itself deals with the complications of falling in love with an anonymous admirer whilst betrothed to someone else. Fortunately there is a happy ending.

The monumental First Piano Concerto is a remarkable work from a young man who started out on his musical career as a piano player in the dives and taverns of dockland Hamburg. It also marks the end of Brahms’ youthful romantic period. Never again was he to let himself go with such uninhibited passion, evident from the start with the arresting opening of thunderous timpani.

Sibelius was already a star in his native Finland and his First Symphony was eagerly awaited. Although not nationalistic, it is clearly a work by a skilled composer who already had a musical voice of his own, and much of the musical personality that makes the later symphonies so distinctive is already visible, with its tempestuous mood swings.

Tickets: £29, £26, £21.50, £17.50, £14, £9, discounts available.