Edward Elgar’s haunting Cello Concerto in E minor is the centrepiece of the next New Westminster Symphony Orchestra concert.
The orchestra is onstage for its first concert of 2019 on Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m. at Massey Theatre.
The concerto is Elgar’s last notable work, written in the aftermath of the First World War. It didn’t achieve widespread popularity until the 1960s, when a recording by Jacqueline du Pré caught the public imagination and became a classical bestseller.
“The concerto is, for the most part, contemplative and expresses sorrow for what is now past with its haunting melody,” says a press release about the concert.
Joining the orchestra for the occasion will be cellist Bo Peng, the current junior orchestra director of the VSO School of Music. Peng, who holds a master of music from the Eastman School of Music and a performer’s diploma from Indiana University, has performed at summer festivals and master classes around the world.
Rounding out the concert will be Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1 in E minor and Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz Overture.
“Der Freischütz is an opera that embodies everything that goes into establishing the German romantic opera style, covering folk material, mysticism, magic, distance (and foreboding) places, danger and a strong dose of the supernatural, replete with Faustian overtones,” the release says.
The symphony is dedicating the concert to the memory of its longtime friend and supporter, local arts promoter Tony Antonias, “whose tireless efforts have contributed greatly to the longevity of the orchestra,” the release says. The orchestra is now in its 75th year.
Massey Theatre is at 735 Eighth Ave., and the concert is by donation. See www.newwestsymphony.net for more details.
Meanwhile, check out this video of Jacqueline du Pré playing Elgar's Cello Concerto:
