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The Beethoven Society was founded in 1888 and has met without a break since then. The Society gives classical music concerts in aid of both local and national charities. We do not purely perform works by Beethoven; rather the name is kept as a tribute to the long and illustrious history of the orchestra. We are a group of musicians dedicated to playing good music, enjoying ourselves, and helping to raise money for charities at the same time.

Please come and support us – click Here to see a map of our usual rehearsal and concert venues. If you’ve never been to our concerts before, come and try something different for free. If you have, we hope you enjoyed our concerts and will keep supporting us.

We currently have vacancies for string players. If you are interested please contact us by telephoning our Membership Secretaries, Joan and Rosalind Corser, on 01706378973 or click Here

OUR NEXT CONCERT

BohuslavMartinu

Bohuslav Martinu

Saturday, June 9th 2012
at 7.30 pm

Holy Innocents Church, Fallowfield

Hansel and Gretel Overture - Humperdinck
Clarinet Concerto No. 2 - Weber
Lyric Suite - Grieg
Symphony No. 1 - Martinu

Sergio Tudela Sánchez (Clarinet

In this concert the orchestra presents an interesting mixture from the familiar Hansel and Gretel Overture to the much less well-known Martinu Symphony no. 1.

Audiences may well know the Prayer Song that opens and concludes the overture. In the middle section are dance-like themes taken from the opera itself. Although occasionally performed in this country, the opera is frequently performed in German speaking countries at Christmas. However the natural warmth of the Weber Clarinet Concerto that follows will bring us back to Summer. Both of Weber’s concertos and his Concertino were all dedicated to the virtuoso clarinetist Heinrich Baermann. The concerto is in classical format but more than hints at romantic drama in the use of dramatic virtuoso solo passages. The composer lived through and in his own work demonstrated the shift from classical to romantic forms. Following this, the Grieg Lyric Suite embodies the consolidation of romantic style in the late nineteenth century. The composer selected four pieces from his collection of Lyric Pieces for piano; the Shepherd Boy, Walking Tune, March of the Dwarves and Nocturne.

Bohuslav Martinu is not a well-known name in concert programmes and yet his music is very accessible and full of colour. He is often compared with Bartok in part because they shared a liking for collecting and using folk music in their own works. This symphony, the first of six, was written on his arrival in America after fleeing Europe in 1940.