Audience makes a Smart choice for Hull Philharmonic Orchestra

Posted on 16th Feb 2015 18:30:59 by Admin

Hull Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing to the audience’s tune in a crowd-pleasing production at the end of February.

The orchestra is now in rehearsal for its third Classics in the City programme chosen by concertgoers.

The event at Hull City Hall on February 28 will comprise the work of nine composers, ranging from Charles Gounod to Leonard Bernstein, covering more than 100 years of music history.

With the orchestra’s musical director Andrew Penny conducting, it will feature soloist Callum Smart, one of music’s rising stars, in Max Bruch’s famous Violin Concerto No.1.

The concert will be co-presented by Lizzie Rose and Carl Wheatley of BBC Radio Humberside, who will also get the chance to wield the conductor’s baton in Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights, also known as The Apprentice theme tune.

Organisers are hoping to repeat the success of previous audience request programmes in attracting big audiences.

“We are delighted that Callum Smart is joining us for Bruch’s wonderful piece,” said Mr Penny. “He looks to be on course for fame and is the latest in the list of impressive young soloists who have had a platform with us.

“Our supporters have made some interesting choices for an evening of popular classics. There will be some great music and it promises to be a lot of fun with a few surprises along the way. No doubt, either Lizzie or Carl will end up being fired!”

Callum Smart emerged as a bright new talent in 2010 when, at the age of only 13, he won the strings category in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition and was the European winner in the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in Oslo.

He has subsequently played in many European countries and North America and recently made his debut in the Royal Philharmonic Hall in London.

The programme also features works by Holst, Smetana, Mussorgsky, Saint-Saens and Tchaikovsky.

It will be repeated the following day (March 1) in Coastal Classic at The Spa, Bridlington with Look North’s Crispin Rolfe presenting.

The full programme is: Holst, Jupiter from The Planets; Smetana, Moldau from Ma Vlast; Prokofiev, Dance of the Knights; Bruch, Violin Concerto; Bernstein, Candide Overture; Gounod, Judex from Mors et Vita; Mussorgsky, Great Gate of Kiev; Saint-Saens, Danse Macabre; Tchaikovsky, Marche Slave.

The concert is at Hull City Hall on February 28 (7.30pm). There will be a pre-concert talk at 6.30pm, free for ticket holders, when Andrew Penny will be in conversation with Callum Smart.

Advance tickets costing from £7 to £25 (concessions apply) are available from the box office on 01482 300300 or online at www.hullcc.gov.uk/hullcityhall and www.hullphilharmonic.org. Tickets are also available on the door on the night of the concert.

 

Tags: Calum Smart.