Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra - Cinematic Landscapes
Sat 10 February 2024
4pm and 7.30pm
The Great Hall, University of Reading (London Rd Campus), Reading RG1 5AQ
Tickets £15, under 18s £10, APO Young members £7, under 5s free
Link to contact orchestra
Link to buy tickets
Reading’s Aldworth Philharmonic will return to the Great Hall on the University of Reading’s London Road Campus for two concerts of music that could easily grace the silver screen, on Saturday 10 February 2024.
Yet the only piece of original film music on the programme is from that towering giant of the genre, John Williams. ‘Adventures on Earth’ is the music that underpins the exciting and emotional conclusion of ‘E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial’.
The other works on the programme weren't written for films, but all sound like they could have been, with sweeping melodies and vivid evocations of cinematic landscapes. Bedrich Smetana’s famous ‘Vltava’ is a musical representation of the Moldau river from its source, through the Czech countryside to the great city of Prague. Earthly bounds are left behind with the world premiere of Daisy Ashworth’s ‘Apollo’ - a dramatic portrayal of the famous NASA rocket’s launch into space.
Daisy is a talented young composer, and the evening programme is completed by a second outing for APO’s very first young composer commission, by Reading-based composer Roger May. His dazzling ‘Concerto for Euphonium’ was premiered twenty years ago. The orchestra will be joined by top young euphonium soloist, James Blackford, whose appearance is kindly supported by Making Music’s Philip & Dorothy Green Young Artists scheme.
There will be two concerts, a 4pm family performance lasting around 50 minutes with plenty of fun and interaction, and a full evening concert at 7.30pm.
Tickets for each can be purchased from the APO website: buy tickets.
As ever, APO’s famous ‘Concert Virgin’ scheme offers free tickets, no questions asked, to anyone who’s never heard a live orchestra perform. These can also be reserved from the APO website.
Concert Programme:
Roger May – Concerto for Euphonium (soloist – James Blackford)
Daisy Ashworth – Apollo (world premiere)
John Williams – ET: Adventures on Earth
Bendřich Smetana - Vltava (from Má Vlast)
