Three composers inspired by their homeland will feature in a concert by the Petersfield Orchestra on June 23 at 7.30pm.
The concert in the Festival Hall follows on from the orchestra’s successful sold-out appearance in March during the Petersfield Musical Festival.
The landscape of his native Finland inspired Sibelius to create the mighty epic that is his Fifth Symphony; a majestic flight of swans suggested the surging theme that dominates the last movement.
Born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius on December 8, 1865, he is widely regarded as his country’s greatest composer, and his music is credited with helping Finland develop a national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia.
Danish composer Carl Nielsen wrote his Helios overture, an evocation of the sun’s journey from rising to setting, while far from home: he was working in Greece at the time.
The composer, conductor and violinist was born on June 9, 1865, and is recognised as his country’s most prominent composer.
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was born on September 8, 1841, and was one of the first Czech composers to achieve worldwide recognition; he was teaching in the USA when he composed his Cello Concerto.
It is full of nostalgia for his native Bohemia and haunted by the loss of a girl he once loved.
In this ever-popular work, the soloist will also be far from his native land; Russian-born cellist Mikhail Lezdkan now lives in Portsmouth and performs all over the south of England.
But conductor Robin Browning will be on his home patch!
Petersfield Orchestra was founded in 1927 by Kathleen Merritt, who also conducted it until 1972.
It gives three concerts a year in Petersfield Festival Hall, with the March concert being part of the Petersfield Musical Festival.
A new venture in 2003 was an additional concert during the Christmas season at St Peter’s Church in Petersfield.
To buy tickets for the June 23 concert, priced £18 and £16, visit One Tree Books in Lavant Street, Petersfield, call 01730 261199 or visit https://petersfieldorchestra.org.uk/