Mozart on Tour (Vienna)
Piano Jeneba Kanneh-Mason
Director Benedict Holland
George Walker Lyric for Strings
Mozart Piano Concerto No.23
John Adams Shaker Loops (1st movement)
Mozart Symphony No.35 (‘Haffner’)
Saturday 15 February 2025 7.30pm
The King’s School in Macclesfield
Tickets: £28.00 | Under 30s £18 | Full Time Students and Under 18s Free
Mozart on Tour takes the orchestra to Vienna, the heart of Mozart’s musical heritage, under the direction of Benedict Holland. The concert opens with George Walker’s Lyric for Strings, originally a movement of his First String Quartet and then expanded into a work for string orchestra, dedicated to his formerly enslaved grandmother.
We are delighted to welcome Jeneba Kanneh-Mason to play Mozart’s beautiful Piano Concerto No.23. It is one of Mozart’s most lyrical and, in the central Adagio, poignant works. The third of the family to establish herself as a soloist, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason recently made her BBC Proms debut with the Chineke! Orchestra and was heralded by the press as “demonstrating musical insight, technical acuity and an engaging performing persona.”
John Adams’ Shaker Loops follows, characterised by repetitive oscillations on strings and inspired by water ripples and energising Shaker dance rhythms. The piece is a fine example of Adams’ innovative writing and sense of rhythmic vitality.
The evening concludes with Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, the ‘Haffner’ Symphony, originally commissioned for the Haffner family in Salzburg but later refined for performance in Vienna. The Vienna version is a fiery and forceful work culminating in a dazzling finale.
Benedict Holland, a prize-winning graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, is a prominent chamber musician and orchestral leader. He has guest-led many of the UK’s major orchestras, including the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic. He is currently Professor of Violin at the RNCM.
This concert has been generously sponsored by Michael and Joanna Sambrook.
