Conductor: Barry Wordsworth | Soloist: Joanna MacGregor - Piano

BRITTEN Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes

BRITTEN Piano Concerto in D major, Op. 13

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 'Pastoral'

The RTWSO welcomes back conductor Barry Wordsworth - a long-term friend of the orchestra - for this concert, which is almost entirely about atmosphere and imagination. It opens with the moody, sometimes bleak, sometimes stormy, depiction of the East Anglian coast as realised by Benjamin Britten in the Four Sea Interludes from his opera Peter Grimes.

Closing the concert is another, but so very different, take on aspects of nature - Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, (Pastoral). It is unusually cast in five movements rather than the traditional four. There are no rough seas but a babbling brook, peasants' merrymaking, a storm that quickly blows through and a joyful, yet serene, resolution. This symphony certainly has a feel-good factor which will calm homeward journeys!

Sandwiched between our walks along the seashore and in the countryside is Britten's Piano Concerto, performed by renowned and exciting pianist Joanna MacGregor. Britten's concerto is, at times, a non-stop flurry of notes, played at a breakneck speed. Expect some bravura playing from Joanna.

This is proudly presented by Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra as part of their 2023 - 2024 Season. Click here to view the whole season!