The RTWSO season closes with music that looks back but never stands still, full of warmth, imagination and emotional clarity.
Wagner's Siegfried Idyll opens the concert, originally written as a private birthday gift and first performed in a domestic setting. It's intimate and tender, unfolding gently rather than making a grand statement.
Soprano Paula Sides then joins the orchestra for Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915. This is music about memory, specifically childhood remembered through the glow of a summer evening. Voices drift in from outside, the air feels still and warm, and everyday life takes on a dreamlike quality. It's nostalgic, but never sentimental.
The concert ends with Mahler's Symphony No. 4, one of his most approachable and joyful works. It begins lightly and playfully, before opening into something more reflective. In the finale, the soprano describes a child's vision of heaven – not distant or abstract, but familiar, simple and full of comfort.
A fitting end to the season: reflective, luminous and deeply human.
Memories of Childhood
Peter Selwyn - Conductor
Paula Sides – Soprano
Wagner - Siegfried Idyll
Barber - Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Mahler - Symphony No. 4
3.00pm
Price Band A: £38.00
Price Band B: £34.00
Price Band C: £31.00
Price Band D: £24.00
Under 18's and Student Price: £5.00
RTWSO Season Ticket can be purchased here
Running Time: 50 mins | 20 min interval | 50 mins
Age Recomendation: N/A
For specific access requests including wheelchair bookings or general access information please contact the theatre Ticket Sales team on 01892 554441 (Mon to Sat 12pm - 6pm)
