Programme
- Serenade for strings in C major, Op. 48(28 mins)
- Songs of a Wayfarer(16 mins)
- Symphony No. 6 'Fantaisies symphoniques', H 343(27 mins)
Performers
- Ashley Richesbass-baritone
- Jiřà Rožeňconductor
Concert Information
Conductor Jiřà Rožeň is joined by British bass-baritone Ashley Riches for a live Â鶹Éç Radio 3 broadcast.
Opening this afternoon is Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings. Bursting with emotion and composed in just two weeks, it remains one of the composer's most popular orchestral works.
Ashley Riches is the soloist for Mahler’s youthful song cycle - Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer). With lyrics written by the composer himself – influenced by a collection of German folk poetry - it tells the story of a grief-stricken lover reflecting on his fate.
Opening with a hallucinatory, otherworldly texture, we also hear Martinů’s sixth (and last) symphony, which took the composer over two years to complete. Commenting on the piece to author MiloÅ¡ Å afránek in 1955, Martinů remarked - “I don't know what, but… I have really expressed something in itâ€