Hollywood Hit Liszt, Korngold, Dvořák

Exeter University Great Hall, Exeter

Britten’s Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes are not only a set of brilliantly realised tone portraits of the sea and its many faces, but a subtle psychological primer on the deep questions posed in the opera itself. Korngold plundered his Hollywood catalogue for the most haunting, expressive and beautiful themes to create a concerto that would prove his prowess beyond a writer of swashbuckling movie scores. Its combination of full-throated lyricism and unbridled virtuosity made it a favourite with Jascha Heifetz and later violinists. Korngold develops the main theme in freely rhapsodic fashion, embellishing it with pyrotechnic passagework that ascends into the stratosphere. Symphony No.6 was the first of Dvořák’s symphonies to be published and the first to be performed widely outside of Bohemia. Clearly cast in the mould of Austrian symphonies, the rich colours and textures of the Czech folk music of Dvořák’s childhood are nonetheless present throughout and eventually burst through to dominate the rousing final movement.