bournemouth symphony orchestra at bristol beacon…

Thanks to Dave+Sarah, I was given a ticket to another classical concert at the Bristol Beacon last night (two concerts there within a week!). The programme consisted of:
Brahms Symphony No. 3
Hough Piano Concerto, ‘The World of Yesterday’
Elgar Variations on an Original Theme, ‘Enigma’
 
I hadn’t heard the piano concerto (which was impressive, but not quite my cup of tea) before last night, but was familiar with the other pieces. The evocative Brahms Symphony (which I do like – especially the third movement) is apparently, according to the programme notes, rich with references to his own thoughts about life and love in its striking mixture of passion and pessimism, of restlessness and serenity – we certainly need LOTS of passion and serenity at the present time!
And, like most people, I also love the Elgar Variations… but hadn’t realised was that they take the form of a portrait gallery of the composer’s friends, family and neighbours… and, last night, these were elaborated upon through spoken excerpts from Elgar’s own writings.
Another excellent evening with an impressive, full orchestra in full voice.