This is London Magazine Easter Edition 2025 - Flipbook - Page 26
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HAYDN’S NELSON MASS AT
CADOGAN HALL
On 5 April (19.30), Wimbledon
Choral and the City of London Sinfonia
will perform Haydn’s glorious Nelson
Mass. The programme also includes the
Bulgarian-British composer, Dobrinka
Tabakova’s Centuries of Meditations and
Sea Sketches by Grace Williams, who is
generally regarded as Wales’s most
notable female composer. The concert
includes both traditional and novel
works, performed by these two notable
ensembles and well-known soloists.
‘Wimbledon Choral Society were
magnificent, the intonation and timing
exquisite.’ Marc Bridle, Opera Today
Wimbledon Choral was founded over
100 years ago, during the First World
War. Today, they are a modern, dynamic
group of over 200 singers always ready
to stretch themselves, try new things and
grow their reputation as one of the finest
amateur symphonic choirs in the SouthEast. This colourful programme in the
Cadogan Hall will be conducted by
Daniel Mahoney, the recently appointed
Music Director. Daniel is an IrishAmerican conductor, tenor and guitarist
based in London and Boston. Using his
wide experience, he is elevating the
choir’s sound to new hights.
This a unique opportunity to
experience one of Haydn’s most powerful
and dramatic works which is often
considered the culmination of his sacred
music. Known for its vibrant energy and
emotional depth, this mass is a stunning
blend of grandeur and intimacy. With its
soaring choral parts, striking
orchestration and stirring vocal solos,
Nelson Mass captures the awe-inspiring
blend of devotion and triumph.
Dobrinka Tabakova is a BritishBulgarian composer. In 2015 she was
named as one of the 10 young
composers who are redefining classical
music. Centuries of Meditations was
inspired by four new stained-glass
windows installed in the Audley Chapel
of Hereford Cathedral, each celebrating
the writing of the local 17th century
priest and poet Thomas Trahene.
Tabakova has taken extracts from his
poetry and used each window as the
inspiration for her own writing.
Grace Williams wrote See Sketches
for string orchestra in 1944, and it is
one of her most popular works.
Box office: 020 773 04500. Visit the
website at cadoganhall.com
SHOSTAKOVICH AT CADOGAN HALL
Philip Mackenzie is to conduct the
Mozart Symphony Orchestra in
Shostakovich‘s ironic response to
Stalin’s commentary on his music – his
Fifth Symphony – and a dazzling
selection of music by Tajikistan’s most
important composer, Tolibkhon Shakhidi
(pictured below left). The concert will be
at Cadogan Hall on 24 April at 19.00.
Tolibkhon Shakhidi is arguably the
most important living Tajik composer.
He represents a very rare type of universal
master composer who possesses the
whole arsenal of contemporary musical
language yet uses the richest resources of
traditional Eastern music of his region.
Shostakovich wrote his Fifth
Symphony in an ironic response to an
article in Pravda titled ‘Muddle instead of
Music’, presumably penned by Stalin. Its
genius lies in its multi-layered meaning.
Stalin heard a celebratory Soviet
symphony whereas Shostakovich wrote
of the ending: ‘It’s as if someone were
beating you with a stick and saying,
‘Your business is rejoicing, your
business is rejoicing,’ and you rise,
shaky, and go marching off, muttering,
‘Our business is rejoicing, our business
is rejoicing.’
Performing at the Cadogan Hall
concert will be Malcolm ForbesPeckham on the piano with the Mozart
Symphony Orchestra, conducted by
Philip Mackenzie (pictured below right).
Tickets from £20 available from the
website at www.cadoganhall.com or
020 7730 4500. Cadogan Hall is a
short walk from Sloane Square station.
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