The opera Les Francs-Juges was the first work Berlioz wrote for orchestra and although the complete score is now lost, the overture survived as a successful concert piece in its own right and is the earliest of his compositions to retain a place in the repertoire today. The work is set in Mediaeval Germany, and the title literally means “The Free Judges”, referring to the secret Vehmic trials held in the region during the late Middle Ages. The plot, with its stormy passions and theme of rescue from oppression, offered Berlioz the opportunity to compose a work in the style of the French Revolutionary operas by Méhul and Cherubini.

In 1950, following one of the rehearsals of Reinhold Glière’s ballet The Bronze Horseman at the Bolshoi Theatre, the conductor, Yuri Fayer introduced Glière to the horn player Valery Polekh. The composer praised the performance of the horn section of the orchestra and added “Such a remarkable instrument, and how regrettable that composers rarely write for it.” Polekh immediately interjected “Write a concerto for us.  You are so familiar with the capabilities of the horn.”

The resulting work premiered in May 1951 in the Grand Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, with Polekh as soloist. Although rarely performed today, Glière’s tuneful and demanding Horn Concerto was a huge success, and the finale was repeated as an encore.

Although Vaughan Williams would have preferred that his second symphony had been subtitled ‘by a Londoner’ rather than ‘A London Symphony’, it is, non-the-less, about what was around him – the sights, sounds, and moods of the great metropolis. Listeners will recognise suggestions of such things as the Westminster Chimes, the Lavender Cry, and, in the third movement, the noteworthy sounds of the buskers’ harmonica and accordion (imitated by muted horn and strings). This atmospheric four-movement orchestral portrait is an affectionate, teemingly detailed orchestral portrayal of the composer’s much-loved adopted city.

Conductor: Uwe Radok

Horn soloist: Daniel Curzon

PROGRAMME:

1. Berlioz –– Overture Les Francs-Juges
2. Glière –– Horn Concerto
3. Vaughan Williams –– Symphony No. 2 (A London Symphony)