Dramatic, symphonic, virtuosic, ‘too emotional’ (Elgar’s own description) and with its own enigma inscribed on the title page, Elgar’s monumental violin concerto provides a thrilling opening to the CCSO’s new season. Brahms’s Symphony no. 1, over twenty years in composition but worth the wait, gives us all we might want from a symphony: meaty outer movements, lyrical and lilting inner ones, and a chorale tune to rival Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’. CCSO is conducted by Robert Hodge.
more about City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra
The City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra started life in 1973 as the Harston String Orchestra. Later, as a result of a change in venue, it became the Barton String Orchestra. In 2000 Leon Lovett took over as conductor and shortly afterwards, the orchestra changed its name to the Cambridge String Players. Under his baton, the orchestra has appeared regularly in West Road Concert Hall and in other venues around Cambridge. In addition to playing works for strings, the orchestra increasingly invited wind players to join it to perform works from the symphonic repertoire. Recognising this change of emphasis, the musicians decided that the orchestra needed a new name and in September 2008, it became the City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra. In February 2012 Robert Hodge became CCSO’s new conductor.