The Classic FM Concert with John Suchet

John ends the week with a perfect programme of music for a balmy summer evening.

To begin, Binge’s peaceful work Sailng By, followed by a sparkling performance of Mozart’s Flute & Harp Concerto from James Galway and Catrin Finch. After, we drift away with Delius’ Summer Night on the River, and dance the night away in Spain with Piazzolla and Albeniz, before ending the week in the “city of dreaming spires” with Haydn’s ‘Oxford’ symphony.

Ronald Binge
Sailing By
Ronald Corp conducts the New London Orchestra

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Flute & Harp Concerto in C major K.299
Flute: James Galway
Harp: Catrin Finch
Sinfonia Varsovia

Frederick Delius
Summer Night on the River
Thomas Beecham conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Astor Piazzolla
Libertango
Fionnuala Hunt directs the RTE Concert Orchestra from the violin

Isaac Albéniz
Suite Espagñola Op, 47
Guitar: Julian Bream

Joseph Haydn
Symphony No.92 in G major
(‘Oxford’)
Colin Davis conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

All week John celebrates under-appreciated and neglected symphonies: those that have fallen by the wayside of their more famous counterparts. To begin the week; Glazunov’s Symphony No.2, played by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra directed by José Serebrier. it was dedicated to the memory of Liszt, whose Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 we hear tonight played by Arcadi Volodos.

A prodigy, Glazunov was supported early in his career by Borodin and Rimsky Korsakov, whose music bookends the programme tonight. To end the programme, the Jazz Suite No.1 by one of Glazunov’s favourite and most promising students – Shostakovich.

Alexander Borodin
Polovtsian Dances
(From the opera Prince Igor)
Eugene Ormandy conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra and Choir

Franz Listz
Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C-sharp minor
Piano: Arcadi Volodos

Alexander Glazunov
Symphony No.2 in F-sharp minor Op. 16
José Serebrier conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Dmitri Shostakovich
Jazz Suite No.1
Dmitri Yablonsky conducts the Russian State Symphony Orchestra

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
Capriccio Espagnol Op. 34
Alexander Lazarev conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra

This evening John shines the spotlight on Saint-Saëns’ “Urbs Roma” symphony, one of his lesser-known works which is often overshadowed by his other more famous pieces, played tonight in a 2019 recording from Thierry Fischer and the Utah Symphony Orchestra.

Before this, we establish ourselves in the Italian capital with Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture, and the Yale Schola Cantorum sing Cantique de Jean Racine by one of Saint-Saens’ most successful pupils: Fauré. We also hear one of Rome’s finest musical ensembles, the Orchestra of the National Academy of St Cecilia, as they accompany Mario Brunello in Dvořák’s Cello Concerto.

Hector Berlioz
Roman Carnival Overture Op. 9
Daniel Barenboim conducts the Paris Orchestra

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Adagio in E major K.261
Violin: Anne-Sophie Mutter
Neville Marriner conducts the Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Gabriel Fauré
Cantique de Jean Racine Op. 11
David Hill conducts Yale Schola Cantorum

Antonin Dvořák
Cello Concerto in B minor Op. 104
Cello: Maria Brunello
Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the National Academy of St Cecilia

Camille Saint-Saëns
Symphony in F major
(“Urbs Roma”)
Thierry Fischer conducts the Utah Symphony Orchestra

Continuing the celebration of undervalued symphonies, John focuses on Hamilton Harty’s Irish Symphony, commissioned by Dublin festival organisers who admired Dvořák’s “New World” symphony and wanted a work that reflected their own culture in the same way. We hear it tonight in a performance by the Ulster Orchestra.

We also hear music by some of Harty’s contemporaries, Vaughan Williams and Stanford, who shared his love of folk music and traditions. Ending the programme, Miceal O’Rourke is the soloist in Field’s Piano Concerto No.2, and the Reverie and Caprice by one of Harty’s biggest influences – Berlioz.

Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Wasps – Overture
Mark Elder conducts the Halle Orchestra

Charles Villiers Stanford
The Blue Bird
Edward Higginbottom conducts the Choir of New College, Oxford

Herbert Hamilton Harty
An Irish Symphony
Bryden Thomson conducts the Ulster Orchestra

William Walton
Orb and Sceptre
David Parry conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra

John Field
Piano Concerto No.2 in A-flat major
Piano: Miceal O’Rourke
Matthias Bamert conducts the London Mozart Players

Hector Berlioz
Reverie et Caprice
Thierry Fischer conducts the Utah Symphony Orchestra

Tonight John shines the spotlight on another often-ignored composer: Joaquim Raff. Inspired by nature, his Symphony No.3 was a colossal international success at first, and many critics expected Raff to become the next Beethoven or Schumann, but he was soon overshadowed by the next wave of Romantic composers. We also hear music from two of Raff’s early supporters, Mendelssohn and Liszt, and the Karelia Suite by Sibelius, who drew inspiration from Raff.

The Swiss composer was also a spokesperson for women in music, and established writing classes specifically for female composers, so we end the programme with music by one of the first teachers he leapt to employ: Clara Schumann.

Felix Mendelssohn
Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave) Op. 26
John Eliot Gardiner conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

Franz Liszt
Liebestraum No.3
Piano: Martin James Bartlett

Joachim Raff
Symphony No.3 in F major Op. 153
(‘In the Forest’)
Francesco d’Avalos conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra

Jean Sibelius
Karelia Suite
Mariss Jansons conducts the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra

Clara Schumann
Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 7
Piano: Francesco Nicolosi
Stefania Rinaldi conducts the Alma Mahler Sinfonietta

On the final evening exploring under-appreciated symphonies, John turns to Dvořák and the composer’s Symphony No.6, which is often cast into shadow by his Symphony No.8 and the ‘New World’ symphony. Written in 1880, it got off to a shaky start, as the premiere was repeatedly postponed by illness and anti-Czech feeling, but was eventually a success in his lifetime. We hear it tonight performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi.

To compliment the symphony, there’s music by one of Dvořák’s greatest inspirations, Beethoven, as Alfred Brendel is the soloist in his Piano Concerto No.3. To round off the programme, we stay in Bohemia with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Hummel’s Introduction, Theme and Variations for Oboe arranged for trumpet.

Bedřich Smetana
The Bartered Bride – Overture
Darrell Ang conducts the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No.3 in C major Op. 15
Piano: Alfred Brendel
Simon Rattle conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Antonin Dvořák
Symphony No.6 in D major Op. 60
Neeme Järvi conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Introduction, Theme and Variations for Oboe
(Arranged for trumpet)
Trumpet: Gábor Boldoczki
Soma Dinyes conducts the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra