Settle Orchestra – Ballet, Bassoon and Beethoven!

Colombian conductor Juan José Muñoz Borja takes up the baton for Settle Orchestra’s new season this autumn, with 17-year-old orchestra member Harris Birch stepping into the spotlight as bassoon soloist for concerts in Settle and Skipton.

Mozart – Ballet Music from Idomeneo – This suite of five dances was written as the joyous finale to Mozart’s opera, Idomeneo. Idomeneo, the king of Crete, survives a storm at sea and thanks Neptune for his good fortune by promising to offer the first living being he encounters on shore as a sacrifice. Unfortunately this happens to be his own son, Idamante. However, all ends well and at the end of the opera all the characters gather to celebrate the story’s happy ending: the wedding of Idamante to the Trojan princess Ilia.

Jacobi – Introduction and Polonaise for Bassoon and Orchestra – A technically demanding piece designed to showcase all the moods that the bassoon can express, written by Carl Jacobi, a composer known in his time as ‘the Paganini of the bassoon’. We are really excited that it will be performed by our very own Harris Birch.

Beethoven – Symphony No.8 – Written perhaps as a homage to Beethoven’s friend and the inventor of the metronome, Johann Maelzel, this symphony contains lots of musical jokes which seem to mock the idea of a steady musical time. Set against the octave jumps which first appear in the opening movement and which hold the whole piece together, and the ‘ticking’ staccato of the winds and horns in the second movement, there are phrases which get shorter and shorter, entrances that come a beat earlier than expected, and at the end of the minuet the brass, woodwinds and timpani all seem to disagree on the downbeat!

Given the success of our previous concerts, we recommend that you book your tickets in advance to make sure that you have a seat. They’ll be available from:

• Forage & Feast in Settle
• Orchestra members
• the Settle Orchestra website
• They’ll also be available on the door, subject to availability after advance bookings. Tickets booked in advance will be held up until 15 minutes before the performances start at 15:30 and then released for general admission.
• We look forward to seeing you!