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An Elegant Fire

  • Metropolitan United 468 Wellington Street London, ON, N6A 3P8 Canada (map)

Photo: Elizabeth Delage

Guest artist: Elinor Frey, cello soloist and leader

As a reaction to the dense introspection of the Baroque masters, a wave of composers in the middle of the 1700’s searched for a mode of expression that was lighter, more transparent, and melody driven. This simpler way of creating music manifested itself in a directness that allowed for a witty and elegant clarity to match the intellectual fashions of the day.

The term ‘Galant’ is used to describe this form of expression that falls somewhere between Baroque and Classical. This ‘Galant’ style suited a generation of musical swashbucklers such as Luigi Boccherini, Joseph Haydn and C. P. E. Bach who composed passionate music to showcase their colleagues’ virtuosity.

Cellist Elinor Frey, fresh off a JUNO award in 2023 for her album Early Italian Cello Concertos, joins London Symphonia in fresh, fiery, and almost unbearably clever repertoire from composers in the ‘Galant’ style.

Program

Symphony No. 6 in D Major “Le matin” by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Cello Concerto in A Major by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1713-1788)
Symphony in D Major, Qq. 183/1 by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Cello Concerto in D Major, G 483 by Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Allegro assai con moto from Sinfonia Op. 12, No. 4 in D minor, G. 506 “La Casa del Diavolo” by Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)

Earlier Event: April 19
Le Vent du Nord
Later Event: May 25
Transformed