Thu 11 Sep 2025, Queen's Theatre, Barnstaple

Smetana’s joyous overture from The Bartered Bride is at the heart of what comic opera is all about: drama, excitement and bold character. Folk-like elements and bold, rich orchestrations bring it to life, making it one of the most exciting overtures ever composed. Written at the end of Dvořák’s three-year contract in New York, the Cello Concerto reflects some of his American experiences but is at the same time filled with the spirit of his beloved Bohemia where he longed to return. It contains some of his most memorable melodies and one of the loveliest of horn solos, and by placing the solo cello into a variety of constantly changing instrumental combinations the result is most delicate and translucent. Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony’s appeal is not hard to understand. Described by Wagner as “the apotheosis of the dance”, with boundless energy and rhythmic impetus the music rages forward, almost demonically, with climax after climax, right to the brilliant final notes and one of the most thrilling endings in all music.