Leading orchestra to feature in city concert

LEEDS International Concert Season’s second orchestral concert of 2010 will feature the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

The concert at Leeds Town Hall will feature two works – Siegfried Idyll by Wagner and Bruckner’s Symphony No 8.

Siegfried Idyll is a symphonic poem written by Wagner as a birthday present for his wife. Written after the birth of their son, Siegfried, the piece features a German lullaby entitled Sleep Baby Sleep. Although it is one of only a handful of non-operatic works that Wagner wrote, he used material from the Idyll in the love scene of his opera, Siegfried.

Influenced by Wagner, Bruckner’s Symphony No 8 is known as The Apocalyptic and was the last symphony that Bruckner completed, dedicated to the Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria.

Bruckner wrote of the Finale: “At the time our Emperor received the visit of the Czars at Olmtz; thus, strings: the Cossacks; brass: military music; trumpets: fanfares, as the Majesties meet.”

The concert conductor, Donald Runnicles, became chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in September 2009.

He began his career in Mannheim, Germany, before making his US debut in 1988 for the Metropolitan Opera New York and becoming general music director of the city of Freiburg in 1989.

He is now music director of the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming and principal guest conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1935 by Scottish composer and conductor Ian Whyte, and is recognised as one of the UK’s leading orchestras. The winner of several awards, including a Royal Philharmonic Society Award and four Gramophone Awards, it has a busy broadcasting schedule and also records commercially.

Tickets for this concert are priced from 9.50 to 27.50, with concessions available, and they can be purchased from the town hall box office on 0113 224 3801 or online at www.leedsconcertseason.com