Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

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Barry Wordsworth conductor
Matthew Trusler violin

Bach (arr. Stokowski) Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BMV 565
Britten Violin Concerto in D minor Op 15
Butterworth Rhapsody, A Shropshire Lad
Vaughan Williams Symphony No 4 in F minor

Music by Britain’s greatest composers sits alongside a vivid reimagining of an 18th-century masterpiece in the second of the Brighton Philharmonic’s concert series.

Famously featured in Disney’s Fantasia, Stokowski’s orchestration of the Toccata and Fugue transforms Bach’s precise Classicism into full-blown Romanticism — an irresistible exercise in musical wit and insight.

Violinist Matthew Trusler brings his potent blend of verve and virtuosity to Britten’s emotionally and technically demanding Violin Concerto. Composed as war loomed, it is mysterious, martial and melodic by turns. Butterworth also composed in the shadow of conflict, and the idyllic Rhapsody, A Shropshire Lad was first performed a year before the Great War, in which Butterworth was killed.

Vaughan Williams said that his Fourth Symphony of 1935 should be understood as ‘pure music’, with no external inspiration. But in its tough and uncompromising ferocity it is hard not to see premonitions of war, as well as the composer’s rage, humour and poetic nature.

Before this concert, there will be an interview featuring Peter Black in conversation with violinist Matthew Trusler in the Brighton Musuem Education Pavilion. Click here to find out more.

For more information on season tickets as well as discounts, including family tickets and group bookings, see the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra season brochure