Katie Stillman – director
Jessica Burroughs – soloist

Prokofiev - Symphony No.1, Op.25 ‘Classical’
Schumann - Cello Concerto in A minor, Op.129
Anna Thorvaldsdottir Illumine
Haydn - Symphony No.104, in D major ‘London’

Composed in Russia during one if its darkest times, Prokofiev’s ‘Classical Symphony’ is a glimpse of light, channelling his influences from Classical-era composers Haydn and Mozart. Aptly paired with Prokofiev’s First Symphony is Haydn’s last of 12 ‘London’ symphonies, which brims with all the invention, wit, drama and surprises that characterise the music of the ‘Father of the Symphony’.

Robert Schumann was one of the most innovative composers of the 19th Century. His trailblazing Cello Concerto allows the natural character of this beautiful instrument to sing in a work in which both sides of his musical imagination – the poetic and the impetuous – are given full expression.