From the New World

Firebird heads to Oxford on 13 March with pianist Marc Corbett-Weaver and conductor Michael Thrift for a concert which includes Dvořák’s ever popular ‘New World’ Symphony.

Set in the magnificent Grade I listed St John the Evangelist Church (pictured above) designed by Victorian architect George Frederick Bodley, this concert is presented as part of the 2022 SJE Arts International Piano Series.

Now in its ninth year, the Series is well established in Oxford and much further afield with past performers including John Lill, Joaquín Achúcarro, Stephen Hough and Imogen Cooper. 

From the New World
Sunday 13 March 2022, 6pm
St John the Evangelist Church, Iffley Rd, Oxford OX4 1EH

Arvo Pärt Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor
Dvořák  Symphony No. 9 in E minor ‘From the New World’

This concert is generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation

When Estonian Arvo Pärt (pictured above) heard on the radio that the English composer Benjamin Britten had died he dedicated his Cantus to his memory. This has become Pärt’s most popular work and has been used in movies and television documentaries. 

Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg premiered his Piano Concerto in 1869 with himself as soloist. It is considered to be one of the great works of the Romantic period. Grieg’s music also richly evokes a beautiful landscape of his homeland’s fjords and mountains.

Antonin Dvořák’s 9th Symphony From the New World was composed when the Czech composer was director of the National Conservatory of Music of America, and living in New York City. Drawing on native songs and African-American spirituals it evokes a sense of America’s natural beauty, with its wide open spaces and rugged wilderness.

The Orchestra will be conducted by our regular Principal Guest Conductor, Michael Thrift with soloist Marc Corbett-Weaver:

This concert is generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation