Chichester Symphony Orchestra Summer Concert

Organised by : Chichester Symphony Orchestra

Join us on a musical journey from the very tip of South America to Leipzig in Germany where Schumann's Symphony No 1 was first performed in March 1841. We break our journey in London where Elgar's cello concerto was premiered in 1919. Our soloist will be the acclaimed Aglaia Carvalho-Dubos.  

Simon Wilkins has conducted Chichester Symphony Orchestra since 2018. He is also an accomplished cellist, music teacher and composer. He invites us to join with him on a musical journey to the very tip of South America, and the landscapes of the Tierra del Fuego literally, the land of fire. For this composition, Simon took Latin rhythms and film music as his inspiration. Originally composed some years ago, it has now been revised and updated for 2026. 

From there we head to Leipzig in Germany where Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 1 was first performed in March 1841, some six months after Schumann had finally managed to marry his childhood sweetheart, Clara Wieck. It was to be a fruitful partnership, even though Claras father was bitterly opposed to the marriage. This symphony by Schumann will be the major work in the second half of our concert. 

The middle work in our concert will be a performance of the cello concerto by Edward Elgar. The concerto was composed in the aftermath of World War I while Elgar and his wife were staying at Brinkwells, their country cottage in Fittleworth, West Sussex. It is quite different in style from the earlier violin concerto and is much more contemplative and elegiac. The concerto was dedicated to Sir Sidney Colvin and his wife - friends of the Elgars (Sir Sidney was a curator at the British Museum). 

The cello concerto is one of the most popular today in the international repertoire partly as a result of performances and/or recordings by Jacqueline du Pre, Mstislav Rostropovich, Paul Tortelier, Julian Lloyd-Webber and Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Our own soloist is the already acclaimed Aglaia Carvalho-Dubost who is at the start of her professional career and has already performed at Londons Barbican, the Royal Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall.