Ulster HallBelfast, Northern Ireland, BT2 7FF, United Kingdom
Dates/times in London time zone
Friday 21 November 2025 | 19:45 |
Programme
Moussa, Samy (b. 1984) | Elysium | |
Dvořák, Antonín (1841-1904) | Violin Concerto in A minor, Op.53 | |
Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827) | Symphony no. 3 in E flat major "Eroica", Op.55 |
Performers
Gabriel Bebeșelea | Conductor |
Alena Baeva | Violin |
Ulster Orchestra |
Heroes are dangerous – they can inspire us to great things, or, if they stumble, shatter our illusions. Elysium by Samy Moussa finds us in the everlasting paradise where heroes dwell; majestic, virtuous and ecstatically triumphant. Beethoven’s Third Symphony lost its original dedication when Napoleon turned from hero to villain and the epigraph simply became ‘Heroic... dedicated to the memory of a great man’; this extraordinary, revolutionary symphony makes a hero of Beethoven himself. Dvořák’s Violin Concerto was not written for a hero so much as a friend and collaborator in Joseph Joachim and it is bursting with Czech folk music influences, especially in its skirling, dancing final movement.

© Marco Borggreve