Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Soaring Strauss

In his 150th birthday year what better way to launch a season than with soaring Strauss? His sumptuously scored tone poem indebted to Nietzsche (with its opening “sunrise” popularised in Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey), charts a musical odyssey rich in grandeur and poignant intimacy. Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony meshes the tradition of clarity and formality with the renegade spirit of his early works.

Prokofiev claimed that it was what Haydn might have written had he lived in another century, and Haydn himself would surely have appreciated the humour and the craftsmanship on show. A classical joie de vivre also permeates Beethoven’s fresh and ebullient First Piano Concerto. Written first and foremost to please and impress audiences it is full of pianistic virtuosity, designed to show off Beethoven’s passionate prowess on the keyboard.