Saturday 14th March 2026 - St James Church, Taunton 7.30pm

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Dvorak  Silent Woods for Cello and Orchestra  ​

Dvorak  Cello Concerto (soloist  Christopher Hedges)​

Sibelius  Symphony no 5 

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We are fortunate to have two delightful works by Antonín Dvořák in our March Concert. Dvořák originally wrote “Silent Woods” as a piano duet – the fifth of six movements of From the Bohemian Forest in 1883, but then beautifully arranged it for cello and orchestra in 1894. You may wonder why a beautiful piece of music has ‘Silent’ in its title, but as you will discover Dvořák has conjured up stillness within musical movement, and silence within sound.

 

Dvořák wrote his Cello Concerto in 1895 in his final year in New York. It has rich lyrical themes that explore passion and drama with a poignant slow movement. The Concerto is a testament to his exceptional gift for melody. The cello enjoys a positive and collaborative partnership with the rest of the orchestra that enriches our whole experience.

 

While working on his Fifth Symphony in 1915, Jean Sibelius wrote, “It was as if God the Father was throwing pieces of mosaic from the edge of heaven and asking me to figure out what the pattern was.” Though the public loved it, he was dissatisfied with his work and revised it several times before he was completely happy with it. Consequently, his final version which premiered in 1919 is a triumph. Sibelius had an affinity with nature and the brilliant ‘swan hymn’ of the finale is one of his greatest themes. Don’t miss it!

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