Archive for: Live Concert

Corelli Christmas Concerto
Once in Royal David’s City
Strauss Blue Danube
Strauss Pizzicato Polka
Vivaldi ‘Winter’ from The Four Seasons
The First Nowell
Hark the Herald
Handel ‘Pifa’ from Messiah
Ding Dong Merrily on High
Shepherds Pipe Carol
Tchaikovsky ‘March’ and ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ from The Nutcracker
O Come All Ye Faithful
Anderson Sleigh Ride
Ruth Rogers director
Croydon Bach Choir
Musicians from Cypress School

Whether you love traditional carols, wintery songs or just fancy a mulled wine and a mince pie, head on over to Crystal Palace for our Christmassy concert. Full of the music we all turn to at this time of year, this fun and informal concert will be a wonderful opportunity for families and friends to gather at St John the Evangelist to get in the Christmas spirit.

Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Barber Adagio for Strings
Grieg Holberg Suite
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Simon Blendis director

If there’s one work that paints a simple and serene picture of summer, it’s Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. Having been voted the number one choice in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame nine times in recent years, it’s a work that is full of folk tunes and a soaring violin melody which evokes a delicate image of a carefree lark flying over the rolling British countryside. Add to this Barber’s iconic Adagio for Strings which presents passionate music of a heart-wrenching sadness that has been used so often in films and commercials; Mozart’s delightful and ever popular Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and we have some of the most popular and instantly recognisable hits from the classical repertoire.

Mendelssohn String Symphony no.10
Anderson The Waltzing Cat
Coleridge-Taylor Noveletten Movement no.2
Holst St Paul’s Suite
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending 
Britten Simple Symphony
Barber Adagio for Strings
Simon Blendis director

Let us tell you the story of how the Crystal Palace came to be.

On a Summer’s day in 1851, the peace of Hyde Park was overturned by the opening of The Great Exhibition. Filled with a spectacular display of Britain’s culture and industrial exploits, this international exhibition, organised by Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert and Henry Cole, was a symbol of optimism and hope for a better future after the difficult decades of political and social upheaval in Europe. Attended by literary greats including Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte and Lewis Carroll, the Exhibition was encased in a gigantic glass house filled with trees and statues. And thus, the Crystal Palace was born.

In 1854, the giant structure was moved to Sydenham Hill and found its new home on the banks of South London. Its grandeur and marvel influenced the name of the town and so it was renamed as, you guessed it, Crystal Palace. After it was engulfed in flames in 1936, all that remains of the Palace are scatterings of foundations in the park and the stories that go with it.

Today, we’re bringing the story to life through music and live narration by our players. Our concert will take you through the memories of the Great Exhibition including the grand opening with the String Symphony no.10 by Mendelssohn, Queen Victoria’s favourite composer, watching the world’s first Cat Show with Leroy Anderson’s The Waltzing Cat and the harrowing burning down of the Palace with Barber’s Adagio for Strings.

Handel Messiah

Thomas Allery Harpsichord/Director
Ruth Rogers leader
Hilary Cronin soprano
Alexander Chance countertenor
Zahid Siddiqui tenor
Jerome Knox bass-baritone

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Sometimes, it’s best to stick to the classics. And what’s a classical music Christmas without Messiah? As the Harry Styles of his day, Handel’s superstar status made his music extremely popular around London and Messiah drew in thousands as a result of its great emotional impact and catchy tunes (‘Hallelujah’ chorus – we’re looking at you).

We’re revamping Handel’s classic with a brand-new presentation. Placing the audience in a ring around the orchestra, this immersive experience will showcase the work from all angles.

A different way of selling seats

The orchestra and singers will be performing ‘in the round’ on a lowered stage. Many musicians will also be placed in other locations in the hall. For the best, most intimate experience, please choose a ‘stage seat’. Note that ‘choir stalls’ seats will be above the stage, looking down and that seats in the stalls will be some distance from the stage. All seating will be unreserved by section.

Philip Glass Mad Rush
Britten Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
Saint-Saëns Symphony No.3, ‘Organ’
Anna Lapwood organ
Anna Duczmal-Mroz conductor
CMA Strings (Britten only)

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Sometimes our intrusive thoughts get the better of us and all we can think when we look at the gigantic pipes on organ is: ‘Could I fit in there?’

In this concert, BBC Radio Presenter and Associate Artist of the Royal Albert Hall, Anna Lapwood, turns pipe dreams into reality by, quite literally, taking us inside the pipes with her camera, revealing the hidden side of the instrument we never get to see. Performing on Fairfield Halls’ organ for its grand re-opening, Anna plays Saint-Saëns’ colossal Symphony No.3, nicknamed the ‘organ symphony for its fiery showcase of the organ as it depicts the end of the world.

This concert will also include Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. This piece is a lot like a puzzle. It begins with the entire orchestra playing the main theme, showing us the full picture much like the image on the box. The puzzle is then shaken and tipped onto the stage, scattered throughout the different instruments as they work together to put it back together. Bit by bit, each instrumental section plays around with the theme, showing off their different personalities and abilities as they rebuild the music and show us exactly what ingredients make up the orchestral cocktail.

This concert is repeated on 28 July 2022 and 6 August 2022.

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Bach Brandenberg Concerto No.3 
Bach Double Violin Concerto 
Vivaldi The Four Seasons

Ruth Rogers director

If this is your first experience of the world of Baroque music you can do no better than Bach’s famous ‘Brandenburg’ Concertos, or possibly his most popular orchestral work the Double Violin Concerto with its sublime slow movement. But Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons surely needs no introduction with each of the four movements painting an evocative picture of the seasons. In just one concert you will hear some of the best of Baroque performed in what is arguably the most perfect setting for the music, within the beautiful architecture and acoustic of St Martin’s.

This concert is repeated on 22 July and 19 August.

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Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Barber Adagio for Strings
Grieg Holberg Suite
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending

Simon Blendis director/violin

If there’s one work that paints a simple and serene picture of summer, it’s Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. Having been voted the number one choice in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame nine times in recent years, it’s a work that is full of folk tunes and a soaring violin melody which evokes a delicate image of a carefree lark flying over the rolling British countryside. Add to this Barber’s iconic Adagio for Strings which presents passionate music of a heart-wrenching sadness that has been used so often in films and commercials; Mozart’s delightful and ever popular Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and we have some of the most popular and instantly recognisable hits from the classical repertoire.

Jessie Montgomery Strum for strings
Coleridge-Taylor 4 African Dances, Op.58 (arr. George Morton)
Mozart Symphony No.31, Paris
Beethoven Violin Concerto
Leia Zhu violin
Leslie Suganandarajah conductor
Simon Blendis leader

Not all famous works were a great success the first-time round. Take Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, for instance, whose first performance wasn’t quite what we’d call a crowd-pleaser. While the composer’s assessment may have been a little dramatic (asking to sit at a distance from performances so as not to hear his ‘music murdered’), Beethoven’s late finishing of writing the piece—only two days before the performance—meant the violin soloist had to practically sight-read on stage, causing critics to label the experience as ‘exhausting’.

But second chances are given for a reason and the concerto was revived four decades later by violinist afficionado Joseph Joachim who dazzled the audience and convinced the public of the piece’s worth. Ever since, the piece has become a firm favourite with violinists and is showcased tonight by our Young Artist-in-Residence, Leia Zhu.

Other composers had more luck in the popularity department. An ambitious 22-year-old Mozart was encouraged to ‘win fame and make money in Paris’ by his father and in 1778 he did just that. Hailed by the people of Paris as a prodigy, Mozart was wildly popular in the French capital and his Symphony no.31 is the product of this trip, proving sensational back then and a continued favourite today.

We’ll also be playing Jessie Montgomery’s ‘Strum for strings’ and ‘4 African Dances’ by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Leslie Suganandarajah joins us as the conductor for this concert.