The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is to broadcast concerts from its archive once a month from 28 June to 13 September 2020 for free.
Each concert will premiere on the orchestra’s YouTube channel and Facebook at 19:00 BST on the last Sunday of the month and will be available for two weeks.
Alan Watt, Chief Executive of Academy of St Martin in the Fields says: “I am delighted that we can continue sharing our music making online during these times, music plays a vital role in our lives and that is evident now more than ever before. I hope people enjoy reliving these concerts and we can welcome our audience back to the concert hall soon, hopefully with a few new faces who have enjoyed these broadcasts.”
The first concert, on Sunday 28 June, is the 60th Anniversary Gala which took place at Queen Elizabeth Hall on 12 November 2019 and began the orchestra’s celebration of their diamond birthday. It is the first time the concert is available in full to watch.
Directed from the violin by Music Director Joshua Bell, the concert looks to the orchestra’s past, present and future. Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 famously features on the Academy’s soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film Amadeus and highlights the ensemble’s prestigious recording heritage whilst Mendelssohn’s beloved Violin Concerto in E minor performed by Bell demonstrates why he is one of the most celebrated violinists of his era.
The programme also includes the online premiere of Composer-in-Residence Sally Beamish’s Hover which is dedicated to the memory of Sir Neville Marriner: it received its UK premiere during the November 2019 concert. It is inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem The Windhover and showcases the orchestra’s musicians as both soloists and ensemble players. Beethoven’s exhilarating fifth symphony concludes the programme.
The second broadcast, on Sunday 26 July, features highlights from the celebratory Marriner at 90 concert, recorded on 1 April 2014 at the Royal Festival Hall for the occasion of the Academy’s founder Sir Neville Marriner’s 90th birthday. Marriner conducts Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Bell is the soloist and director in Saint-Saëns’ Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso.
Details of the other broadcasts will be announced nearer the time.
As well as these concerts, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields is sharing weekly interviews with members of the orchestra as well as some ‘at home’ performances. Explore past content and keep up to date with new videos on the orchestra’s YouTube channel, Facebook and Twitter feed.
60th Anniversary Gala
Premieres Sunday 28 June (remains online until Sunday 12 July) 19:00 BST
Mozart Symphony No. 25
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor
Sally Beamish Hover (online premiere)
Beethoven Symphony No. 5
Joshua Bell violin/director
Tomo Keller leader & director of Hover
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Recorded at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre on 12 November 2019
Marriner at 90 (Highlights)
Premieres Sunday 26 July (remains online until Sunday 9 August) 19:00 BST
Saint-Saëns Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso
Elgar Enigma Variations
Joshua Bell violin/director
Sir Neville Marriner conductor
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Recorded at Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre on 1 April 2014