Music of beauty and peace in first concert

Queen Street Central Methodist Hall Scarborough Symphony Orchestra marks the opening of its conductor’s 10th anniversary season with the return of one its favourite soloists.

It is four years since pianist Yuki Negishi last played with the Scarborough Orchestra to much acclaim and since then she has been in demand as a soloist around the world.

She will be performimg Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 21.

“I am delighted to return to Scarborough to perform this timelessly beautiful and joyful concerto, one of the first piano concertos that I heard as a seven -year-old,” said Yuki.

“It’s an honour to open Shaun Matthew’s anniversary season with the wonderful musicians of this orchestra.”

Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 21, nicknamed Elvira Madigan after the Swedish film title of the sixties in which it was featured, is a reflective work showcasing the pianist’s expressive talents.

It also provides the perfect balance to a first half of the programme that focuses on the dilemma of humanity in Charles Ives’s The Unanswered Question and, as we mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Andjrez Panufnik’s A Procession for Peace, an impassioned plea which he dedicated to all peaceloving people.

The second half of the concert features Schubert’s well-known Rosamunde overture and Respighi’s arrangements of Rossini’s delightful Ballet Suite La Boutique Fantasque, which will close the concert with a flourish.

The concert is at Scarborough’s Methodist Central Hall in Queen Street, on Saturday November 21 at 7.30pm.

There is an optional free talk about the music beforehand at 6.45pm. Free parking is available.

Admission is £11, £9.50 for concessions. Children up to 16 and full-time students are free.

Tickets can be purchased direct from Scarborough Music, the Art Cafe in Whitby as well as through the orchestra website or at the door on the night.

A special offer season ticket covering all four of this season’s concerts can be purchased in advance for £35 (£30 for concessions). See scarborough-orchestra. co.uk or telephone 01751 471409 for details.

The second concert in the series is on Saturday April 20 at 7.30pm.

The soloist on that occasion will be violinist Dania Alzapiedi.

Veterans of the Leeds rock ‘n’ roll surf scene X-Ray Cat Trio are stopping off at the Scarborough venue before releasing their new album Out For Blood on Halloween.

They play lo-fi and stripped back “Vampyre surf ” with a Latin edge. Also on the bill are Scarborough band The Vasolators.