Sinfonia Viva

Natalie Murray Beale              conductor
Jean-Selim Abdelmoula          piano
April Fredrick                             soprano
Simon Wallfisch                        baritone
Nottingham Harmonic Choir

Louise Farrenc                            Overture No. 2
Schumann                                  Piano Concerto
Fauré                                           Requiem

Apart from being a fast-rising star in her own right, Australian conductor Natalie Murray Beale has the distinction of having coached actor Cate Blenchett in the art of the maestro for her compelling performance in the movie, Tár. For her Nottingham debut with Sinfonia Viva she brings a richly rewarding programme, full of subtle colours and beautiful craftsmanship.

The music of the gifted 19th-century French composer, Louise Farrenc, is enjoying a long overdue rediscovery and her 2nd concert overture is a fine example of her arrestingly dramatic writing, which draws from the melting-pot of musical innovation in Paris at the time and the influence of Hector Berlioz. The outstanding young Swiss pianist, Jean-Selim Abdelmoula is the soloist in Schumann’s free-spirited Piano Concerto before Fauré’s Requiem concludes the evening with some of the most moving choral music you’ll hear this side of heaven. Departing from the fire and damnation of more theatrical examples, the prevailing mood of Fauré’s Impressionistic masterpiece is serenity, with deeply moving contributions from the two soloists, most memorably in the soprano’s angelic Pie Jesu.

Free pre-concert talk, 6.20pm in the auditorium: Natalie Murray Beale in conversation.