On Sunday 1 December at 3pm the Portsmouth Philharmonic orchestra is putting on a charity concert for Read Easy UK at the Church of the Resurrection, Drayton.
Ka Wai describes the concert
It will be an interesting and enjoyable concert. This is the programme: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet, TH 42, (1880 version); Karl Goldmark: Rustic Wedding Symphony, Op. 26, 1st Movement; Georges Bizet: L’Arlésienne Suite No. 1; Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46; and Leroy Anderson: A Christmas Festival.
Some of these works will be well known and well-loved, such as the Peer Gynt. In the last piece we will be welcoming in the Christmas period on the first day of December.
Nowadays we can just go onto Spotify or YouTube. But there’s no comparison to the power of live music. That’s irreplaceable. The Karl Goldmark piece is rarely played, especially by amateur orchestras, even though if you search for it you will find a recording by Leonard Bernstein. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th movements are especially difficult to play, because you do need the full orchestra, particularly the strong viola section. Every movement has a different theme and variation, and each variation features a different section: sometimes just the strings and occasionally you get the brass coming in. So, it’s interesting for all sides of the orchestra.
The Goldmark piece is less well known; some violin players are familiar with his violin concerto, which is better known than his symphony. So it’s something new and challenging to play. For example at the beginning of the first rehearsal people realised that the keynote signature was challenging – they’ve got six, maybe seven flats, which is challenging. But now, once they’ve got their heads around it, and rehearsed it, it’s been much been easier to play than how it appears on the page.
About the charity that Portsmouth Philharmonic will be supporting
Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra chooses to raise funds for one Hampshire-based charity for every concert. At the last concert, we raised £750 for the Hampshire Search and Rescue. For this coming December concert, we chose Read Easy, Portsmouth Branch, which is a charity to help adults who have difficulties in reading. It provides a volunteer-led reading coaching programme for adults: it not only coaches the adults to read but also helps them to build up confidence and overcome challenges during the process. We are thankful that we can use music to help the charity to raise some money to support its causes.
Read more about Ka Wai – https://kawaicheng.com
Portsmouth Philharmonic charity concert for Read Easy UK
