Enter our children’s art competition. Be inspired by

Pictures at an Exhibition – your chance to win prizes

and see your painting displayed at the concert. Visit

our website for entry details.

2017 / 2018

The Romantics

Brahms Tragic Overture

Strauss Oboe Concerto

Oboe: Tom Blomfield

Sibelius Symphony No.2

wokingso.org.uk

WSO reserves the right to change the programmes, soloists, venue or

concert dates without notice in the event of unforeseen circumstances

Family Concert – Pictures at an Exhibition

Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 (finale)

Piano: Noah Zhou

Come along and try the instruments!

registered charity no: 295247

Saturday 18 November 2017, 7.30pm

Saturday 24 March 2018, 7.30pm

Saturday 23 June 2018, 7.30pm

Saturday 20 January 2018, 3.30pm

The Jazz Age

Gershwin An American in Paris

Bernstein Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Bernstein Three Dance Episodes from On the Town

Ravel Piano Concerto in G major

Piano: Angela Lau, Woking Young Musician 2017

Music from the Movies

Jarre Lawrence of Arabia Overture

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3 (Shine)

Piano: Dominic Doutney

Beethoven Symphony No.7 (The King’s Speech)

Venue & Tickets

Concerts take place at HG Wells, Church Street East,

Woking GU21 6HJ (satnav GU21 8EW)

Direct access from level 4 Victoria Way car park

Tickets from wokingso.org.uk, HG Wells box office on

01483 712710 or by post (see order form for details)

Our family concert features Ravel’s

orchestration of Mussorgsky’s highly

colourful piano suite Pictures at an

Exhibition, based on paintings by

Viktor Hartmann – a work that offers

great opportunities to both the audio

and visual imaginations. The young

pianist Noah Zhou joins us for the

finale of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto

No.1 – a mixture of folk melody and pianistic bravura that is

not to be missed.

Sibelius’s 2nd Symphony – the main work in our spring concert

– has an extraordinary finale. It is based on a very simple rising

three note figure which develops into a

theme which is accompanied by music

that sounds like the icy northern wind

whistling through the Finnish forests.

The music builds to a tremendous

climax, and then seems to stand still in

a passage of awesome power. Sibelius

seems to capture the essence of the

natural world in this music, its

elemental power and ability to strike awe into the onlooker.

Contrast is provided by the intimate world of Richard Strauss’s

Concerto for Oboe, written in 1945. Tom Blomfield is our

soloist for this lovely piece, which looks back to classical and

Romantic models in its musical language and has a wonderful

fresh melodic invention and lightness of touch.

Great film music is the theme of our summer concert. Maurice

Jarre’s score for David Lean’s epic

Lawrence of Arabia has one of the

most haunting and memorable tunes

in all film music and will make a

stunning opening. In The King’s

Speech, Beethoven’s 7th Symphony is

used to help cure the stammer of the

future King George VI. Described by

Wagner as ‘the apotheosis of the

dance’, this extraordinary piece is bursting with an almost

daemonic energy. Rachmaninov’s 3rd Piano Concerto didn’t

need Shine to promote it but I’m sure it helped it reach an

even wider audience. We’re delighted to welcome back

Dominic Doutney as soloist – he made a great impression in

November 2016 with another titanic concerto: Brahms’ 2nd.

Please fill in the form below to order tickets in advance or join

our mailing list. Send with your cheque (payable to Woking

Symphony Orchestra) to: Daphne Balchin, Aldeburgh, Madeira

Road, West Byfleet, Surrey KT14 6DL Tel: 01932 346840

Email: wokingsymphony@gmail.com Tickets also available

online at wokingso.org.uk or from box office 01483 712710

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Patron

Woking Young Musician 2017, Angela Lau, suggested

programming Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major for her

appearance with the orchestra in

November. This wonderful piece is

strongly influenced by jazz (the first

movement has some notably ‘bluesy’

moments and the jazz pianist Herbie

Hancock used the second as a basis

for improvisation), so I thought I’d

surround it with other great pieces

influenced by jazz and popular music,

including Gershwin’s An American in Paris in which the

composer sought to ‘portray the impression of an American

visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city and listens to various

street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere’. West Side

Story was Leonard Bernstein’s greatest hit and from some of

its best tunes he fashioned a marvellous symphonic suite –

perhaps the ultimate ‘crossover’ masterpiece! The irresistibly

jazzy ‘Dance Episodes’ from the musical On The Town

complete what promises to be a most entertaining evening.

visit our website for more information

Number of Tickets

Adult £14 U16/Student £7 Total Cost

18 Nov 2017 7.30pm

24 Mar 2018 7.30pm

23 Jun 2018 7.30pm

Season Ticket 3 x Evening Concerts

Adult £36 U16/Student £15

20 Jan 2018 Family Concert 3.30pm

All seats £7

Order Total £

Angela Lau Tom Blomfield

Noah Zhou

wokingso.org.uk

Join our conductor, Roy Stratford, before each evening

concert for a lively and engaging insight into the music.

Dominic Doutney

Order Form From Roy Stratford, Our Conductor

Pre-concert Talks: 6.45pm