Sunday 8 March 2026 - Programme Notes
Benjamin Ellin - Three States at Play, for solo violin
Ajdic - Adagio for clarinet and strings
Haydn - Symphony No 104, London
IGOR STRAVINSKY - DUMBARTON OAKS
Benjamin Ellin - Three States at Play, for solo violin
Three States at Play was originally written in 2005. Dissatisfied with the original version of the work, Ellin looked to revise it with a new colleague. The brilliant, young and unflinching Artem Kotov proved to be just that person. Ellin was introduced to Kotov by Nic Pendlebury at Trinity College of Music in London. In fact, Kotov led the orchestra in the premiere of Ellin's White Crucifixion with violist Rivka Golani in London in 2009.
Three States at Play subsequently garnered a new and vivacious interpreter and the composer gained a friend, a collaborator and a musician who would help the composer enormously in the challenges of writing for solo violin. The work, in three movements, highlights a dazzling array of emotions and techniques
Alojz Ajdic - Adagio for clarinet and strings
From Alojz Ajdic:
" The Adagio for Clarinet and Orchestra from 1985 is a reorchestrated equivalent of a composition for clarinet and piano of the same year."
The composer first named the piece The Story of Suburbia. Ajdič expressed some of his feelings regarding the emergence of the Adagio with the words:
" Life is made up of many events that the individual forms into a whole from which the personality is recognisable. The mosaic of life is best formed from the individual's creativity and from the environment in which he lives. In such a mosaic of life there are many dark and grey stones. However, one can also find beautifully coloured stones, which form the colourful image of the personality. It is true that one must believe in and trust life, enabling one to view the world peacefully and level-headedly. This Adagio is a statement with which I wanted to say that in my life, too, there have been many beautiful moments, which have made life happier and more beautiful for me."
Joseph Haydn - Symphony No 104, London