NEXT CONCERTS

DCO brings to Cornerstone an afternoon of popular classics, and what better way to start than with the tuneful overture to Humperdinck's opera "Hansel and Gretel", based on the fairy tale by the Grimm brothers. Duparc destroyed many of his own compositions, leaving only the best – including the atmospheric symphonic poem "Lenore". Borodin's energetic Polovtsian Dances are a concert classic, with the main tune also famously used in a song called "Strangers in Paradise" in the musical "Kismet". And what better to close with than Tchaikovsky's sixth and final symphony, also known as the "Pathétique", which is full of soulful, unforgettably beautiful melodies.

A concert of orchestral and vocal music, showcasing the beautiful voice of soprano Hannah Fraser-Mackenzie.

The concert will include a variety of shorter pieces in different styles, including highlights from the incidental music to Grieg's Peer Gynt, a gorgeous vocal piece by Granados, a sparking overture by Wolf-Ferrari and Offenbach's incomparable overture to Orpheus in the Underworld. Johann Strauss's glittering introduction to Die Fledermaus opens the second half, accompanied by a very tuneful suite by Ippolitov-Ivanov, and Hannah Fraser-Mackenzie returns centre-stage to sing Strauss's Voices of Spring.

There's no doubt – this is one concert where you'll go home humming several of the tunes!

Eric Coates is famed for a number of popular pieces – The Dambusters March, By the Sleepy Lagoon (the theme tune to Desert Island Discs) and two London suites. The Three Elizabeths Suite is a joyful and tuneful depiction of three royal Elizabeths. The music of Sir Hamilton Harty is less often played outside his native Ireland, but surprisingly so because of its characteristic melodic invention, as demonstrated in With the Wild Geese. Sir Edward Elgar wrote five Pomp and Circumstance Marches (and sketches for a sixth) and apart from the "Last Night of the Proms" first, the fourth is the most rewarding and memorable. Frederick Delius was inspired by the time managing an orange plantation in Florida to write his Florida Suite, which apart from its sumptuous themes and dreamy quality, incorporates one of his most famous pieces – La Calinda.

Tchaikovsky's immortal Nutcracker ballet brims with memorable melodies, and some of the best are assembled in this famous suite. Henry Kimball Hadley was an American composer and conductor, and famed for establishing the Bershire Symphonic Music Festival at Tanglewood, Massechusetts. Inspired by the Ocean Ode by Louis Anspacher, Hadley's gift for depictive orchestration is evident throughout his superb symphonic poem Ocean - calm and tumultuous moods being brilliantly described. Dvorak similarly uses the orchestra to take us on a journey through a day in the life of a naughty child visited by the evil Noon Witch. Josef Suk, husband of Dvorak's daughter Otilie, wrote about his home city in this personal, atmospheric and ultimately triumphant symphonic poem.

A refreshing summer sorbet of a concert - with Prokofiev's dazzling Classical Symphony opening a glittering programme of summery classical music gems. Lyadov's last piece then makes a lyrical contrast. The Czech Suite's five dance-like movements seem to portray summery feelings in Dvořák's homeland, while Lars Erik Larsson's Pastoral Suite evokes high-latitude long-day Swedish summers – the piece is written in a neo-classical style similar to Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. A true classic masterpiece concludes our concert – the charming and high-spirited Eighth Symphony of Beethoven, written in the summer of 1812 and popular ever since.

Our concert takes the listener on a musical journey of locations that inspired composers to write descriptive portraits of the landscape around them. Karl Goldmark was a much overlooked Hungarian composer, though the tuneful overture that begins his opera The Queen of Sheba is surely worth hearing more often. Despite writing only fourteen works before his untimely death in an avalanche, Polish composer Mieczysław Karłowicz had a gift for melody and musical story-telling, as exemplified in his best-known work Eternal Songs. Elgar's wonderful extended concert overture In the South was inspired by a holiday in Alassio on the Italian Riviera. Otto Respighi's unique and magnificent descriptive symphonic suite The Pines of Rome depicts pine trees in four locations in Rome at different times of the day.

The main work in this very tuneful concert is Dvořák's ever-popular Cello Concerto, with talented cellist Joshua Lynch. Dating from the composer's American period, it portrays both unrequited love and at the same time the homesick longing that Dvořák felt for his own country. The rarely-played effervescent Polonaise by Lyadov is also included in the programme, along with the American Suite which Dvořák composed immediately following his New World Symphony. The Overture di Ballo predates Sullivan's operetta works with WS Gilbert, and is – justifiably – his most-recorded orchestral work. Tunes aplenty are guaranteed!