NEXT CONCERTS

The first of three Swedish Rhapsodies by the Swedish late-Romantic composer Hugo Alfvén is his most well-known piece – full of Swedish dance and vitality celebrating the return of long northern summer days, and with a musical evocation of a sunrise. You may recognise its main tune! Polyeucte Overture is the oldest surviving work by Paul Dukas - a captivating piece, more like a symphonic poem, that deserves to be heard more often in the concert hall. It is said by many that Elgar's First Symphony is the greatest symphony written by an Englishman – its four contrasting movements each containing memorable tunes, overlaid with an emotional intensity that makes a strong impression on listeners, whether hearing again as a favourite, or discovering it for the first time.

Tchaikovsky's Voyevoda is a very rarely heard symphonic ballad, but critics after the first performance praised it. Then award-winning violinist Mabelle Young-Eun Park stars in what will be a stunning performance of Tchaikovsky's popular Violin Concerto. In the second half, DCO reunites Dvořák's overtures In Nature's Realm, Carnival and Othello into his originally intended unified trilogy with the overarching theme of "Nature, Life and Love" and the "nature" motif common to them all. If it's good tunes you're wanting, this is a concert you won't want to miss!

A few years ago we played the sparking Polovtsian Dances from Borodin's opera Prince Igor, and now we showcase the Overture. Then, in a moment of calm, we invite you luxuriate in the exquisite horn-laden Nocturne from a little-known Humperdinck suite. Taneyev was a lesser-known Russian composer, but no less tuneful, with an allegiance to Tchaikovsky – the stirring Overture to his only opera The Oresteia demonstrates melodic mastery from start to finish. Eclipsed by other Russian composers until the death of Tchaikovsky, Glazunov always wrote good tunes – as previous audiences will attest – and his Second Symphony certainly delivers.

The central work in this concert is the wonderful Violin Concerto by Brahms, in which DCO welcomes international soloist Vladislav Adelkhanov, originally from Tblisi, Georgia, and travelling to perform with us from Sofia, Bulgaria. Following DCO's tradition of combining popular classics with unjustly neglected gems, the concert opens with the tuneful overture from Dvořák's early opera Vanda (Wanda), which was written in a similar style to his Slavonic Dances. Sir Arthur Sullivan is best known for his musical partnership with William Gilbert in their Savoy operettas, but he was a serious composer too. His only symphony, subtitled "Irish" is brimming with memorable tunes. And you never know, there could be an encore!

In this pot-pourri of classical gems, both familiar and unjustly neglected, DCO begins its concert with The Ride of the Valkyries. Music buffs will know it as an orchestral interlude in the second opera – Die Walküre – of Wagner's Ring cycle, while film buffs will conjure an image of a helicopter assault in Apocalypse Now. Many will know the Intermezzo from Puccini's Manon Lescaut, and while the music of the Hungarian composer Dohnányi is rarely heard, his Suite in F# minor is wonderful music. Who can fail to be moved by the Prelude and Love-Death from Wagner's Tristan and Isolde? Then sit back and enjoy Rimsky-Korskov's glittering toe-tapping Spanish Caprice. There's something for everyone in this concert of tuneful classical gems.