Sir Donald with Brahms

With this concert, Sir Donald Runnicles assumes his position as chief conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic and simultaneously opens our British Festival. The evening, full of European and British music history, begins with Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis," a deeply emotional and majestic piece that highlights the beauty of the English music tradition. William Walton's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra puts the larger sister of the violin in the spotlight. With virtuosic solo passages and dynamic orchestral accompaniment, this piece creates goosebump moments and showcases the viola in all its versatility and expressiveness. The crowning finale is Johannes Brahms' Fourth Symphony, a masterpiece that initially faced challenges at its inception. Its beginning appeared too abstract to contemporaries. Today, 140 years after its creation, the poetry of this beginning, the exuberance of the third movement, and the solemnity of the finale make Brahms' Fourth one of the most beloved symphonies of all time.