For those of you that are not familiar with Ingrid Stölzel’s music, it has been described as ‘tender and beautiful’ and creating a ‘haunting feeling of lyrical reflection and suspension in time and memory’.  Her inspiration for City Beautiful is a belief that the beautification of our physical surroundings promotes a sense of community. She very much feels that music has a similar power to influence and shape a community.  

The second piece of music will be Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto with the soloist Sophie Rosa.  Sophie is currently Leader of Sinfonia Viva and appears as guest leader with many orchestras across the UK.  The story and history of Barber’s Violin Concerto reads like a soap opera—literally. Its commission came from the laundry soap manufacturer, Samuel Fels, whose son, Iso Briselli, was an accomplished violinist. What happened next is still shrouded in mystery (was it ‘unplayable’, ‘too modern’ or ‘too light weight’) but it is now a piece of music that has become one the most frequently performed of all 20th Century concertos. 

The evening will end with the New World Symphony by Dvorak.  This familiar and comforting symphony was written by Dvorak during his time in America the ‘new world’, in the 1890s.  It a piece of music all about place, discovering something new and experiencing new things, inspired by the sights and sounds he experienced in America.  

Saturday 21st June 2025

The Ashton Hall, Lancaster, 7:30 pm (pre concert talk at 6.30pm)

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Conductor: Alex Robinson

Soloist: Sophie Rosa

Leader: Julian Cann

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Ingrid Stolzel: 'City Beautiful'

Barber: Violin Concerto 

Dvorak: New World Symphony