| Wagner | Prelude: Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg |
| Brahms | Concerto for violin and cello |
| Berkeley/Britten | Mont Juic: Suite of Catalan Dances |
| Elgar | Variations on an original theme ‘Enigma’ |
Juan Ortuño – conductor
John Resek – leader
Tom Bangbala – violin | Stephen Threlfall – cello
Our Summer Concert will be a celebration of friendship, opening with the overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg – Wagner’s only comic opera. Gorton Philharmonic President Stephen Threlfall will then be joined by long-time friend and BBC Philharmonic violinist Tom Bangbala to perform Brahms’ Double Concerto, written to reconcile a broken friendship with the violin virtuoso Joachim. Mont Juic (Suite of Catalan dances), jointly composed by Lennox Berkeley and Benjamin Britten after they’d met in Barcelona, will add a touch of Iberia to proceedings before Elgar’s most loved work, his Variation on an original theme ‘Enigma Variations’– fourteen musical portraits of his close friends and acquaintances – brings our 2024/2025 season to a close in majestic style.
Tom and Stephen’s association with Gorton Philharmonic goes back to 1973 when they were both Associate Members, Tom sitting at the back of the 15-player first violin section and Stephen at the back of the 9-player cello section. By 1975 Tom had risen through the ranks to become leader of the orchestra back in our Belle Vue days. Stephen later became principal cello and made his debut as a soloist with the orchestra performing Lalo’s Cello Concerto at the King’s Hall, Belle Vue in 1978. Tom made his solo appearance performing Bach’s Concerto for two violins in D minor alongside his teacher and then leader of the Hallé Martin Milner in December 1975 at the Free Trade Hall. In 1991 Tom and Stephen returned to perform the Brahms Concerto for violin and cello.
Stephen was the soloist in 1992 performing the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Gorton Phil and Tom the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in July 1999 also conducted by Stephen. In his current role as President of the orchestra Stephen was the narrator when Gorton Phil performed Blake’s The Snowman in December 2022.
After many years playing professionally together in the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and having performed the Brahms Double Concerto on four other occasions Stephen says, “it will be very special to be able to perform this work again with Tom after many years, celebrating our friendship and our long-standing connection with the GPO”. It is indeed fitting that these two lifelong friends will be performing the concerto with Gorton Philharmonic in a concert of works connected by such friendships connected as they are by the innate love of music.
