Craig Ogden

The eagerly anticipated return of guitarist Craig Ogden to play two concertos – the hugely popular Mandolin Concerto by Vivaldi and a concerto considered by many guitarists as the finest of them all.

Few match Malcolm Arnold in his ability to exploit the guitar’s chameleon-like characteristic and facility for allusion. Arnold chooses to take jazz as his source and the second movement could be titled Blue Scherzo in memorium Django Reinhart.

Haydn wrote his Symphony No. 30 in C major, at the age of 33. It is nicknamed the Alleluia Symphony because of his use of a Gregorian Alleluia chant in the opening movement, which would have been familiar to listeners in Haydn’s day. The symphony may well have been written for performance on Easter Sunday of 1765.

Mozart’s last, longest and grandest symphony - No. 41 ‘Jupiter’ - is considered by many to be among the greatest symphonies of classical music. It rounds off this concert in triumphant style.