In 2013, English composer Anna Clyne received a special commission to open the famous Last Night of the Proms in London, with the Masquerade Overture, which draws inspiration from the outdoor music played in 18th-century London parks. Clyne uses a lavish orchestra to conjure images of masked revelry and the extravagant ambiance of such grand gatherings. As the sonorous waves swell from the orchestra pit, keen listeners may catch echoes of Juice of Barley, an old Irish country dance song. Composed in 1940 and distinctly neoclassical, Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concerto d’Aranjuez conjures a dreamlike Spain to help forget the horrors of the Civil War that preceded World War II. His slow movement has traversed the globe in various arrangements. Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, with its themes reminiscent of folk music, stands as a genuine anthem to Bohemia, creating an irresistible atmosphere of exaltation and peace.

Ana María Patiño-Osorio conductor
Pablo Sainz-Villegas guitar

Anna Clyne
Masquerade, for orchestra
Joaquín Rodrigo
Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra

Intermission

Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88