Alexander Shelley is "eager" to conduct Richard Strauss's Symphonic Poems and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3

 

This Friday (12th), at 7:30 p.m., the Sinfónica de Tenerife is tackling a new concert at the Auditorio de Tenerife. Alexander Shelley will conduct the orchestra in a programme that includes the first part of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.3, featuring Yeol Eum Son as the soloist. The second part of the evening will include a performance of two symphonic poems by Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks and The Knight of the Rose, which provides the title of this twelfth show of the season.

Shelley, who has had the privilege of conducting several memorable performances with the Sinfónica de Tenerife over the years, expresses his joy at returning to this wonderful orchestra on this beautiful island. He eagerly looks forward to sharing the symphonic poems of Richard Strauss and the Piano concerto by Rachmaninoff, in the hands of one of the most exciting soloists at present, with the audience."

The British conductor, who last conducted the Symphony Orchestra two years ago, explained that the programme chosen for this week "will be a pleasure for both the musicians and the audience: brimming with melody, passion, virtuosity and even some delightful musical comedy”.

The evening will begin with Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30. This score was written and premiered in 1909, but it remained forgotten until 1930, when the Pole Vladimir Horowitz, accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra, revived it for the general public. One reason it remained neglected was the technical difficulty entailed in performing it.

The concert's second part will begin with the symphonic poem Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, op. 28, TrV 171, by Richard Strauss. This composition from 1895 is a descriptive exercise of the German legend Till Eulenspiegel, an irreverent trickster present in several titles of the German folklore tradition.

Then, there will be the work performance that provides the programme title, The Knight of the Rose: suite (1945), op. 59, TrV 227d (1910), also by Strauss, depicting a visit to 18th-century Viennese society from the operatic perspective of Mozart and with a light feel. All with the guiding thread that highlights the waltz as the main melody. .

Alexander Shelley has led renowned ensembles such as the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, with which he directs an annual series of concerts at Cadogan Hall and he goes on national and international tours.

In addition to conducting work in the UK and Canada, Alexander was appointed Music and Artistic Director of Artis-Naples in Florida in 2023 and has taken over as Artistic Director of the Naples Philharmonic and the entire multidisciplinary arts centre.

The British conductor studied cello and conducting in Germany and first garnered attention when he was unanimously awarded first place at the 2005 edition of the Leeds Conductors' Competition. Shelley has conducted over 40 global premières, cycles of symphonies by Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms, operas, ballets and innovative multimedia productions.

Yeol Eum Son, who is making her debut on the island, began playing the piano in South Korea when she was just three years old. She stands out for her technical control, poetic elegance and sensibility. Her extensive repertoire notably includes everything from Bach and Mozart to Shchedrin and Kapustin.

Her international influence is on the rise. This is reflected by the concerts she has performed alongside orchestras such as the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic and Tonkünstler, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic at the BBC Proms 2019, BBC Scottish, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Festival, Helsinki and Bergen Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, San Diego or the Mariinsky Orchestra, among others.

ATADEM, the Tenerife Association for Friends of Music, will give a talk by Sergio Rodríguez González on the three works of the programme. The event takes place at 6:30 p.m. in the Sala Avenida, located in the hall of the Auditorio de Tenerife.

The tickets for this concert can be purchased until the day of the event on the website www.sinfonicadetenerife.es, at the auditorium's box office and by dialling the phone number 902 317 327 from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.