CONCERT SEASON 2009-10

Following on from St Paul's Sinfonia's highly successful Beethoven cycle during the 2008-9 season, this year we thought we would explore some more Beethoven repertoire for orchestra, both celebrated and lesser-known. Our entire season opens with one of the overtures that Beethoven wrote for his only opera Fidelio - Leonore No. 3.

Beethoven's concertos are represented by the beautiful Fourth Piano Concerto, where the serene piano lines gradually tame the aggression of the orchestra; the Violin Concerto, performed by the orchestra's leader, James Widden; and to round off the season, the Triple Concerto, which will be performed by the prize-winning Greenwich Trio.

On top of that, there are some of Beethoven's lighter works, such as the Ecossaise and Military March that preface Haydn's 'Military' Symphony in October; and also a rare chance to hear Beethoven's only ballet music, to 'The Creatures of Prometheus'.

As well as the Beethoven, however, there are opportunities to see the strings of the orchestra at their finest, in the January concert; to hear the virtuosity of the wind sections in May; to revisit some old favourites (Dvorak's 'New World' Symphony in October; Handel's Messiah on Good Friday; Brahms's Fourth Symphony in our final concert in June); to hear some neglected masterpieces (Martinu's Concerto-Rhapsody in March and Sibelius's Sixth Symphony in May); and to venture bravely where no concert-goer has been before (the world premieres from our composer-in-residence, Matt Rogers)!

Tickets for all our concerts are available on the door from 7.00 p.m. on the day of the concert - we hope to see you there in October for the opening concert of our season!