Alex Papp Frieden

Hummel Bassoon Concerto
Soloist Emily Ambrose (joint winner of 2025 ERSO Soloist of the Year)

Shostakovich Symphony no. 1

The concert with open with Frieden (meaning peace or absence of conflict in German) by Alex Papp, a hugely talented young composer who was the winner of our first competition for composers. We are delighted to work with Alex again.

We are thrilled to present the Hummel Bassoon Concerto played by the amazing Emily Ambrose. Emily was the joint winner of our 2025 Soloist of the Year Competition and is already working professionally whilst completing her undergraduate studies at the Royal College of Music.

Conductor Christopher Stark will illuminate some of the key aspects of our final piece Shostakovich Symphony no 1 using musical examples conducted by Assistant Conductor Alice Knight. The piece was written as Shostakovich's graduation exercise from the Petrograd Conservatory and the premiere took place when the composer was only 19 years old. For the rest of his life Shostakovich called the premiere in May 1926 his musical birthday. The piece was a huge success and established the composer's international reputation. The symphony combines liveliness and wit with darker tones of drama and tragedy.