Haffner Orchestra

The Romanian Folk Dances of Bartók is our short opening piece, based on seven tunes from Transylvania, originally played on fiddle or shepherd's flute.

Richard Strauss wrote his oboe concerto in 1945, one of his last works. It was inspired by John de Lancie, an American serviceman who Strauss met at the end of the war and who was a professional oboist in civilian life. This concerto is reputed to be challenging for the soloist who is Manchester-based, Beatrice Hubble.

Rimsky-Korsakov composed his symphonic suite Scheherazade in 1888, based on the stories and themes from Arabian Nights. In his own words, it is “an Oriental narrative of some numerous and varied fairy-tale wonders”. This magnificent work features a large orchestra containing full brass and percussion.

There will be a pre-concert talk by our oboe soloist at 6.30 pm.