Paul McCreesh is an artist highly regarded for his interpretations of Baroque music. However, his extensive repertoire also includes compositions created in the 20th century. During the concert with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, the works of two prominent English composes will be heard.

The Violin Concerto in B minor op. 61 by Edward Elgar is among the best works of this genre written by a British composer. Work on this piece lasted almost two decades. Elgar began to sketch the work as early as 1890, but the impulse to get down to work was a request from the eminent violinist Fritz Kreisler to write a concerto. The effort paid off – the premiere in 1910 turned out to be a great success, and the audience was delighted. Elgar himself was also enthusiastic about the concerto: “It's good! Terribly emotional! Too emotional, but I love it!” While listening to the end of the second movement, Elgar told his friend: “here two souls connect and fuse with each other.” The solo part is a serious challenge for the violinist, not only because of the length of the piece, but also because of many technical difficulties. Yet it is never just to show off – the technical challenges organically woven into the narrative and have their justification in the structure of the work.

The second work featured in the programme, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ London Symphony No. 2, was performed for the first time only four years after Elgar’s Violin Concerto. Although its author went down in history as a composer of works referring to English folklore and Old English music, he was really attracted to the busy and bustling life of the big city. He once said half-jokingly that the work should really be subtitled The Londoner’s Symphony. Initially, Vaughan Williams refused to comment on the symphony, claiming it to be a work of absolute music, but at the request of the conductor Albert Coates, he provided a commentary explaining what each of the four movements was supposed to represent. However, even devoid of these explanations, the symphony is very attractive to the listener, as it is orchestrated with sensitivity and is full of catchy, memorable melodies.