Philharmonia Chamber Players: Flamenco to Foxtrot
Ravel and Gershwin rub shoulders in this free performance showcasing the virtuosity of Philharmonia Orchestra’s wind section, bookended by two passionate pieces inspired by the landscape and culture of Spain.
The drama and passion of Albéniz’s Asturias kicks off our evening of concert classics arranged for wind ensemble by Philharmonia Principal Bassoon Robin O’Neill, ahead of the introspective mood of Ravel’s Pavane for a dead princess.
Inspired by the sound of jazz music, which had taken the world by storm in the 1920s, Gershwin’s Three Preludes and Ravel’s Five O’Clock Fox-Trot from his opera L’enfant et les sortilèges weave syncopation and bluesy sounds into their charming music. Gershwin took this one step further in Walking the Dog, the most enduring number from hit Hollywood musical Shall We Dance with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
Finally, we return to the vivid Spanish flavours that opened our performance, in French composer Chabrier’s most enduring piece of music, España.
FREE, no ticket required
Need to know
Prices & Discounts
Free
No ticket required – just walk in
Running time
45 minutes, no interval
Box office
Philharmonia Box Office: 0800 652 6717
Monday to Friday 10am – 5pm
After the event
Philharmonia Festival in Mauritius 2026
Alexandre Bloch – conductor
Maura Marinucci – clarinet
Louisa Tuck – cello
Jason Evans – trumpet
Arvind C. Bhujun – sitar
Neriyen Veerlapin – tabla
Hansley Félicité – guitar
Island Voices Choir
Choir of the Conservatoire National de Musique François-Mitterrand
- Beethoven Egmont Overture
- Mozart Overture, The Marriage of Figaro
- Mozart Clarinet Concerto (second movement)
- Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile (arr. cello and strings)
- Haydn Trumpet Concerto (third movement)
- Fauré Pavane
- Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez (first movement)
- Degun Veer
- Mozart Ave Verum Corpus
- Beethoven Symphony No. 5
St Paul’s Church, Bedford: Fellow Lunchtime Recital
Edward Mead – cello
Mark Kinkaid – piano
- Mendelssohn Songs without words (arr. Grutzmacher)
- Brahms Cello Sonata in E minor Op. 38
- Schumann Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
Philharmonia Chamber Players: Relaxed performance
Players to include:
Fabrizio Falasca – violin
Eunsley Park – violin
Scott Dickinson – viola
Sylvain Seailles – viola
Ella Rundle – cello
Richard Birchall – cello
Owen Nicolaou – double bass
- Strauss Capriccio Sextet
- Bruckner Os Justi
- Mendelssohn String Symphony No.7
Runnicles conducts Bruckner 8
Donald Runnicles – conductor
- Bruckner Symphony No. 8
General booking opens 10am Tuesday 29 April. Join the Friends to book today.
