Aylesbury Lunchtime Music presents

Adam Heron

13 June 2024

Starts: 12:45pm, Doors: 12:15pm

Duration: 1 hour (approx.)

£7 adults on the door (<18s & carers free)

Adam Heron piano

Programme

  • Sonata No. 1 in C Major (Saint-Georges)

    i Adagio ii Allegro iii Andantino

    Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745 – 1799) was a French violinist, conductor, composer and soldier. Moreover he demonstrated excellence as a fencer, an athlete and an accomplished dancer. Bologne was the first classical composer of African descent to attain widespread acclaim in European music. He composed an array of violin concertos, string quartets, sinfonia concertantes, violin duets, sonatas, two symphonies and an assortment of stage works, notably opéra comique.

    Born in the French colony of Guadeloupe, his father, Georges Bologne de Saint-Georges, was a wealthy, white plantation owner, while his mother was one of the Creole people Georges kept enslaved. At the age of seven, he was taken to France where he began his formal education. As a young man he won a fencing contest leading to his appointment as a “gendarme de la garde du roi” by king Louis XVI. Having received music and musical composition lessons, he joined the orchestra Le Concert des Amateurs; culminating in his appointment as its conductor in 1773.

  • Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 (Bach)

    i Overture ii Courante iii Gavotte I/II iv Passepied I/II v Sarabande vi Bourrée I/II vii Gigue viii Echo

    The Overture in the French style, BWV 831, original title Ouvertüre nach Französischer Art, also known as the French Overture and published as the second half of the Clavier-Übung II in 1735 (paired with the Italian Concerto), is a suite in B minor for a two-manual harpsichord written by Johann Sebastian Bach.

    The style of this work is similar to that of composers like Jean-Baptiste Lully and François Couperin, but it also bears similarities with German composers like Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer and Georg Philipp Telemann. Such suites with an introducing overture were normally composed for orchestral settings, but rarely for solo instruments.

  • Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante, Op. 22 (Chopin)

    i Andante spianato ii Grande polonaise brillante

    Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op. 22, was composed by Frédéric Chopin between 1830 and 1834. The Grande polonaise brillante in E-flat, set for piano and orchestra, was written first, in 1830–31. In 1834, Chopin wrote an Andante spianato in G, for piano solo, which he added to the start of the piece, and joined the two parts with a fanfare-like sequence. The combined work (both orchestrated version and solo piano version) was published in 1836, and was dedicated to Madame d’Este.

    The Grande polonaise brillante is a work for piano and orchestra, although the piano part is often played on its own. The Andante spianato (spianato means “even” or “smooth”) for solo piano was composed as an introduction to the polonaise after Chopin received a long-awaited invitation to perform in one of Habeneck’s Conservatoire Concerts in Paris. This was the only time Chopin ever used the term spianato as a description for any of his works.

    Chopin’s first work, written at age seven, had been a polonaise. Chopin also used the polonaise form in his earlier work the Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3. The Grande polonaise brillante of 1830–31 was to be the last such he would compose for several years. It preoccupied Chopin in his final months at Warsaw. It was finished at Vienna in 1831.

Performers

  • Adam Heron

    Piano

    Adam commands a demanding schedule of international recital engagements, having already performed at distinguished venues including Wigmore Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Southbank Centre.

    Read More

Key information for concert goers

When

Every Thursday at 12:45pm (except August & over Christmas). Performances last around 60 minutes. Please enter quietly as there is a noon service in the Lady Chapel.

How much?

Entry is £7 per adult (card or cash), under 18s and carers are free. The price includes a programme. Donations are welcomed to subsidise the larger ensembles.

Where?

Performances are at St Mary’s Church in the heart of Aylesbury Old Town. See directions for further details.

Do I need to book?

No, just turn up. Doors open at 12:15 pm. Make sure you arrive in good time to get a seat.

Other Concerts you may be interested in