For background information about the Isca Ensemble please see the next page.

Tickets are available in advance online at  
www.iscaensemble.org.uk or www.ticketsource.co.uk

Sidmouth concert tickets are also available from

Paragon Books, 38 High Street, Sidmouth (01395 514516).

Tickets may also be obtained in person or by phone at

Exeter Visitor and Information & tickets tel. 01392 665885, 1 Dix's' Field, Exeter, EX1 1GF

Beethoven's violin concerto was written in 1806 for performance by Franz Clement, the 26 year old principal violinist and conductor at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. It had an unfortunate early history. Beethoven completed the work in a rush only two days before the first performance. The surviving autograph score is a mass of crossings out, corrections and alternative versions. Clement certainly had little time to learn the work, and even less to rehearse it with the orchestra. One can only assume that the performance was far from satisfactory. In the same concert Clement played a piece of his own in which he held the violin upside down. This act of flippancy may have distracted the critics from the brilliance of the concerto and a frosty press notice stated that "Beethoven could put his undoubtedly great talents to better uses". The concerto was rarely played and remained unappreciated until Josef Joachim and Felix Mendlessohn championed it in the 1840s, after which it rightly became regarded as one of the greatest works of the genre.

Rachmaninov - Etude Tableau in A Minor Op.39 No. 6

Dvořák's eighth symphony is regarded by many as the greatest of his nine. At the time of the composition, Dvořák said that he wanted "to write a work different from my other symphonies, with individual ideas worked out in a new manner." and he was clearly successful in that intent. Formally the work follows the classical pattern, and has obvious influences from Beethoven in the second and fourth movements, however the use of harmony and melody departs from earlier models, and create a work of great originality. Most notably Dvořák makes use of simple folklike melodies, with a Czech character, but weaves them into a coherent form through very subtle development.

Beethoven Sonata Op. 31 No 2 'Tempest'