Anstruther Philharmonic performs an all-Hummell Scottish premiere

Noted Edinburgh conductor Robert Dick will conduct an all-Hummel Scottish premiere concert with the Anstruther Philharmonic in his 13th and final Spring APS Concert at 7.30pm on Saturday, March 16, at Anstruther St Ayle Parish Church.
Robert Dick will conduct Anstruther Philharmonic performing the works of Johann Nepomuk Hummell.Robert Dick will conduct Anstruther Philharmonic performing the works of Johann Nepomuk Hummell.
Robert Dick will conduct Anstruther Philharmonic performing the works of Johann Nepomuk Hummell.

The Phil’s 114th annual concert showcases Hummel choral works never previously performed together in Scotland and only rarely performed in the UK.

The performance with orchestra and soloists includes Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Missa Solemnis in C, Te Deum, and the familiar Trumpet Concerto in E flat major.

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Conductor Dick, who has long admired Hummel’s wide-ranging contribution to musical history, considers him to be among the finest late classical composers , and is devoted to the revival and live public performance of his works.

Previously conducting three Hummel masses with the Phil, Dick regularly conducts the popular Trumpet Concerto in his regular repertoire.

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778 – 1837) was an Austrian concert pianist, dedicated composer, teacher, conductor, contented family man and successful businessman, whose death in 1837 marked the end of an era in classical music.

An astounding child prodigy at age eight, Hummel lived with and was taught by Mozart, first performing in one of the elder composer’s concerts at the tender age of nine.

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He was regarded in his own lifetime as one of the greatest composers in Europe, and likely its finest pianist, equal to if not surpassing Beethoven in renown as a virtuoso.

This performance by the Anstruther Philharmonic is dedicated to the memory of Dr Alasdair Kennedy, a Pittenweem GP who was a devoted member of the APS from 1958 to 2014 and a past president, vice-president, committee member and an eventual life member. His wife Gill was also an APS chorister from 1997-2012.

Tickets are available from members or at the door. Children 12 and under enter free with paying adult.

The Anstruther Philharmonic presents two concerts a year. APS welcomes new singers, new choral scholars and new Friends of The Phil.

Chorus rehearsals are Tuesdays at Coastline Community Church in Pittenweem at 7.15pm. Rehearsals for next season will resume in September. See Anstruther Philharmonic for more details.