A Metamorphosen Adventure!

A group of Hallam Sinfonia string players and others recently spent 6 hours under the expert direction of Richard Jenkinson, conductor, cellist and old friend of the orchestra, working on Richard Strauss's Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings. This unique work, for 10 violins, 5 violas, 5 cellos and 3 double basses, was written at the end of World War 2 and is a lament for a devastated German culture including the city of Dresden and the major opera houses. Katy Silverman, who led the ensemble and also filled several of the 'gaps', writes:

What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Sunday 18th May, will now forever hold a special place in my heart as the day where my musical past, present and future all collided beautifully. I was particularly excited for this fantastic afternoon of music making, playing Strauss's Metamorphosen, as I and my wonderful 'string' friends of the Hallam Sinfonia were joined by a dear violinist friend from my Opera North freelancing days who I had not seen for 20 years,  along with my best friends 15 year old son on double bass! It was such a joy to play this intense, moving and challenging (!!) piece of string music which holds so much meaning.

We are so lucky to have such a depth of talent in our young musicians locally, and it was wonderful to see some of them joining us within the cellos, violas and basses. It was a real treat to have some time to focus on our sound blending and our ensemble playing and it was exciting to know that this may just be the start of something new with the strings of the Hallam Sinfonia.....!