Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra is back with stunning new season concert at St Mary In The Castle

Many local music lovers will be suffering withdrawal symptoms after appreciating the supremely young gifted pianists from all corners of the earth at the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Mar 2019, 07:01 BST
Updated 13th Mar 2019, 08:05 BST
Stephanie GurgalStephanie Gurgal
Stephanie Gurgal

However, just two weeks later, on Friday March 15 at St Mary In The Castle, they will be able to relish more incredible music from a great pianist and string orchestra playing Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Glass and Sibelius.

The Hastings Philharmonic welcomes American born conductor Scott Sandmeier, professor of orchestra conducting at the Freiburger Hochschule für Musik, and Stephanie Gurga, concert pianist and accompanist from the Hochschule für Musik (HEMU) Vaud-Valais-Fribourg based in Lausanne and Sion in Switzerland.

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The concert includes well loved works from favourite composers, the Serenade of Strings of Tchaikovsky and Grieg’s Holberg Suite, and inspirational works from cutting edge composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, Philip Glass’ Tirol Piano Concerto and Jean Sibelius’ Inpromptu or strings. Glass studied sound documents and sheet music of Tyrolese folk-music, using this source material directly as the basis for the concerto. Sibelius wrote the impromptu in 1924 as an arrangement for string orchestra of the Impromptus for piano, Nos. 5 & 6. Lovers of Sibelius will not be disappointed with this little gem.

Sandmeier is celebrating his 25th season as Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre de la Gironde, a chamber orchestra and festival located in southwestern France, and has also appeared as guest conductor with numerous other orchestras Whilst based in Lausanne, Gurga performs mostly in that country but she is also at home in Paris and London, when she is not giving master-classes in Germany and Bulgaria or discussing Brahms and Chopin on Swiss radio. She is virtuoso on the range of keyboard instruments, piano, organ and harpsichord which she adapts comfortably to all situations.

The performance starts at 7.30pm and tickets are available online or from the Hastings Tourist Information Centre and The Bookkeeper, Kings Road St Leonards at £22.50 and £17.50. Free entrance for under-18s.