Martines Sinfonia in C Major

Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp in C Major

Beethoven Symphony No. 2

The Ulster Orchestra is delighted to return to Armagh with a charming concert Play/Directed by Orchestra Leader Tamás Kocsis, featuring Principal Flute Jennifer Sturgeon and regular guest harp, Tanya Houghton.

To open, a Sinfonia by an underrated 18th Century composer, Marianna Martines. Lauded throughout Europe in her lifetime, this poised and elegant work is just part of a musical legacy that has been sorely neglected over the years.

Martines was a celebrated musical hostess as well as a composer and amongst the regular attenders at her soirées was one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His Concerto for Flute and Harp was written whilst he was teaching harpist Marie-Louise-Philippine Bonnières. Her father, the Duke of Guînes, was an excellent flautist and this unusual combination of soloists marks the only time Mozart wrote for the harp, in order to create a piece they could play together. The slow movement’s gorgeous, rippling melody is a musical gem within this lovely concerto.

Mozart’s Prague Symphony is a strong influence on Beethoven’s Second Symphony, which - despite Beethoven’s deepening personal trauma as his hearing deteriorated – is brim-full of high spirits and energy, drawing this concert to a virtuosic close.