Performance on 3 - Ulster Hall Re-opening Concert

Presented by Petroc Trelawny. A concert with the Ulster Orchestra celebrating the re-opening of their new home, the newly-restored Ulster Hall. Known locally as 'the Grande Dame of Bedford Street', the venue has been restored to its Victorian grandeur following two years of renovations. The programme opens with Beethoven's Consecration of the House Overture, originally composed for the opening of the Josephstadter Theatre in Vienna in 1822. Belfast pianist Michael McHale is the soloist in Rachmaninov's showpiece, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, while Stanford's Songs of Fleet pays a passing tribute to Belfast's long association with the sea and the shipbuilding industry. A new work by Brian Irivne, Big Daddy Motorhead, celebrates the past by marking some of the Ulster Hall's celebrated performers, before the closing piece - Stravinsky's Firebird Suite 1919 Michael McHale (piano) Paul Whelan (baritone) Belfast Philharmonic Choir Ulster Orchestra Kenneth Montgomery (conductor) Beethoven: Overture (The Consecration of the House) Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini Brian Irvine: Big Daddy Motorhead (world premiere) Stanford: Songs of the Fleet Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (1919) Followed by music from alumni of Chetham's School of Music to celebrate its 40th anniversary: Francois Couperin La Sophie: Sophie Yates, harpsichord Chandos CHAN0598 Track 13 Walton: Henry V - A Shakespeare Scenario Arr. Christopher Palmer Stephen Threlfall, conductor David Threlfall, narrator Chetham's Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Choristers of Manchester cathedral Private recording from Chetham’s School Tracks 1-4