Classic Afternoon: The Elements

Kirsten Williams – Director, Violin
Canberra Symphony Orchestra

Grace Williams
Sea Sketches

Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Lark Ascending

Kim Cunio
World premiere, CSO commission

Joseph Hayden
Symphony No. 59 ‘Fire’

The ancient Greeks believed all of matter was essentially comprised of earth, water, air and fire. These elements undergirded philosophy, science and medicine for over two millennia.

Directed by Concertmaster Kirsten Williams, the orchestra explores each element in this program: taking to the sky with Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, before diving into the tempestuous waters of Welsh composer Grace Williams’ Sea Sketches and bristling with Haydn’s spirited Fire symphony.

The element of earth takes on new meaning and urgency with a commission from Kim Cunio that seeks to make musical sense of the quandary of climate change.