Random Draw for Free Tickets to May Merriment with Vaughan Williams...

May Merriment with Vaughan Williams and Ruth Gipps

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The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra welcome conductor Andrew Manze this morning for a programme featuring Ralph Vaughan Williams and Ruth Gipps.

English composer Ruth Gipps was never afraid to march to her own beat and she stayed true to her vision and her tastes, even as fashions changed during the mid-twentieth century. She disliked modernism, claiming that the ‘so-called 12 tone music, so-called serial music, so-called electronic music and so-called avant-garde music,’ was ‘utter rubbish,’ and a 'public con'. She greatly admired Vaughan Williams, one of her tutors at the Royal College of Music in London, proudly aligning herself with the English Pastoral school of composition. Nevertheless, her own unique, Romantic voice rings out clearly in her work, and her great gifts are evident in the very enjoyable Symphony No. 2, which she wrote between 1945-46, not long after finishing her studies. Sweeping and emotive,it demonstrates her ear for the dramatic and soulful.

In 1922, when Gipps was still just an infant, Vaughan Williams was a busy young composer, but even busy young composers need some downtime, and for Vaughan Williams, dancing was the perfect way to unwind. For many years he was an active member of the English Folk Dance Society, and he composed his Old King Cole ballet music for the Society’s Cambridge branch, to feature in the Cambridge's 1923 Festival of Music. The piece received its first performance outdoors in Nevile’s Court at Trinity College (the composer’s alma mater) on a warm June night. It’s a brilliantly conceived work and exemplifies Vaughan Williams’s humour. A rare chance to hear it this afternoon.

Programme:

Vaughan Williams Old King Cole: ballet

Gipps Symphony No.2

Conductor Andrew Manze

BBC Philharmonic

Tickets will be allocated by random draw.

You can register at any time until 2pm on Wednesday 1 May.

You can apply for a maximum of two tickets.

Good luck!

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Andrew Manze

How to be in the audience

Step 1: Apply for tickets

Tickets for this show are being allocated by random draw, so when we receive your ticket request your details are added to the list of applicants. Applications are accepted until the publicised closing date/time.

Step 2: Receive a message

Once the random draw has closed all eligible requests are entered into the draw. If successful, we notify you by text message and send your e-ticket(s) to your email address. If unsuccessful you will be kept on the waiting list in case anyone cancels their tickets.

Step 3: Bring your tickets and ID

We do our best to get the numbers right, but unfortunately we occasionally have to disappoint people. Remember that every guest must bring original approved photo ID.

See a full list of accepted Photo ID

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Maximum of 2 tickets per request.

Age limit: 12+ (under 18s must be accompanied by an adult at all times)