The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine Presents

The U.S. Premiere Of

David Briggs’ Transcription Of Edward Elgar’s Symphony No. 1

Friday, November 3, 2017
7:30 – 9:00 pm

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street)

Performance continues 2017-2018 season of Great Music in a Great Space

International concert organist and composer David Briggs will perform his transcription of Elgar’s deeply moving First Symphony (1908) on Friday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m., at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street), Manhattan, as the opening concert of Great Organ: A Recital Series, part of the 2017–2018 season of Great Music in a Great Space.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine recently appointed Mr. Briggs as Artist in Residence at the Cathedral. His first program in this capacity is an all-Elgar concert, including listener favorites “Pomp and Circumstance” and “Nimrod” from Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.”

Elgar’s First Symphony (1908) underwent a long gestation—Elgar was 51 when he wrote it, and the piece offers a long look into the composer’s character: by turns aristocratic, volatile, nature-loving, wistful, and passionately romantic.

The Cathedral’s Great Organ, built in 1911 by Ernest M. Skinner and enlarged and rebuilt in 1954 by G. Donald Harrison of the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, stands as a remarkable example of America’s premier organ craftsmanship.

The 2017-2018 season of Great Music in a Great Space continues with a full season of choral, organ, and holiday performances, Great Organ: A Recital Series will return to the Cathedral in January 2018.

Tickets are $25. For more information, please visit this website.

PROGRAM

All pieces by Edward Elgar

Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39, March No. 4 (transcribed by Herbert Brewer)
Nimrod from Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 (transcribed by Sir William Harris)
Symphony No. 1, Op. 55 (transcribed by David Briggs).