Hallé Orchestra - Brahms’ Symphony No.2

The Hallé Orchestra under Alexandre Bloch performs Ravel's La valse, Strauss's Oboe Concerto with Stéphane Rancourt, and Brahms's Second Symphony.

Conductor Alexandre Bloch leads the Hallé Orchestra in a programme moving between light and shadow. Ravel's La valse opens with its whirling depiction of dancing couples and illuminated chandeliers, followed by Richard Strauss's demanding Oboe Concerto, written after World War II and played by Hallé Principal Oboe Stéphane Rancourt. The concert closes with Brahms's Second Symphony, described as 'all blue sky, babbling of streams, sunshine and cool green shade', though with darker depths in its trombone themes.