Thomas Linley (1756-1778) was a violin prodigy and England most promising young composer until his life was cruelly cut short by a boating accident at the age of 22.  Mozart, his friend and exact contemporary, thought him ‘a true genius’, who ‘had he lived, would have been one of the greatest ornaments of the musical world.’

We celebrate Linley with a cross section of his finest music.  The magnificent short oratorio The Song of Moses contrasts stirring contrapuntal choruses with up-to-the minute virtuoso solos written for his sisters. The dramatic storm chorus for The Tempest was written for Sheridan’s Drury Lane production in 1777, while the equally innovative solo cantata ‘Upon the mountain’s solitary height’ seems to be the first English setting of Goethe.

To play Linley’s fine Mozartian Violin Concerto in F (and to lead our orchestra this year) we welcome Simon Standage, one of Britain’s most distinguished violinists specialising in period instruments.