Double date looms (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Double date looms

9:10am Tuesday 9th February 2010 in

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THE Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is making two visits to The Anvil this month.

For the first, on Friday, February 12, they are joined by conductor Thomas Dausgaard and cellist Jian Wang (pictured).

The programme starts with Sibelius’ Seventh Symphony which absorbs the traditional four movements into a single, fascinating arch of music. This is followed by Elgar’s Cello Concerto, one of the composer’s most beautiful and well-loved pieces.

Finally, the orchestra will perform Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony, his finest, nicknamed The Inextinguishable. The orchestra will make its second appearance at The Anvil on Thursday, February 25, conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier and joined by pianist Saleem Abboud Ashkar.

The programme starts with Beethoven’s Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus. This is followed by Chopin’s First Piano Concerto.

The concerto’s outer movements are designed to show off the young composer’s sparkling piano playing, framing a beautiful slow movement, which he describes as “a reverie in fine spring weather, but lit by the moon”.

The evening ends with Cesar Franck’s Symphony in D Minor which leads to a triumphant conclusion.

JERRY Dammers, founder of The Specials and 2 Tone records, is coming to The Anvil with his Spatial AKA Orchestra in March.

Dammers, author of Ghost Town and Free Nelson Mandela, is coming to Basingstoke on Wednesday, March 10.

His exuberant band The Specials helped to revive and redefine ska and bluebeat during the early eighties for a generation who were tired of punk.

Now Dammers' Spatial AKA Orchestra is mixing things up in a new era. He started the orchestra as a "tribute band" to space jazz maverick Sun Ra, one of jazz's most inspirational band leaders who used costumes, light and dances to make a total experience.

Dammers is emulating this but with his own funky arrangements. He has recruited some of the biggest talents on the contemporary jazz scene and has now expanded the repertoire from Cedric 'IM' Brookes' spiritual reggae to Alice Coltraine's eastern mysticism, to Tommy McCook's deep jazzy ska - and even to one or two versions of Dammers' own songs.

*Anyone wishing to book for any Anvil Arts event now on sale, or to keep up-to-date with all performances at The Anvil, The Haymarket and The Forge, can call the Anvil Arts box office on 01256 844244 or go online to anvilarts.org.uk