Radio 3 in Concert: Enigma Variations with Tadaaki Otaka

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales are joined by conductor Jac van Steen for a British programme that begins in Wales before culminating in Edward Elgar's celebrated Enigma Variations. The programme opens with a work that is a favourite of the Orchestra, Sea Sketches by Grace Williams; an evocation of the sea in all its incarnations, by a composer who was living in London but yearning for the Glamorgan coast she was soon to move back to. The orchestra will then be joined by Catrin Finch, to play the Harp Concerto of Williams Mathias. Written for Osian Ellis, the concerto is masterfully scored to enable the harp to be heard, and is inspired by the Welsh Landscape of poet R S Thomas. Finally, after the interval, comes one of the most enduring pieces of English music - Elgar's tribute to his friends, alongside his very particular enigma, in his Variations on an Original Theme. Presented by Verity Sharp, live from BBC Hoddinott in Cardiff. G Williams: Sea Sketches. Mathias: Harp Concerto, Op 50. Elgar: Variations on an Original Theme, Op 36. Catrin Finch (harp), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jac van Steen (conductor)