A month of jump-ins

In the course of a few weeks in February and March 2025, Geoffrey performed three major international engagements substituting for the originally scheduled conductor.

He had a few months’ notice of two concerts with the Warsaw Philharmonic, conducting Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, Mercadante’s 2nd Flute Concerto and Elgar’s 2nd Symphony, the latter work being played for the very first time by this orchestra more than a century after its composition.

On the other hand, the calls from the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava came barely 24 hours before the first rehearsals, giving Geoffrey surprise debuts in both these cities, and in both cases presenting an exciting challenge to prepare some complex and unfamiliar repertoire overnight.

In Malmö he conducted the first complete performance of Marie Samuelsson’s fifty-minute ‘Love Trilogy’ for orchestra and soloists, as well as Dvořák’s Carnival and Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet. In Ostrava the programme featured Janáček’s orchestral ballad ’The Fiddler’s Child’, Borodin’s 2nd Symphony, and Thomas Adès’ Violin Concerto ‘Concentric Paths’ with internationally renowned soloist Leila Josefowicz.

All three programmes were well received by large and enthusiastic audiences.

Geoffrey Paterson, 17 March 2025