Landscapes

PROGRAMME

• • F. SCHUBERT Der Doppelgänger (orch. F. Liszt)
    
  • F. SCHUBERT Symphony No. 7  ("Unfinished"), 1st movement: Allegro moderato
  • F. SCHUBERT Gruppe aus dem Tartarus (orch. J. Brahms)
    
  • F. SCHUBERT Symphony No. 7  ("Unfinished"), 2nd movement: Andante con moto
  • F. SCHUBERT Nacht und Träume (orch. M. Reger)
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  • R. WAGNER Siegfried-Idyll
  • F. MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish")
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  • Raphaël Pichon conductor 
  • Stéphane Degout baritone
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ABOUT THIS CONCERT

In our debut collaboration with the French conductor Raphaël Pichon we weave together the evocative worlds of Franz Schubert, Richard Wagner, and Felix Mendelssohn.

Schubert’s "Unfinished Symphony" sets the stage for the evening. Though premiered and left with only two completed movements, Schubert considered this symphony in B minor a finished piece. Commenced in the autumn of 1822, this work marked a point in the 25-year-old Viennese composer’s exploration of new musical landscapes. We shed new light on this well-known masterwork by combining it with three of Franz Schubert’s more than 600 Lieder, arranged for baritone and orchestra by composers who themselves had much to contribute on the subject of songwriting. These wonderful arranged will we interpreted by renowned French baritone Stéphane Degout.

Composed as a heartfelt Christmas gift for his second wife, Cosima, Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll debuted on Christmas Day, 1870. The premiere was a private affair, featuring 15 instrumentalists from the prestigious Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, including the renowned conductor Hans Richter on trumpet. The Siegfried Idyll, known as one of Wagner’s beloved orchestral works, showcases the composer’s softer, more personal side.

Felix Mendelssohn’s connection to the British Isles, particularly Scotland, shines through in Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish"). Inspired by his 1829 visit to the rugged ruins of Holyrood, Mendelssohn captures the essence of the Scottish landscape and history. He writes of his impressions: “We went, in the deep twilight, to the Palace of Holyrood, where Queen Mary lived and loved. There’s a little room to be seen there, with a winding staircase leading up to it. This the murderers ascended, and finding Rizzio, drew him out. Three chambers away is a small corner where they killed him. Everything around is broken and moldering, and the bright sky shines in. I believe I found today in the old chapel the beginning of my Scottish Symphony.” The symphony unfolds with a dark and stormy first movement, a brief and joyful second, a slow movement depicting a struggle between love and fate, and a finale inspired by Scottish folk dance, encapsulating a wide emotional range.

This series of concerts starts at the Konzerthaus Vienna, marking MCO's second performance there this season. The tour will then continue to the Berlin Philharmonie and the Cologne Philharmonie.

Photo (c) Jean Baptiste Millot

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