Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Simon Trpčeski Piano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Programme
Journeys of Discovery: Awakening
Wagner: Faust Overture
Grieg: Piano Concerto
R. Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra

Romanticism in all its colours: epic scores that retell existential quests and the heroic struggle for enlightenment, with a concerto inspired by nature and simplicity.

This programme starts and ends in utter darkness, casting the moments of light and revelation in sharp relief. In his Overture, Wagner underscores Faust’s pact with the devil with music of fear and trepidation. After its famous sunrise, Strauss’s tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra fades into a question mark at the stroke of midnight.

Both give us heroes that are reaching desperately for enlightenment, either grappling with evil forces or declaring ‘God is dead’. For Faust the struggle is between faith, intellect and passion. For Zarathustra the prophet, only humanity can solve its own riddles.

This is German Romanticism at its headiest, with music that is both brooding and bold. Wagner’s ‘unending melody’ is the perfect match for Faust’s yearning and deep-held passions, while Strauss takes us in nine imaginative scenes from desolation to a mountain-top awakening and the dawn of a new understanding.

Mountains of a different kind define Grieg’s piano concerto, whose melodic richness echoes the beauty of the fjords. The finale is inspired by a folk fiddle dance that challenges how high the dancers can jump. This is a work that invites you to embrace the simpler pleasures in life.

Programme
Journeys of Discovery: Redemption
Mahler Symphony No.8, ‘Symphony of a Thousand’

A rare treat for Mahler-lovers and anyone who likes their symphonies on the grandest scale.

‘Can you imagine a symphony that is, from beginning to end, song?’ This was the ambitious vision that struck Mahler ‘like lightening’ and had him composing in a frenzy. Within three months he had sketched his most epic work, echoing religious themes from earlier symphonies while taking them to a whole new level.

The first half is a celebration of the divine spirit. The second half, inspired by Goethe’s Faust, starts with ‘woodlands wavering into view’ and ends with dazzling visions of angels and the life eternal.

From the thundering organ chord and the double choir of the opening to the amassed brass at the end, the symphony delivers its message of redemption with the largest forces imaginable on stage . Initially promoted as the ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ due to the numerous performers, Mahler is both exuberant and restrained. His more subdued, economic writing is every bit as powerful as the big set-pieces.

Neither cantata nor opera, the composer’s lightening-strike vision was for how the worlds of instrument and voice might come together: a ‘True Symphony’, in Mahler’s words.

Cast includes:

Sarah Wegener Soprano
Jacquelyn Wagner Soprano
Regula Mühlemann Soprano
Jennifer Johnston Mezzo-soprano
Claudia Huckle Contralto
Vincent Wolfsteiner Tenor
Michael Nagy Baritone
Shenyang Bass-baritone

This concert has been rescheduled from Sun 18 Oct 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.