Die Meistersingers von Nuremberg was first performed in 1862 – it is the only comedy among Wagner’s mature operas with its main character, the cobbler-poet Hans Sachs, being based on a historical figure of the same name. The Meistersingers are a Guild of master craftsmen who develop a craftsman-like approach to songwriting and performance.
The Horn Concerto No 2 dates from 1942, whilst Richard Strauss was living in Vienna, and premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 1943 with Gottfried von Freiburg as the soloist. The concerto looks back to structure of the classical concerto in its three-movement structure and was popularised by the eminent British player, Dennis Brain.
We are very pleased to welcome back George Strivens as our soloist. George currently holds a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music and has been a member of the Halle Youth Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra and BBC Proms Youth Orchestra. George is also an accomplished singer as he is a member of the BBC Symphony Chorus. This is his second visit to King Edward Musical Society – a few years ago he played in our performance of Schumann’s Konzertstuck for 4 horns and orchestra.
Regarded as the first composer to gain wide recognition in his own country, Mikhail Glinka had a great influence on subsequent generations of Russian composers – his major compositions include A Life for the Tsar and Ruslan and Ludmilla. The Valse-Fantaisie was originally a piano piece which Glinka orchestrated in 1856.
Composed in 1895, the Symphony No 1 by Rachmaninov had a disastrous first performance – it was under-rehearsed and the conductor (Glazunov) unable to cope with its complexities. Consequently, Rachmaninov suffered a mental relapse and when he went into exile in 1917, the original parts were lost. In 1945, the Symphony was performed for the second time and, since then, it has become established as a significant part of Rachmaninov’s output and the orchestral symphonic repertoire.