Ein Heldenleben

Richard Strauss spent the first half of his career producing a string of opulent, proto-cinematic tone poems that redefined orchestral virtuosity. The most epic of them is also the consummate musical autobiography. Ein Heldenleben is a picture of ambition, bravery and resilience which combines music of unprecedented richness, excitement and tenderness. Strauss’s bold orchestration might scatter its adversaries with panache but it concludes with a humbling glimpse of life’s spiritual journey. Before it, Giuseppe Gibboni is the soloist for the spirited momentum and tender repose of OPO Composer-in-Residence Alexey Shor’s Violin Concerto No. 7.