Wagner – Strauss

Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, composed by Richard Strauss between 1894 and 1895, is one of the best examples of a symphonic poem. This genre became especially popular during the 19th century, in which purely instrumental musical narration was used to spark the imagination. Inspired by a legendary figure in Germanic culture, the score displays an ingenious orchestral virtuosity that poses a challenge for symphonic ensembles. An earlier example is the Burlesk for piano and orchestra. Written by Strauss when he was younger, it is an opportunity for the soloist – the charismatic Saskia Giorgini, on this occasion – to engage with the orchestra with the rhythmic and thematic playfulness that would become one of Strauss’s hallmarks. The concert will conclude with a seminal work that is nonetheless relatively unknown in the version that L’Auditori will be presenting: Henk de Vlieger’s 1994 arrangement of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, tellingly retitled “An Orchestral Passion”. The selection of passages, lasting roughly an hour, summarises the essence of a key work of European Romanticism, in which harmonious tension and unsolved desire redefined the music of the 19th century.

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