Some programmes tell a story. This evening’s programme, though seemingly coincidental given its fundamental anti-Semitism, draws connections between Wagner and Mendelssohn. Both composers used the same seven mystical chords of the Dresden Amen, employed in religious services in Saxony by both Protestants and Catholics. Mendelssohn skillfully weaves them into his Symphony of the 'Reformation' composed for the 300th anniversary of the Augsbourg Confession, while Wagner adopts them as a leitmotif in Parsifal, his last opera, starting from the marvelous Prelude. Liszt, a close friend of both composers, delighted virtuosos with his Piano Concert No. 1 since its début in 1855. Its impactful martial theme instantly resonates in our ears, and the introduction of the triangle, a novelty in orchestras at that time, does not go unnoticed!

Pablo Heras-Casado conductor
Alexei Volodin piano

Richard Wagner
Parsifal, Prelude
Franz Liszt
Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 1 in E Flat Major, S. 124
Richard Wagner
Parsifal, Good Friday Spell

Intermission

Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 107, 'Reformation'