PROGRAMME
R. SCHUMANN Overture to Genoveva
R. SCHUMANN Konzertstück for four horns *
R. SCHUMANN Symphony No. 1 (Spring)
Daniele Gatti conductor
José Vicente Castello, José Miguel Asensi, Jonathan Wegloop, Genevieve Clifford horns *
ABOUT THIS CONCERT
To bring our international cycle of Schumann symphonies to a close, the MCO and Artistic Advisor Daniele Gatti focus on the composer's first, along with two of his other orchestral works, in this opening concert at the Kölner Philharmonie.
Until his first symphony, nicknamed Spring, was written, Schumann was known mostly for piano and vocal works. But as his wife Clara noted, "His compositions are all orchestral in feeling." The next step was obvious, and in hindsight, inevitable; Schumann completed the score in under a month.
Combining this work with the Genoveva overture and the Konzertstück, with its unique concertante grouping of four horns, Daniele Gatti closes this latest chapter of our collaboration. He and the MCO first worked together on a production of Berg's Lulu in 2010, and after becoming Artistic Advisor of the Orchestra in 2016, embarked on a critically-acclaimed, multi-year Beethoven symphony cycle before shifting the focus exclusively to Schumann in 2019.