May 2025
In our debut collaboration with the French conductor Raphaël Pichon we weave together the evocative worlds of Franz Schubert, Richard Wagner, and Felix Mendelssohn.
Schubert’s "Unfinished Symphony" sets the stage for the evening. Though premiered and left with only two completed movements, Schubert considered this symphony in B minor a finished piece. Commenced in the autumn of 1822, this work marked a point in the 25-year-old Viennese composer’s exploration of new musical landscapes. The symphony’s enigmatic beginning, defies the self-confident themes typical of symphonies of its era, offering a glimpse into Schubert’s creativity.
Composed as a heartfelt Christmas gift for his second wife, Cosima, Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, debuted on Christmas Day, 1870. The premiere was a private affair, featuring 15 instrumentalists from the prestigious Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, including the renowned conductor Hans Richter on trumpet. The Siegfried Idyll, known as one of Wagner’s beloved orchestral works, showcases the composer’s softer, more personal side.
Felix Mendelssohn’s connection to the British Isles, particularly Scotland, shines through in Symphony No. 3 (Scottish). Inspired by his 1829 visit to the rugged ruins of Holyrood, Mendelssohn captures the essence of the Scottish landscape and history. He writes of his impressions: “We went, in the deep twilight, to the Palace of Holyrood, where Queen Mary lived and loved. There’s a little room to be seen there, with a winding staircase leading up to it. This the murderers ascended, and finding Rizzio, drew him out. Three chambers away is a small corner where they killed him. Everything around is broken and moldering, and the bright sky shines in. I believe I found today in the old chapel the beginning of my Scottish Symphony.” The symphony unfolds with a dark and stormy first movement, a brief and joyful second, a slow movement depicting a struggle between love and fate, and a finale inspired by Scottish folk dance, encapsulating a wide emotional range.
This series of concerts starts at the Konzerthaus Vienna, marking MCO's second performance there this season. The tour will then continue to the Berlin Philharmonie and the Cologne Philharmonie.
