German Heritage

Saturday, October 2, 2010 8:00 PM

Reading Symphony Orchestra

Venue: Sovereign Performing Arts Center

Program:

Wagner — Tannhäuser Overture
Schumann — Piano Concerto in A Minor
Brahms — Symphony No. 1 in C Minor

Alon Goldstein, Piano

Wagner’s 1845 opera Tannhäuser is a wealth of music—and revisions. There are versions without ballet, with a ballet, and with various sections added or deleted. The soaring Tannhäuser Overture is often performed as a separate concert piece, with a slightly different ending from the version heard in opera performances. Schumann’s Piano Concerto, also premiered in 1845, was based on an earlier composition; his wife, Clara, suggested that he expand it into a full three-movement work with orchestra. Brahms’ first symphony was long-anticipated by his friends and supporters – long, in this case, from preliminary sketches in 1854 to a first performance in 1877! It has long been noted that Brahms felt the heavy mantle of Beethoven’s reputation as he composed, and repeatedly revised, this masterpiece.