Michaela Fridrich, Moderation

Klaus-Peter Werani, Viola

Programme Booklet

Download Programme Booklet (in German)

Whenever Milan’s star conductor Daniele Gatti steps up to the helm of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra as a visiting artist – as he has been doing for the past 25 years – we can look forward to an unusual programme. This time he will combine early works by two Viennese composers separated by nearly a century: Franz Schubert and Anton Webern. The main focus falls on Webern’s encounter with the queen of genres, the string quartet. Here, in versions for string orchestra, Maestro Gatti demonstrates how this Schoenberg pupil revolutionised his musical language between 1905 and 1909. If the isolated “Langsamer Satz” (slow movement) draws with late-romantic urgency on Schoenberg’s “Transfigured Night”, the “Five Pieces” op. 5 marks a quantum leap in his development. With extreme concision, these miniatures cover a vast expressive range, from hoarse whispers to searing screams. Framing these samples of Webern’s genius are two early Schubert symphonies that reveal the young romanticist struggling with the Viennese Classics en route to large-scale form. Both the Third Symphony and the Sixth, the “Little” C major Symphony, captivate with delightful melodies and buoyant Rossini-esque élan.

Photos of rehearsal and concert

Wies de Boevé playing the double bass.