Seventh Symphony Concert

With a programme of Baroque and Classical works, the seventh symphony concert of the season is somewhat of a rarity, especially since acclaimed operatic conductor Konrad Junghänel is not a frequent feature on the symphony concert podium. Having begun his career as a lute player, the historical performance specialist later founded the famous vocal ensemble Cantus Cölln. In 2014, he began conducting a series of Mozart operas in Wiesbaden, with “Le nozze die Figaro”, “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” and “Così fan tutte” completed so far, and “Die Zauberflöte” programmed for this season.

Dance-like, melancholic, brilliant and sometimes a little raw, the seventh symphony concert brings the sound of the Baroque and early Classical eras to life.  J.S. Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, consisting of a varied sequence of dances, is followed by a Telemann overture and the first symphony by C.P.E. Bach, the most famous of Bach’s sons. The second half of the programme opens with the fifth of a series of twelve concerti grossi which Handel composed within one month in 1739, filled with musical innovation, new harmonic combinations and dynamic experimentation. Mozart, just like Handel, was not only a talented stage composer; he also left behind a treasure trove of wonderful instrumental music. In addition to Mozart’s dramatic Adagio and Fugue for Strings, the Hessian State Orchestra plays the Symphony No. 25 (the “little G minor”), which was the first of Mozart’s symphonies to be written in a minor key. It is characteristic of the Sturm und Drang style, and considered a masterpiece amongst the composer’s 50 symphonies.