Fifth Symphony Concert

In the fifth symphony concert of the season, conductor Zsolt Hamar and the Hessian State Orchestra embark on a Romantic journey inspired by Faust. Richard Wagner, whose “Ring” cycle is the focal point of the State Theatre’s 2016/2017 season schedule, composed his “Faust” Overture in 1839/40, having been largely influenced by Berlioz’s “Roméo et Juliette” Symphony and Beethoven’s great 9th.  He initially intended to write a grand symphony based on Goethe’s play, but only managed to complete the first movement. When Franz Liszt – Wagner’s patron, future father-in-law, acclaimed piano virtuoso and inventor of the symphonic poem – composed his “Faust” Symphony in 1854, Wagner was inspired to rework the fragments of his incomplete work, thus resulting in the “Faust” concert overture as we know it today.  One of the composer’s most important works, Liszt’s “Faust” Symphony is performed here in the three-part version of “character sketches”: Faust – Gretchen – Mephistopheles. Another musician who balanced two talents was pianist-composer Clara Schumann, although she would only ever enjoy international recognition as pianist during her lifetime.  The piano soloist in Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor is the 24 year old Annika Treutler, 4th prize winner at the 2014 ARD International Music Competition.