Eighth Symphony Concert

At the end of the 19th century, the divide between painting, literature and music began to fade away, and composers were able to use their creativity more freely. Orchestral colour and symphonic brilliance abound in the eighth symphony concert, with music inspired by literature, the visual diversity of painting, and the exhilarating force of folk and dance music. Tchaikovsky’s Fantasy Overture and Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story” both deal with the famous love story of Romeo and Juliet, but while Tchaikovsky bathes his version in all of its romantic glory, Bernstein plunges the tragic lovers into gritty modern life in American immigration country. Dance and symphony merge in the two Spanish programme highlights: Joaquin Turina’s “Danzas fantásticas”, one of the composer’s major works dating from 1919,  and the Interlude and Dance from Manuel de Falla’s opera “La vida breve” (1913), in which Spanish folklore is combined with musical Impressionism. The undisputed master of musical painting in the Impressionism is the Frenchman Claude Debussy; “Ibéria”, the most famous part from his three-section orchestral “Images”, transports the listener to a Spanish village through its dazzling use of orchestral colours. Hailing from South Africa, Albert Horne is Chorus Master at the Wiesbaden State Theatre, where he has also conducted the operas “Candide” and “Madama Butterfly” in previous seasons. In addition to conducting the new production of “Peter Grimes” this season, he now conducts his first symphony concert in Wiesbaden.