Cambridge Philharmonic - Schreker, Shostakovich, Strauss

Schreker: Prelude to a Drama

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No 2

Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

 

Conductor: Timothy Redmond

Piano: Martin James Bartlett

Solo violin: Paula Muldoon

Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra

 

Franz Schreker was one of the most successful opera composers of the early twentieth century, until his music was banned as ‘degenerate’ by the Third Reich. Today his lush, romantic scores are enjoying a deserved revival and the sumptuous Prelude to a Drama is a perfect introduction to his unique sound world. Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) was the last of Richard Strauss’s great tone poems, written when he was at the height of his powers. As well as featuring an absolutely vast orchestra it contains one of the greatest violin solos in all the repertoire and so is the perfect piece to introduce Paula Muldoon, newly-appointed leader of the Cambridge Philharmonic. At the centre of the programme is the work Shostakovich wrote for his son Maxim’s 19th birthday. Played by 2014 BBC Young Musician of the Year Martin James Bartlett, it’s a sparkling tour-de-force for orchestra and soloist alike, and is undoubtedly one of the composer’s sunniest and most life-affirming scores.

 

Pre-Concert Talk 6.45pm, free.

With Timothy Redmond