The Full Works Concert - Tuesday 1 April 2014: Neville Marriner at 90

Recordings from across Sir Neville Marriner's career, including his playing violin on Mendelssohn's Octet.

Tuesday 1 April 2014, 8pm-10pm

Translated literally as 'The Bat’, Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II is a complete farce, focusing on mistaken identity, flirtation and a practical joke that has unforeseen consequences. It was an immediate, sure-fire hit, ensuring that Strauss was inspired to go on and write operetta after operetta for the next 25 years. We hear the Overture tonight as our first offering from the Academy of St.Martin in the Fields conducted by Sir Neville Mariner.

Edvard Grieg's Holberg Suite opens with a sprightly, energetic Praeludium, followed by a more introspective Sarabande, a rather polite Gavotte, a stately Air and, finally, a boisterous Rigaudon. It was originally composed for piano – an instrument in front of which Grieg was always at home – but was later turned into an orchestral suite by the composer.

William Boyce’s eight symphonies are not only the most well known of all his works, they are also probably among the most loved of any English Baroque musical work. The Eighth Symphony was originally known as the Worcester Overture. Of all Boyce's symphonies, this was the only one originally composed as an orchestral piece, rather than as part of a vocal or stage work. It was probably composed for a meeting of the Three Choirs Festival at which Boyce directed the orchestra for many years from 1737 onwards.

Felix Mendelssohn's Octet in E flat major was conceived on a grand scale. The 16-year old composer even stated on the title page of the score that the work must be played 'in the style of a symphony'. One critic has written, 'Its youthful verve, brilliance and perfection make it one of the miracles of nineteenth-century music.' Sir Neville Marriner directs it tonight from the violin.

Our Concert closes with the Symphony No. 1 in D major, composed by Franz Schubert in 1813, when he was just 16. Despite his youth, it is an impressive piece of orchestral music for both its time and size. The first movement opens with a stately Adagio introduction, reminiscent of Haydn's Symphony No.104 in its format. And the trumpeters have to be on top form for this work; their parts are scored particularly high - in the 4th movement, Schubert repeatedly pushes them up to a high D.

Johann Strauss II: Die Fledermaus – Overture
Sir Neville Marriner conducts the Academy of St Martin in the Fields 

Edvard Grieg: Holberg Suite Opus 40
Sir Neville Marriner conducts the Academy of St Martin in the Fields 

William Boyce: Symphony No.8 in D minor
Sir Neville Marriner conducts the Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Felix Mendelssohn: Octet in E-flat major Opus 20
Violins: Hugh Maguire, Iona Brown, Trevor Connah, Sir Neville Marriner
Violas: Stephen Shingles, Kenneth Essex
Cellos: Kenneth Heath, Denis Vigay

Franz Schubert: Symphony No.1 in D major D.82
Sir Neville Marriner conducts the Academy of St Martin in the Fields