The Full Works Concert - Monday 13 January 2014
In tonight's Hall of Fame Full Works Concert, Jane Jones presents masterpieces by Tchaikovsky, Handel, Rimsky-Korsakov and Mendelssohn.
Jane's Hall of Fame Full Works concert kicks off tonight with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. From the introductory Russian hymn to the bombastic cannon fire that concludes this unashamedly nationalistic piece, it’s one of the best examples of how Tchaikovsky was a master of orchestration.
Handel wrote his Water Music for an outdoor performance for King George I on the River Thames. The king watched from the royal barge with various dukes and duchesses as the 50 musicians played nearby. The king enjoyed the music so much, he asked the musicians to play the three suites three times over the course of the trip down the river. Tonight we'll hear the Water Music Suite No.2 in D major.
Rimsky-Korsakov composed his symphonic suite Scheherazade in 1888, based loosely on the stories and themes from the Arabian Nights. Despite there being 1001 nights in the original collection, Scheherazade has just four movements: The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship; The Tale of the Prince Kalender; The Young Prince and the Young Princess (this is the big hit), and The Festival at Baghdad – The Sea – The Shipwreck. He kept the movement's titles vague, but settled on the work's title because he thought it "brought to everyone’s mind the fairy-tale wonders of Arabian Nights and the East in general."
The concert climaxes with Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto (pictured).
Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture Opus 49
Claudio Abbado conducts Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
George Frideric Handel: Water Music Suite No.2 in D major
Marc Minkowski conducts Les Musiciens du Louvre
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Opus 35
Valery Gergiev conducts Kirov Orchestra
Patrick Hawes: Fair Albion
Patrick Hawes conducts Prague Symphony Orchestra
Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor Opus 64
Violin: Philippe Quint
Carlos Miguel Prieto conducts Orquestra Sinfonica de Mineria
