Mendelssohn, Mozart and more

INTERNATIONALLY in-demand and highly celebrated Australian conductor Jessica Cottis makes her Melbourne Symphony Orchestra debut with this varied and lyrical program inspired by nature and place.

Awestruck by the towering columns of rock and the rushing water at Fingal’s Cave on a visit to Scotland’s Hebrides islands, Mendelssohn wrote his evocative overture, Hebrides Overture, depicting the monumental beauty and forces of nature he encountered.

Ever the pioneer, Mozart wrote his Clarinet Concerto 28’ for basset clarinet – an instrument with a wider range than the existing clarinet enabling greater dramatic and musical variation.

The only problem was that the instrument didn’t yet exist, and was only finished just in time for the work’s premiere!

Hear this beloved concerto through new ears as MSO principal clarinet David Thomas performs on this rare and extraordinary instrument.

When Sibelius’s Second Symphony, No. 2 in D 4, was first performed in 1902, Finland was under oppression from Russia, and the work was immediately received (and later appropriated) as a symbol of national liberation.

Sibelius denied the work’s nationalistic connotations, but critics and scholars have debated this ever since, arguing that the work represents the Finnish landscape, heartbroken injustice and the hard labour of its citizens, finishing with a hopeful conclusion pointing towards a brighter future.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – Mendelssohn, Mozart and more is set for Saturday, 13 May at 7.30pm at Civic Hall in Ballarat. Tickets are child $45, adult $60, concession $55, group of eight $55 per person. Visit hermaj.com.

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