Overture: Der Freischütz
Weber (1786 - 1826)

The German composer, conductor and pianist Carl Maria von Weber was for many years more highly regarded for his influence on other composers than as a composer in his own right. Nowadays his mastery as a composer is recognised and he is generally considered to be responsible for liberating German music from the Italian influences which had previously been such a dominant feature.

In 1817 Weber was appointed Court Kapellmeister in Dresden with the specific commission to establish a 'German' opera style. He began work on "Der Freischütz" (The Sharpshooter) the same year and worked on it over the next four years. The opera is in three acts to a libretto by Friedrich Kind. The plot concerns Max the forester and his pact with the forces of darkness which enables him to shoot without missing. It was first performed in Berlin in 1821 and received its London premiere three years later.

The overture opens with a growling unison C rising from the depths of the orchestra. This leads into the slow introductory passage with the melody introduced by the horns. The violas and cellos increase the music's intensity as it leads into the main Molto vivace, full of energy and tension. A horn call then introduces a radiant clarinet solo. The main section of the overture follows and almost seems to fade away to nothing before a thunderbolt C major chord heralds the joyous coda.

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Symphonie Espagnole (Op.21)
Lalo (1823 - 1892)

(Soloist - Callum Smart)

Edouard Lalo was born in Lille. His family was of Spanish origins but had lived in Flanders and northern France since the sixteenth century. His parents were initially supportive of his interest in music and he studied violin and cello at the Lille Conservatoire. However, when it became clear that he was serious about making music his chosen career, his father opposed him. As a result, he left home at the age of 16 to pursue his musical interests in Paris. He briefly attended a violin class at the Paris Conservatoire and took composition lessons, but for many years made a living as a violinist (he played in some of Berlioz's concerts) and teacher. During this period, he was also composing. He destroyed two early symphonies composed in the late 1840s but much of his early output as a composer was chamber music. Lalo composed very little during the early 1860s, but his interest in composition was reignited by a competition set up by the Théâtre Lyrique for which he composed his opera "Fiesque" to a libretto based on Schiller's play "Fiesko". He didn't win, but both the Paris Opéra and Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels initially showed an interest in staging the work. Much to Lalo's disappointment it was never performed, but he reused some of the music in a number of his later compositions. It was not until the 1870s that he began to have some success as a composer. His Violin Concerto in F was performed in 1874 by the famous violinist Pablo de Sarasate. The same year, Lalo composed his "Symphonie espagnole" for Sarasate who premiered the work the following year. There followed his Cello Concerto (1877), "Fantaisie norvégienne" (1878) and "Concerto russe" for violin and orchestra (1879). In spite of these orchestral successes, "Fiesque" convinced him that his future as a composer was in the medium of opera and that he should compose another one. He started work in 1875 on an opera based on the Breton legend of "Le roi d'Ys". It was substantially complete by 1881 but he could not get it performed. He continued to compose other works, but his focus remained on his opera. It was eventually staged by the Opéra-Comique on 7th May 1888 and was a huge success and for the last four years of his life provided him with the success he so desired as a composer.

It is for "Le roi d'Ys" that Lalo is most famous in his homeland, but outside France the "Symphonie espagnole" for violin and orchestra is his most popular work. It is something of a hybrid, being neither really a symphony nor a true violin concerto. The work is cast in five movements, using Spanish idioms throughout. It opens dramatically with a short 4 bar orchestral introduction before the soloist enters. The movement is in many ways the most 'symphonic' of the five. The second movement is a scherzo based around the seguidilla dance rhythm above which the soloist soars. The Intermezzo was once routinely omitted from performances - rather inexplicably as it features some of the most overtly Spanish music in the whole piece. The Andante is darkly melodic while retaining a definite Spanish character. The Rondo Finale is full of colour and bravura and features the best known melody in the work. A slower, more tranquil central section follows before the main theme returns and the work ends with a final flourish.

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Symphony no 3 in E flat major 'Eroica' (Op.55)
Beethoven (1770 - 1827)


1. Allegro con brio
2. Marcia funebre : Adagio assai
3. Scherzo and Trio: Allegro vivace
4. Finale : Allegro molto - Poco andante - Presto

1803 found Beethoven determined to complete a great instrumental work. He spent the summer months at Oberdöbling working on a new symphony. The result was the "Eroica". It was completed just a year after his second symphony but the two works were poles apart. The earlier work was very much in the classical style, looking back to the world of Haydn and Mozart, but the "Eroica" was a quantum leap in the development of the symphony as an art form and the first work in which he found his true voice as a symphonist. Not until his mighty ninth - the "Choral Symphony" - was such a huge stride taken by Beethoven, or any other composer, in the development of the symphonic form. The sheer scale of the "Eroica" was even a concern to the composer who at one stage removed the first movement repeat in an attempt to shorten it. However, he soon reinstated it. He also suggested that it should be played nearer the beginning than the end of a concert before the audience had become too tired!

The original title of the symphony was to have been "Bonaparte" in tribute to Napoleon, whom Beethoven admired. However, this changed when news reached Vienna in May 1804 that Napoleon had proclaimed himself Emperor. The story is well known - Beethoven tore up the title page from the score saying : "He is no better than other men. Now he too will trample on the rights of man and indulge only his ambition." When the symphony was published in 1806, the score bore the title by which it is known today. Beethoven described it as being "composed to celebrate the memory of a great man", but the symphony has long been seen as his celebration of the unconquerable human spirit rather than a portrait of any one individual. The symphony was first performed at a private concert in February 1805 in Vienna and received its first public performance on 7th April.

The vast first movement opens with two dramatic chords before the 'cellos introduce the main theme which is gradually expanded by the full orchestra. The development section is long and elaborate culminating in the solo horn introducing the return of the opening theme. The movement ends with an extended coda. The second movement is a monumental funeral march - on hearing of Napoleon's death in 1821, Beethoven is reputed to have referred to this movement saying that he had composed music to mark that event 17 years earlier. The third movement is the first of Beethoven's great symphonic scherzos with which he replaced the traditional minuet movement of the classical symphony. The trio section features three horns before the scherzo returns in a modified form and the movement ends with a short coda. The Finale takes the form of a theme and variations. It begins with a dramatic flourish before pizzicato strings introduce the theme. It was evidently a particular favourite of the composer - he had previously used it in the seventh of his set of twelve Contredanses composed in 1802 as well as his 'Prometheus' ballet music and Opus 35 Piano Variations. There is an overwhelming feeling of joy throughout, even during the slower section which precedes the final Presto which brings the symphony to it's exhilarating conclusion.

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