Overture to The Magic Flute
Mozart (1756 - 1791)

The summer of 1791 saw Mozart in a happy frame of mind. His sixth child was born in July, his financial problems were less pressing than usual and he was occupied on a project that he clearly enjoyed. His musical project was the opera or singspiel "The Magic Flute" on which he was collaborating with his friend the actor-manager Emanuel Schikaneder. It was Schikaneder who prepared the libretto, drawing on a number of sources. However, the basic plot came from Liebeskind's "Lulu or the Magic Flute", published in "Dschinnistan"‚ Wieland's collection of oriental fairy tales. Much has been made of the supposed references to Freemasonry in "The Magic Flute" - according to some writers, various characters represent people involved in Freemasonry at the time. However, such thoughts are unlikely to have been foremost in Mozart's and Schikaneder's minds as they would have imposed too many restrictions on their creative spirits.

The plot of "The Magic Flute" is relatively traditional - Tamino‚ a heroic prince, is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter, the beautiful princess Pamina‚ from the clutches of the wicked Sarastro. However, it soon becomes clear that it is the Queen of the Night who is the wicked figure. The opera received it's first performance on 30th September 1791 at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. The cast included Schikaneder as Papageno and Josepha Hofer (Mozart's sister-in-law) as the Queen of the Night. Initial reaction was cautious‚ but within a week Mozart was writing to his wife that a number of items had had to be encored and that the opera was becoming increasingly well liked. "The Magic Flute" remains one of Mozart's most popular operas and the sparkling overture has long been a favourite in the concert hall.

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Violin concerto in D major (Opus 77)

Brahms (1833 - 1897)

(soloist - Thomas Bowes)

1. Allegro non troppo
2. Adagio
3. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace - Poco più presto

Brahms was 45 and at the height of his creative powers when he composed his violin concerto. It was written in the summer of 1878 during a holiday at Pörtschach in Carinthia. It was to be the last of the four great German violin concertos of the nineteenth century, following the Beethoven, Mendelssohn E minor and Bruch G minor concertos, and Brahms clearly learnt much from these earlier works. He had originally intended that his concerto would have two middle movements, but eventually decided on the more traditional three-movement format. He did eventually use the four-movement format in his second piano concerto.

Brahms was a pianist as is clearly evident from the 'orchestral' nature of the solo parts of his two piano concertos. When it came to writing the solo part of his violin concerto, he relied very much on the guidance of his friend Joseph Joachim, the great Hungarian violinist to whom the work was dedicated. Brahms was to comment somewhat wryly to Joachim : "it is a good thing your name is on the copy : you are more or less responsible for the violin part". The concerto received its first performance in the Leipzig Gewandhaus on 1st January 1879 with Joachim as the soloist and Brahms conducting. Reactions were, however, not entirely favourable - some critics described it as a concerto against the violin!

The long first movement is clearly influenced by Beethoven's concerto, a work much admired by Brahms and Joachim. The opening also has similarities with Brahms' second symphony, composed the previous year. The second movement is a serenely beautiful Adagio, but even this was not without its critics - the Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate was not impressed at the idea of standing around "while the oboe plays the only melody in the entire piece". One of the most striking features of the finale is perhaps the similarity between the opening theme and that of the finale of Bruch's G minor concerto - also written for Joachim. The movement is a rhythmic dance interspersed with more lyrical moments, and reflects the spirit of Hungarian music, another of Brahms' and Joachim's shared enthusiasms.

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Symphony No.5 in E minor (Op. 64)

Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)

In early 1888 Tchaikovsky moved into his new home at Frolovskoye near Klin. He had for some years been supported financially by Nadezhda von Meck, a wealthy widow who admired Tchaikovsky's music. She paid him an annuity on the understanding that the two should never meet, although they corresponded regularly, and this enabled him to devote his time to composition without having to worry about earning any additional income. Free from mundane financial worries, Tchaikovsky was able to concentrate on composing a new symphony - the E minor symphony was in fact to be his sixth, having been preceded three years earlier by the unnumbered "Manfred" Symphony. He worked quickly and four months later was able to write to Mme. von Meck : "Now that the symphony is about to be finished I may say that, thanks be to God, it is not inferior to the other one." The 'other one' was his fourth symphony which he and Mme. von Meck referred to as "our symphony" in their correspondence. However, despite his apparent satisfaction with his new work, he was later to come to dislike it. The symphony was first performed on 17th November 1888 in St. Petersburg with Tchaikovsky conducting - this was the first time he had conducted the premiere of one of his major orchestral works. It was well received by the audience, but some critics wrote that it was unworthy of Tchaikovsky. History has shown that the audience was the better judge as the symphony was destined to become one of his best-loved works.

The symphony begins, like the Fourth, with a motif representing Fate. This is the core of the symphony and is introduced in sombre fashion by the clarinets - a marked contrast to the shattering fanfare introduction of its counterpart in the Fourth Symphony. The fiery Allegro features a rhythmic dotted theme which builds to a climax before a contrasting lyrical theme is introduced. The themes are developed and reach a final climax before the movement ends with a sombre coda based on the opening theme of the Allegro. The second movement features the famous tender horn melody and the glorious impassioned theme introduced by the oboe and then taken up by the strings. This reaches an emotional peak before the mood is shattered by the reappearance of the Fate motif. The process is repeated before the movement draws quietly to a close. The third movement is a graceful waltz with just the faintest hint of wistfulness. But even this music cannot escape the clutches of Fate which stirs in the depths of the orchestra as the movement ends. The Finale begins with the Fate motif totally transformed in the majestic E major introduction which then leads into the agitated Allegro vivace. Although it has its darker side, the mood is such that the triumphant nature of the conclusion is inevitable. The grand coda based on the Fate motif is in total contrast to the opening of the symphony. As one writer put it : "If Beethoven's Fifth was Fate knocking at the door, then Tchaikovsky's Fifth is Fate trying to get out."

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