Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Overture to Oberon
Following the success of his opera Der Freischütz in 1821, Weber found himself in demand on stages across Europe. Despite his recent success, Weber was struggling financially and physically as he had become afflicted with tuberculosis. A commission came in from the director of the Theatre Royal at London’s Covent Garden for an opera based on the character of the fairy king Oberon, and Weber accepted – against his doctor's advice – in order to deal with his financial troubles. The premiere took place in London on April 12, 1826, followed by Weber's death there two months later, perhaps due to the stress of the whole experience. The opera nonetheless lived on with performances continuing for the next several decades throughout Europe.
Rather than drawing from Shakespeare's version of Oberon from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Weber used verses by Christoph Martin Wieland as his foundation. The music of this overture incorporates many of the opera’s themes, which follow the story of lovers Huon and Reiza, and Huon’s magic horn gifted to him by Oberon as they travel the mythical world.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495
I. Allegro maestoso
II. Romance. Andante cantabile
III. Rondo. Allegro vivace
The Concerto for Horn K. 495 is Mozart's fourth and final work in the genre, and is a product of his close relationship to Joseph Leutgeb, one of the pre-eminent horn players of the day. Leutgeb had been a friend of the Mozart family since his arrival in Salzburg in 1763, when Wolfgang was seven years old. The two musicians also lived in Vienna at same time in the 1780s, and Mozart made great use of Leutgeb’s talent by composing several works for horn and orchestra through that decade. In fact, this piece was described by Mozart as “a hunting concerto for Leutgeb” in his own catalog.
In the 1700s the horn had no valves, and therefore it took considerable skill to play chromatically. Mozart took advantage of Leutgeb’s abilities in this area throughout this concerto, while also exploring the lyrical side of the instrument in the graceful second movement.
—Intermission (15 minutes)—
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. posth. 90, “Italian”
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante con moto
III. Con moto moderato
IV. Presto and Finale: Saltarello
Mendelssohn's Fourth Symphony arose from his travels around Europe from 1829 to 1831, which also inspired his Symphony No. 3 (the “Scottish”) and the Hebrides Overture. Mendelssohn first reached Italy in October 1830 and spent the next ten months traveling south from Venice to Rome. The impressions of this time enter the symphony not as imitations of Italian musical style, but rather as broader ideas of religion, nature, and architecture. It is clear from Mendelssohn’s letters to his family that he was particularly pleased and inspired by his Italian voyage, as he wrote to his parents,
“This is Italy! And now has begun what I have always thought to be the supreme joy in life. And I am loving it. Today was so rich that now, in the evening, I must collect myself a little…”
The symphony was completed after his return to Berlin in 1833 and premiered in London that same year. Mendelssohn was not completely satisfied with the composition, however – he revised it multiple times and never actually published it in his lifetime. The version typically performed today was published in 1851 and is largely based on Mendelssohn’s original as premiered in 1833.
Program notes by Thomas Nickell.
