Dated 1795, the London Symphony was the last symphony Joseph Haydn wrote in the English capital. But there is a small curiosity that explains the title. In the last movement, there is a melody rooted in a traditional Croatian song that Haydn remembered, but which also resembled the characteristic intonation of street vendors in London when they advertised hot cakes and fresh fish. It was, therefore, a tribute to the very generous reception his music had received over a number of years in those parts. Added to these ‘echoes’ are the orchestral overture to the opera with which Mozart enchanted the city of Vienna in 1782, the love serenade that Richard Wagner dedicated to Cosima Liszt on her birthday, and the symphony that in 1934 definitively launched the career of the then young English composer Benjamin Britten.
Program
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) – Overture to the opera The Abduction from the Seraglio, KV 384 (1782)
6 min.
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) – Simple Symphony, Op. 4 (1934)
17 min.
I. Boisterous Bourrée
II. Playful Pizzicato
III. Sentimental Sarabande
IV. Frolicsome Finale
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) – Siegfried Idyll (1870)
19 min.
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) – Symphony No. 104 in D Major, London (1795)
30 min.
I. Adagio – Allegro
II. Andante
III. Minuetto: Allegro
IV. Finale: Allegro spiritoso
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The NOVA community has access to tickets for this concert. Confirmations must be sent to relacoespublicas@metropolitana.pt by 6:00 p.m. on March 11.
