Carl Maria von Weber 1786–1826
Overture to Oberon
Clarinet concerto Nr. 1 F minor op. 73
Sergei Prokofiev 1891–1953
Orchestral Suite from Romeo und Julia
Daniel Ottensamer, clarinet
Anna Rakitina, conductor
pre-concert talk by Andreas Bomba at 10am in the main auditorium
No other love story inspired our culture as much as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Operas and symphonic settings to music, Bernstein's West Side Story and cinema films. Prokofiev composed ballet music for it which you can hear conducted by the Ukrainian-Russian conductor Anna Rakitina.
There's another love story in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, featuring Oberon, the King of the Fairies, and his wife Titania, upon which Weber based his Oberon. The mysterious sound of the magic horn, with which the Knight Hüon can summon Oberon, can be heard at the start of the overture.
The clarinet features in many of Weber's operas and orchestral music, along with two clarinet concertos, one concertino and chamber music, including a clarinet quintet. Our sololist is Daniel Ottensamer, a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
