When Ralph Vaughan Williams composed his Tallis Variations , he was totally unknown. That changed in one fell swoop when he presented his work to the public in 1910. From then on, the composer was regarded as one of the most important English composers. A Phrygian melody by the Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis, who lived in the 16th century, served as the basis of his imagination, and he thus rescued him from oblivion.
Jean Sibelius' twelve symphonic poems run like a red thread through the complete works of the great Finnish composer. What began in 1883 with En Saga has ended in 1926 with Tapiolafound its climax. At the same time, this composition was Sibelius' last work. Sibelius evokes the kingdom of the forest god Tapio from his homeland, which is teeming with gnarled trees and horrifying forest spirits.
The British composer William Walton, born in 1902, left us only very few compositions, and time and again downright writer's block delayed the creation of his works. It was the same for Walton with his monumental Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor, which he wrote in the 1930s. The symphony, which was strongly inspired by Jean Sibelius, is still one of his main works in the field of symphony, it gets down to business fiery and rousing.
Conductor Leo McFall, who comes from London, will conduct the Staatsorchester for the first time. The chief conductor of the Vorarlberg Symphony Orchestra and winner of the German Conductor's Prize 2015 is a welcome guest with many renowned European orchestras.
