Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C major, op. 56 by Beethoven, Don Quixote by Strauss, Frá (2023/2023), Deutsches Haus, Flensburg, Germany

Two iconic masterpieces are on the program this evening. First, Ludwig van Beethoven's concerto for violin, cello and piano, commonly known as the Triple Concerto, composed in 1803 and published in 1804. The choice of the three solo instruments makes this a concerto for piano trio, and the only concerto Beethoven ever completed for more than a solo instrument. Next comes Don Quixote, a tone poem by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and orchestra with the subtitle Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters (Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Chivalrous Character). The work is based on the novel "Don Quixote de la Mancha" by Miguel de Cervantes. Strauss composed this work in Munich in 1897. The premiere took place in Cologne on March 8, 1898. The solo cello represents Don Quixote, and the solo viola, the tenor tuba and the bass clarinet depict his squire Sancho Panza. The second variation depicts the episode in which Don Quixote encounters a flock of sheep and mistakes them for an approaching army. Strauss uses here i.a. cutting dissonances in the brass section to mimic the bleating of sheep.