These performances present Wagner not as the famous composer of operas but as a radical composer of symphonies, both real and imaginary. The Mahler Players present the world premiere of Richard Wagner in Venice: A Symphony, by Matthew King. Composed in 2021, this Symphony brings to life for the first time many of Wagner’s late sketches, left unfinished at the time of his death in 1883, and until now largely unknown and unheard outside specialist circles. Matthew King describes it as “a piece that plays with history, and tries to imagine something that never happened, drawing connections between tiny scraps of music which would otherwise remain forever separate and fragmentary”. Also in the concert is Wagner’s beautiful masterpiece for chamber orchestra, originally titled “Symphony” and written for his wife’s birthday on Christmas Day 1870, Siegfried Idyll. Completing this trilogy of symphonic works spanning over 230 years, is Mozart’s dramatic and powerful Symphony No. 40.
We will be honoured to be in the presence of the composer, Matthew King, who will give the audience an introduction to his symphony, including the playing of some of the original sketches as Wagner left them.
The concerts, on the 25th and 26th September, will both be in the magnificent surroundings of Strathpeffer Pavilion. The Mahler Players’ debut recording, featuring Richard Wagner in Venice: A Symphony and Siegfried Idyll, will be exclusively available for audiences at these concerts, ahead of its wider release on 22nd October 2021.
